Irene Rich

Irene Rich

1891-10-11 – 1988-04-22 (age 96) Buffalo, New York, USA
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Biography

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

Fort Apache
Fort Apache

1948

as Mrs. Mary O'Rourke

Angel and the Badman
Angel and the Badman

1947

as Mrs. Worth

Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc

1948

as Catherine le Royer, Joan's friend

The Mortal Storm
The Mortal Storm

1940

as Mrs. Roth

The Champ
The Champ

1931

as Linda Carleton

Dearie
Dearie

1927

as Sylvia Darling/Dearie

That Certain Age
That Certain Age

1938

as Mrs. Dorothy Fullerton

The Trap
The Trap

1922

as The Teacher

Lady Windermere's Fan
Lady Windermere's Fan

1925

as Mrs. Erlynne

Hollywood Handicap
Hollywood Handicap

1938

as Woman at Racetrack

Captain January
Captain January

1924

as Isabelle Morton

The Lady in Question
The Lady in Question

1940

as Michele Morestan

They Had to See Paris
They Had to See Paris

1929

as Idy Peters

Beau Brummel
Beau Brummel

1924

as Frederica Charlotte, Duchess of York

Rosita
Rosita

1923

as The Queen

The Climbers
The Climbers

1927

as Duchess of Arrogan

Wicked
Wicked

1931

as Mrs. Luther

The Exalted Flapper
The Exalted Flapper

1929

as Queen Charlotte of Capra

This Woman
This Woman

1924

as Carol Drayton