Ruth Lewis; Actress Became Gossip Columnist, Clothing Retailer

Ruth Lewis, 84, actress in the 1940s who became a Hollywood gossip columnist and a fashion retailer. Born Ruth Richards in Harvey, Ill., Lewis had bit parts in a number of films, including “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo,” “The Lady Takes a Sailor” and “Where Danger Lives.” In the 1950s, she began writing about Hollywood celebrities such as Marlon Brando and Howard Hughes in a column, “Ruth Lewis,” for the Los Angeles Daily News. With others in the film industry, she helped launch the Thalians, a charitable group to aid mental health programs through Cedars-Sinai Hospital. Lewis served on its board of directors and, along with Sammy Davis Jr., Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, was designated one of the 20 members who contributed the most time, money and talent to the organization in its first 20 years. In the 1960s, Lewis owned several fashion boutiques in Santa Monica, West Los Angeles, Westwood and Beverly Hills, including the Wearhouse on Santa Monica Boulevard. She was one of the first clothing retailers to look to young Southern California designers and to young people on the streets for trendy fashions. On Sunday in Glendale of cancer and complications after a stroke.