- By Sally Allen -
Born in Sangar, CA, Ruthie moved to Fresno to her grandparents home during the Depression, where her father and uncle had just lost the five fruit farms they had owned. She grew up playing football with the neighborhood boys. Ruth’s father died when she was thirteen years old, so her mother supported the family as a nurse. Her sister became a published poet. Ruthie saw her mother as Florence Nightingale and decided to be a Naval Cadet Nurse. She attended Fresno State College, and then trained at St. Vincent’s Hospital in LA. She hurt her back lifting a patient and could not finish her training, so in an effort to pay for secretarial school, she took a job hemming dresses for the stars at RKO Studios. Ruthie worked as an assistant to a literary agent and then took a job with Time Life Magazine as an assistant to the West Coast Bureau Chief. In this capacity, she researched projects and came up with ideas for stories. Though she was career tracking, in 1950 it became time to have babies and raise a family. In 1962 when her children were older, Ruthie joined her husband Richard and opened a Public Relations firm for the entertainment business. They represented Jack Lemmon, Richard Crenna and Martha Hyers, the opening of the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, and others. Prince Faisal of Saudi Arabia (later King) hired them to publicize the graduation of his son Mohammad, the first descendant to graduate from an American college. When asked if he was happy to return to Saudi Arabia, Mohammad replied, "Yes, the problem is, I hate sand."
Ruthie and Richard’s friend, John Paxton, author of the classic scripts "On the Beach," "Murder My Sweet," and "Crossfire," wrote the screenplay for "Kotch," a film to be produced by Richard. The script was given to Jack Lemmon, who asked to direct it, and Walter Matthau played the title role. The film received four Academy Award nominations. Martin Hamlisch won the Golden Globe Music Award for the film score. Richard died before he was able to produce another film. Ruthie went on to be the Associate Producer for the tv film "Family Man" starring Ed Azner.
Deciding Hollywood was a young people’s game, Ruthie took up real estate, and believes she sold the first million dollar house in Malibu. She met Howard Kosh on a blind date. Her requirement was the date must be fun and cuddly, and so he is. Ruthie’s son, Rick, was Art Director for many films including Jurassic Park and Forrest Gump, and recently won an
Academy Award for Avatar. Her daughter founded The Kimberly Carter House for runaway kids who want to turn their lives around. Howard wrote comedy for radio and television in the early days, but spent most of his career as a stock broker. Later, he established Howard Kosh and Associates, an executive outplacement firm. The Kosh’s have been married 24 years; they have 4 children, 9 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.