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Irene Rich

Oct 11, 1891 - Apr 22, 1988 (96 years old) in Buffalo, New York, USA

From Wikipedia

Irene Rich (October 13, 1891 - April 22, 1988) was an American actress who worked in both silent films and talkies, as well as radio.

Rich worked for Will Rogers, who used her in eight pictures, including Water Water Everywhere (1920), The Strange Boarder (1920), Jes' Call Me Jim (1920), Boys Will Be Boys (1921), and The Ropin' Fool (1921). She often portrayed society women, such as in the 1925 adaptation of Lady Windermere's Fan and also in Queen of the Yukon (1940).

In two of her last films she played a frontier wife and mother: She was the mother of Gail Russell's character in John Wayne's Angel and the Badman (1947); in John Ford's cavalry story Fort Apache (1948) she portrayed Mrs. O'Rourke, the wife of Sergeant O'Rourke (Ward Bond).

In the 1930s, Rich did much work in radio. From 1933 to 1944, she hosted a nationwide anthology program of serialized mini-dramas, Dear John (aka The Irene Rich Show). Her leading man was actor Gale Gordon (who later played Lucille Ball's apoplectic boss "Mr. Mooney" on TV).

Rich appeared in stage productions, including Seven Keys to Baldpate (1935) which starred George M. Cohan, the creator of the play, and later As the Girls Go in 1948.

Rich has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for her contribution to the motion picture industry at 6225 Hollywood Boulevard and one for her contributions to the radio industry at 6150 Hollywood Boulevard.

Known For

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Angel and the Badman
Mrs. Worth
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Fort Apache
Mrs. Mary O'Rourke
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Joan of Arc
Catherine le Royer, Joan's friend
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Check and Double Check
Mrs. Blair
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Beau Ideal
Lady Brandon
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The Mortal Storm
Mrs. Roth
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The Champ
Linda Carleton
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This Time for Keeps
Mrs. Bryant
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Beau Brummel
Frederica Charlotte, Duchess of York
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Wicked
Mrs. Luther

Credits

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