Elsie Ritchie: Retired high school drama teacher and former Hollywood actress.

Many talented classroom teachers have also distinguished themselves in endeavors outside of the classroom. One of these was Elsie Ritchie, an English and drama teacher who was also a film actress from the 1970’s.

Elsie was the sister of Hollywood director Michael Ritchie. When she was a young woman, she portrayed roles in two movies he directed, including The Candidate in 1972 and Smile in 1975. Elsie nurtured her love for acting since she was a child. As a youngster, she participated in many local community theater productions.

After her graduation from  Berkeley High School, Elsie studied classical languages and art history at UC Berkeley, where she earned her degree. It made sense that she should choose Berkeley, since her father, Dr. Benbow Ritchie, was a professor there.

After her brief career in Hollywood, Elsie accepted a position as a high school English teacher at Aragon High School located in San Mateo, California. Her career as an educator spanned 22 years. During this time, she also worked tirelessly as the school’s drama teacher.

Once she retired, Elsie settled in Redding, California, where she lived since 2013. There Elsie returned to her childhood passion for community theater. She performed in productions of Romeo & Juliet, You Can’t Take It With You, The Nutcracker, The Dixie Swim Club, and Harvey. She also directed a production of The Gin Game at Redding’s Riverfront Playhouse. Written by D. Coburn, the play garnered a Pulitzer Prize in 1978. In addition to her work as an actress and director, Elsie led a local actors’ monologue workshop.

Sadly, Elsie passed away on November 7, 2018. She was 65 years old. To read more about this amazing educator, actress, and director, see the article published in the Record Searchlight entitled Bucket List gives actors crack at dream roles.