Rita Gam was born on April 2, 1927 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA as Rita McKay. She is an actress and producer, known for Klute (1971), King of Kings (1961) and Mohawk (1956). She was previously married to Thomas Henry Guinzburg and Sidney Lumet.
Gam was her stepfather's name--her mother remarried in 1932.
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Appeared on the cover of Life magazine in September 1952.
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Was briefly suspended from working in October 1953 for turning down the feminine lead in the the Martin-Lewis comedy "Living It Up".
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Began acting in 1946. Screen-tested and signed by MGM in 1952.
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Her mother, Belle (Fately), was a Romanian Jewish immigrant, and her father, Milton A. MacKay, was born in Alsace-Lorraine, to Romanian Jewish parents. Her father died in 1931. Her mother subsequently remarried, and Rita took the surname of her stepfather, Benjamin J. Gam, who was a Russian Jewish immigrant.
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Offered role in The Ten Commandments (1956), but when interviewed by Cecil B. DeMille, she claimed she was not religious, so he did not hire her.
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Is featured in the book by Harold J. Kennedy, "No Pickle, No Performance", about his experiences working with actors in theatrical productions.
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Daughter, Kate Guinzburg, is a producer with Michelle Pfeiffer's production company, Vin Rosa Productions, from 1990 to 2000.
$1.2 Million
