Ruth Bellamy

Ruth Bellamy (November 5, 1906 – March 5, 1969), also known as Ruth Bellamy Brownwood, was an American writer, a journalist, dramatist, songwriter, actress, and poet, based in North Carolina and Japan.

Ruth Bellamy
Born	Ruth Elizabeth Bellamy November 5, 1906 Enfield, North Carolina
Died	March 5, 1969(1969-03-05) (aged 62) Durham, North Carolina
Other names	Ruth Bellamy Brownwood
Occupation(s)	Writer, poet, dramatist, journalist, songwriter, college professor

Early life and education

Ruth Elizabeth Bellamy was born in Enfield, North Carolina, the daughter of Phesington Sugg Bellamy and Lula Spruill Bellamy.^[1] Her father was a businessman. Her mother, known as "Mamee", was a well-known social figure in Rocky Mount in her later years.^[2]

Bellamy earned a bachelor's degree in dramatics^[3] at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1928, and pursued further studies at Columbia University and the University of California.^[4]

Career

Bellamy was head of the Spoken English and Expression department at High Point College,^[5] and taught dramatics;^[6] she was active in women's club activities at High Point.^[7][8] She worked at a travel agency in San Francisco.^[5] She taught English and wrote in Japan for five years,^[3] and in Hong Kong for two years.^[9] She edited two books by Kuni Sasaki [ja], including Reluctant Bachelor (1962).^[10] She wrote poems, songs, plays, and articles, including a song titled "Blues Tokyo" that became popular in Japan.^[4][5][11]

Bellamy also acted through much of her life, performing in school as a girl, and active on stage and backstage with the Morningside Players in New York, the Civic Theater in Washington, D.C., and the Tokyo Amateur Dramatic Club.^[3]

Personal life

Ruth Bellamy married, and had a son, David Owen Brownwood, born in Los Angeles in 1935. She married a screenwriter, William A. Golkopf, in 1946, in New York City;^[12] they divorced in 1948. She died at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina, in 1969, aged 62 years.^[4][13] Her papers are archived at East Carolina University.^[5]