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Irene Rich

Irene Rich

Birthday: 1891-10-13 | Place of Birth: 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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1948
Fort Apache

as    Mrs. Mary O'Rourke

1947
Calendar Girl

as    Lulu Varden

1947
New Orleans

as    Mrs. Rutledge Smith

1947
Angel and the Badman

as    Mrs. Worth

1942
This Time for Keeps

as    Mrs. Bryant

1941
Three Sons o' Guns

as    Margaret Patterson

1940
The Lady in Question

as    Michele Morestan

1940
The Mortal Storm

as    Mrs. Roth

1940
Keeping Company

as    Mrs. Thomas

1931
Strangers May Kiss

as    Celia

1931
Five and Ten

as    Jenny Rarick

1931
Beau Ideal

as    Lady Brandon

1931
The Mad Parade

as    Mrs. Schuyler

1927
The Desired Woman

as    Diana Maxwell / Lady Diana Whitney

1924
Beau Brummel

as    Frederica Charlotte, Duchess of York

1923
Rosita

as    The Queen

1920
Water, Water, Everywhere

as    Hope Beecher