Biography
Ruth Kobart (born Ruth Maxine Kohn) was an American actress and singer. Born on 24 April 1924 in Des Moines, Iowa, she studied opera at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago before making her professional debut in an off-Broadway production of Hänsel und Gretel. Her career spanned opera, Broadway musical theatre, regional theatre, film and television over six decades.
She appeared on Broadway in productions including How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1961), for which she reprised her role of Miss Jones in the 1967 film adaptation, and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Kobart was a long-time member of the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. On screen, she played the bus driver in Dirty Harry (1971) and a choir nun in Sister Act (1992) and its 1993 sequel.
Kobart died of pancreatic cancer on 14 December 2002 in San Francisco, aged 78.
