The plaque was placed at 67/b Sándor Endrődi Street, where Ruttkai lived with her partner, the famous actor Zoltán Latinovits.
Ruttkai - born Éva Russ on December 31, 1927 - was less than three years old when she first appeared on stage with Artúr Lakner's children theatre. It was Lakner who suggested that she take up a stage name.
Ruttkai later studied with Margit Makay, one of Hungary's greatest actresses. With Lakner's troupe, she performed with such great names as Lili Darvas and Artúr Somlay.
Her debut in a lead role was at the Vígszínház in Ferenc Molnár's comedy The Swan. Ruttkai filled in for Klári Tolnay, who was ill, in the role of Alexandra. The performance, with Ruttkai in the lead, became an immediate hit.
Ruttkai became a member of the National Theatre troupe in 1948, joining the likes of Gizi Bajor, Artúr Somlay, Márton Rátkai, Margit Ladomerszky and Miklós Gábor, whom she later married.
Ruttkai and Gábor had a daughter in 1953, but the marriage was not to last. Ruttkai fell in love with Zoltán Latinovits (1931-1976) during a production of, appropriately, Pavel Kohout's Such a Great Love in 1960.
Some of Ruttkai's most memorable stage roles were in the plays War and Peace, Saint Joan, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew, The Seagull and Three Sisters. She also appeared in numerous films, such as Budapest Spring, A Half Pint of Beer, Before Midnight, Sleepless Years and Sinbad.
Ruttkai was presented the Kossuth Prize, Hungary's highest award for artists, in 1960. She died on September 27, 1986.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
