Ruth Mata
- Actress
Ruth Mata and her husband and partner
Eugene Hari were international dance
satirists with their own unique style, originating as dancing comedians
with a European dance troupe headquartered in Switzerland, where both
were born and raised in a Zurich suburb. After four transcontinental
tours, the pair remained in the USA when the troupe returned to Europe
in 1939. They appeared at La Martinique, the Beachcomber, the Hole
Pierre and Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshoe in New York, the Chez Paree
in Chicago, and Ciro's in Hollywood. Their bow on Broadway was made in
"The Straw Hat Revue" in a cast which included other then-unknowns:
Danny Kaye,
Jerome Robbins and
Imogene Coca, and they followed this with a
long run in the Olson and Johnson stage musical "Laffing Room Only" for
extended engagements in New York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia and
Detroit. Mata and Hari also entertained on stage at New York's Radio
City Music Hall and the Roxy Theatre. In addition to many performances
at the National Theatre and in Carnegie Hall (where they performed a
famous sketch parodying the audience, the musicians and the conductor),
they also presented programs before the International Monetary
conference at Bretton Woods and before President
'Harry S Truman' and his guests at a
command performance in the East Room of the White House.
