Jump to content

Ruth Warrick: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
No edit summary
 
(496 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{short description|American singer, actress and activist (1916–2005)}}
'''Ruth Warrick''' ([[June 29]], [[1915]] - [[January 15]], [[2005]]) was an [[American]] [[actor|actress]]. She was born in [[St. Joseph, Missouri]].
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Ruth Warrick
| image = RUTHWarrick.jpg
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|6|29|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Saint Joseph, Missouri]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|1|15|1916|6|29|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[New York City]], U.S.
| resting_place =
| birth_name = Ruth Elizabeth Warrick
| occupation = {{flatlist|
* Actress
* singer
* activist
}}
| yearsactive = 1940–2005
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Erik Rolf|1938|1946|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Carl Neubert|1950|1952|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage| |1961|1963|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Robert McNamara|1953|1960|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Frank Freda|1972|1973|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Jarvis Cushing|1975|1976|end=divorced}}
}}
| children = 3
}}


'''Ruth Elizabeth Warrick'''{{Citation needed |date=June 2023}} (June 29, 1916 – January 15, 2005) was an American singer, actress and political activist, best known for her role as [[Phoebe Tyler Wallingford]] on ''[[All My Children]]'', which she played regularly from 1970 until her death in 2005. She made her film debut in ''[[Citizen Kane]]'', and years later celebrated her 80th birthday by attending a special screening of the film.
Warrick began her career in the [[1940s]] as a [[radio]] singer, but her first big break was being hired by a young [[Orson Welles]] for his film ''[[Citizen Kane]]''. When she auditioned for the part, she read with Welles. She said that because she was so new to the acting buissness, she was not aware that it was very rare to actually read with the star. What she also didn't realize was that this was also Welles' first film role. The controversy surounding ''Citizen Kane'' lead to the film being a [[box office]] disaster and Welles, despite co-winning an [[Academy Award]] for the [[screenplay]], was [[shun]]ned by Hollywood. Nevertheless, Welles hired her again for his film ''[[Journey Into Fear]]'' alongside fellow ''Kane'' actor [[Joseph Cotton]]. She worked alongside [[Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.]], in the film ''[[The Corsican Brothers]]'' but by the late 1940's her film role were becoming infrequent and less notable.


==Early life and career==
In the [[1950s]] she befriended [[soap opera]] [[inventor]] [[Irna Phillips]] and her [[protege]], [[Agnes Nixon]]. Warrick became a cast member on the soap opera ''[[Guiding Light|The Guiding Light]]'', playing Nurse Janet Johnson from [[1953]]-[[1954]]. Phillips was impressed by her performance and hired her as a cast member on her new soap opera, ''[[As The World Turns]]'', when the show debuted in [[1956]]. Warrick stayed on the show until [[1960]].
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2016}}
[[File:Citizen-Kane-Wedding-1.jpg|thumb|left|300px|As Emily Monroe Norton, the bride of [[Orson Welles]]' character, Charles Foster Kane, in ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' (1941)]]
Ruth Warrick was born June 29, 1916, in [[Saint Joseph, Missouri]],<ref name="NYT Obit">{{cite news |last=Carr |first=David |author-link=David Carr (journalist) |date=January 18, 2005 |title=Ruth Warrick, Veteran Film and TV Star, Dies at 88|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/18/movies/ruth-warrick-veteran-film-and-tv-star-dies-at-88.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=January 21, 2016 }}</ref> to Frederick Roswell Warrick and Annie Louise Warrick, née Scott. By writing an essay in high school called "Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis", Warrick won a contest to be Miss Jubilesta, [[Missouri]]'s paid ambassador to [[New York City]]. There she began her career as a radio singer, and met her first husband Erik Rolf.{{Citation needed |date=June 2023}}


Warrick's first big break was being hired by a young [[Orson Welles]] for ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' (1941), in which she played Emily Monroe Norton, niece of the President of the United States and Kane's first wife. Welles pulled her photograph from the hundreds he had been sent by agents; he recognized her from a radio show they had worked on together in 1938. He spoke with her in New York: "I'm not looking for an actress that can ''play'' a lady," he said, "I want an actress who ''is'' a lady." She was in California within days, making several screen tests including one with Welles, and was regarded as perfect for the role.<ref name="Brady">{{cite book |last=Brady |first=Frank |author-link=Frank Brady (writer) |title=Citizen Welles: A Biography of Orson Welles |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons]] |location=New York |date=1989 |isbn=0-385-26759-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/citizenwellesbio00brad }}</ref>{{Rp|246–247}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/ruth-warrick# |title=Interview: Ruth Warrick |publisher=[[Archive of American Television]] |access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref> Warrick was expecting her first child during the filming of ''Kane'', which prevented her being cast in ''The Magnificent Ambersons'';<ref name="Brady"/>{{Rp|267, 315–316}} but she worked on a 1942 episode ("My Little Boy") of [[The Orson Welles Show (radio series)|Welles's radio series]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=The+Mercury+Theatre |title=The Mercury Theatre |publisher=RadioGOLDINdex |access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/1941OrsonWellesShowladyEsther |title=1941 Orson Welles Show |publisher=[[Internet Archive]] |access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref> and Welles hired her again for ''[[Journey into Fear (1943 film)|Journey into Fear]]'' (1943).<ref name="Brady"/>{{Rp|328}}
In [[1965]] she joined the cast of Phillips' [[primetime]] soap opera, ''[[Peyton Place]]'', playing Hannah Cord. This show is believed by some television historians to be the fist primetime soap opera ever to air and helped to pave the way for shows like ''[[Dallas]]'' and ''[[Dynasty]].'' Warrick recieved an [[Emmy Award]] Nomination for this show in [[1967]], the same year she exited the show. ''Peyton Place'' was cancelled two years later.


She appeared in ''[[The Corsican Brothers (1941 film)|The Corsican Brothers]]'', ''[[The Iron Major]]'', ''[[Mr. Winkle Goes to War]]'', and ''[[Guest in the House]]''.
In [[1969]] she made her last major film, Disney's ''[[The Great Bank Robbery]]''.
Following World War II, she had a role in the [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning [[Walt Disney Pictures|Disney]] film ''[[Song of the South]]''; she also appeared in ''[[Daisy Kenyon]]'', which starred [[Joan Crawford]] and [[Henry Fonda]], but by the late 1940s her film roles were becoming infrequent and less notable. After playing [[Betty Hutton]]'s sister-in-law in ''[[Let's Dance (1950 film)|Let's Dance]]'', she starred as a troubled wife looking back at her life in the religious drama ''[[Second Chance (1950 film)|Second Chance]]'' and an alcoholic wife and mother in ''[[One Too Many (1950 film)|One Too Many]]'' (all 1950).<ref name="AFI"/>


In the 1950s, she befriended soap opera executives [[Irna Phillips]] and [[Agnes Nixon]]. Warrick became a cast member on the soap opera ''[[Guiding Light|The Guiding Light]]'', playing Janet Johnson, R.N. from 1953 to 1954. Phillips was impressed by Warrick's performance and hired her for her new soap opera, ''[[As the World Turns]]'' when the show debuted in 1956. Her character, Edith Hughes, was madly in love with a married man, Jim Lowell. Phillips wanted the characters to live happily ever after, but [[Procter & Gamble]], which owned the show, demanded that the characters not endorse adultery, so Jim "died". She stayed on the show until 1960.
During this time, [[Agnes Nixon]] had been moving up the daytime television ranks. She had co-created the soap opera ''[[Search for Tomorrow]]'' with Phillips, and created her own show ''[[One Life to Live]]'' for [[ABC]] in [[1968]]. However, Nixon only created ''One Life to Live'' as a means of opening the door to her real dream: a soap opera where she could hold creative control and tackle important issues of the day. This was realized when ABC greenlighted her new show ''[[All My Children]]'' in 1969, which had been based on a treatment that [[Procter & Gamble]] had rejected a few year earlier.


From 1959 to 1960, she understudied for [[Una Merkel]] and (future ''All My Children'' co-star) [[Eileen Herlie]] in the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway musical]], ''[[Take Me Along]]''. During the 1961-62 television season, she starred in ''[[Father of the Bride (TV series)|Father of the Bride]]'' television series. Then, in 1965, she joined the cast of the [[primetime]] serial, ''[[Peyton Place (TV series)|Peyton Place]]'', playing Hannah Cord. While there had been primetime serials before (such as ''[[One Man's Family]]''), none previously had enjoyed the phenomenal success of ''Peyton Place''. Warrick received an [[Emmy Award]] nomination for her work on this show in 1967, the same year she left the show. In 1969, she made her last major film, ''[[The Great Bank Robbery (1969 film)|The Great Bank Robbery]]''. During this time, Agnes Nixon had been moving up the daytime television ranks. She had created her own show, ''[[One Life to Live]]'', in 1968. ABC approved her new show, ''[[All My Children]]'', in 1969.
When ''All My Children'' debuted on [[January 5]], [[1970]], Warrick was among the contracted cast, playing Phoebe Tyler (the character's full name via her marraiges would eventually be Phoebe English Tyler Wallingford Matthews Wallingford). The show was an instant hit and Phoebe became a popular daytime character. Phoebe's first storyline involved her marriage to Charles Tyler. They were unhappy in their marriage and their family began to break down when their son Chuck Tyler found out he was actually Phoebe's nephew, adopted from her sister when he was born. Mona Kane ([[Francis Heflin]]), who was probably the first single mother ever depicted on daytime television (to her daughter [[Erica Kane]] ([[Susan Lucci]]), fell in love with Charles and [[blackmail]]ed Phoebe into giving him a [[divorce]].


==''All My Children''==
Phoebe spent her time being a professional [[socialite]]. In the late [[1970s]] she was wooed by, and later engaged to, Langley Wallingford ([[Louis Edmonds]]). She married him before learning the truth that he was really Larry Wallowski, a professional conman. Despite the deception she still loved him and they remained married. The marriage was strained by the arrival of his daughter Verla Grubbs ([[Carol Burnett]]). In real life, Warrick became good friends with Edmonds, to the point where he was confident in confiding to her the secret that he was a [[homosexual]].
[[File:Ruth Warwick in musical Irene 1973.jpg|thumb|upright|As Mrs. Emmeline Marshall in the Broadway musical ''[[Irene (musical)|Irene]]'']]
When ''All My Children'' debuted on January 5, 1970, Warrick was among the contracted cast, playing Pine Valley's imperious matriarch [[Phoebe Tyler]] (the character's full name via her marriages would eventually be Phoebe English Tyler Wallingford Matthews Wallingford). The show was an instant hit and Phoebe became a popular character. While her role was originally that of a serious society snob concerned mainly with keeping her family's name at the top of the town's social register, she later began to add much humor into the role, especially when her character, separated from her husband of many years, began having an affair with a phony professor [[Langley Wallingford]], and eventually married him. Warrick received [[Daytime Emmy Award]] nominations in 1975 and 1977.


Due to health problems, actor [[Louis Edmonds]], who portrayed Warrick's ''All My Children'' husband, left the show in 1995. Combined with Warrick's own health problems, that signaled a reduction in her screen time in the 1990s. Warrick broke her hip while on vacation in [[Greece]] in 2001 and thenceforth used a wheelchair. She had a brief re-emergence in 2002 when Phoebe made a return appearance at a hospital board meeting and later attended a society function with niece Brooke. Warrick was seldom on screen, but did appear on ''All My Children'''s 35th anniversary show on January 5, 2005. This would be Warrick's final screen appearance.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20050118/News/605207504|title='All My Children' star Ruth Warrick dies|first=Desmond|last=Butler|agency=Associated Press|website=Sarasota Herald-Tribune}}</ref>
Phoebe's clan was increased when her niece Brooke English ([[Julia Barr]]) joined the show. Phoebe prided herself on her proper place in society and had her hands full trying to keep her rebilious niece in check. Brooke spent her first year trying to solve the case of who was the mysterious drug smuggler "Cobra". She later found that it was her own mother, Peg English. The surprising revelation was that Brooke had been adopted and was not Peg's daughter at all. When Brook found her real mother, a mentally challenged homeless woman, Phoebe was lauched into a [[tear-jerking]] [[storyline]] begging Brooke not to stop looking at her as a mother figure.


==Singing, writing and politics==
Warrick received [[Daytime Emmy Award]] nominations in [[1975]] and [[1977]]. In [[1985]], she played Hannah Cord in the [[TV movie]] ''[[Return to Peyton Place]]''.
In 1971, she published a single with the song ''41,000 Plus 4 The Ballad of the Kent State Massacre'' as a tribute to [[Sandra Lee Scheuer]], [[William Knox Schroeder]], [[Jeffrey Glenn Miller]], and [[Allison Beth Krause]], the four students killed at [[Kent State University]] during a demonstration against the [[Vietnam War]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Brummer|first1=Justin|title=Vietnam War: Kent / Jackson State Songs|url=https://rateyourmusic.com/list/JBrummer/vietnam_war__kent___jackson_state_songs/|website=RYM|access-date=September 16, 2015}}</ref>{{deprecated source|certain=y|date=November 2024}} She published her [[autobiography]], ''The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler'' (co-written by [[Don Preston]]) in 1980, the same year she won a [[Soapy Award]] (a prelude to the [[Soap Opera Digest Awards]]). She received a Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] and was on hand to receive her [[Daytime Emmy Award]] for Lifetime Achievement in 2004.


Warrick was a member of the [[United States Democratic Party|Democratic Party]], working with the administrations of [[John F. Kennedy]], [[Lyndon Johnson]], and [[Jimmy Carter]] on [[labor union|labor]] and education issues. Upon Carter's [[U.S. presidential election, 1980|1980 defeat]], she sent him a long letter thanking him for his efforts. He replied, telling her that if he had hired her as a speechwriter, he would have been reelected. Warrick had generally [[Liberalism|liberal]] political views. In her first years at ''All My Children'', Warrick was flustered by her character's conservative politics and support of U.S. involvement in the [[Vietnam War]], which Warrick strongly opposed.
For numerous reasons (most notable health problems), Edmonds left All My Children in [[1995]] and his character bid a goodbye to his loving wife to spend time on an archeological dig in Egypt. He died in [[2001]], but his character remains in Egypt. Langley's departure combined with Warrick's own health problems from old age signaled a reduction in her screentime in the [[1990s]].


In July 2000, she refused to accept a lifetime achievement award from the South Carolina Arts Commission because she was offended by legislators' decision to move the [[Confederate flag]] from the state Capitol dome to another spot on the grounds in response to a boycott of the state by flag opponents. A lifelong supporter of [[African Americans|African-American]] rights, she felt the flag should be removed completely, and commented, "In my view, this was no compromise. It was a deliberate affront to the African-Americans, who see it as a sign of oppression and hate".
Warrick broke her hip while on vacation in [[Greece]] in 2001 and had been confinded to a [[wheelchair]] ever since.


In 1991, Warrick received a certification as a licensed metaphysical teacher from a [[Unity Church|Unity]] school in [[Lee's Summit, Missouri]].<ref name="Futon">{{cite news |date=January 18, 2005 |title=Film, Television and Stage Legend Ruth Warrick, Star of 'All My Children' and 'Citizen Kane,' Dies at 88|url=http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2005/01/18/film-television-and-stage-legend-ruth-warrick-star-of-all-my-children-and-citizen-kane-dies-at-88-17645/20050118abc01/ |newspaper=[[The Futon Critic]]/[[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] |access-date=September 28, 2020 }}</ref>
Head Writer [[Richard Culliton]] was the last writer to utilize her character in a major way. In [[2002]], Phoebe schemed to get Brooke engaged to her true love Edmund Grey ([[John Callahan]]). One of her lines during this storyline was "They are happy... and they're going to be happy if it's the last thing I do in my life." This line lead to rumors that Culliton was planning to kill off Phoebe amid rumors that Warrick would be dropped from the show for budget reasons ([[General Hospital]] later did this to 90-year-old actress [[Anna Lee]]).


==Death==
After this storyline collapsed due to Edmund's dead wife coming back from the dead, Pheobe was not seen on screen until ''All My Children'''s 35th anniversary show on [[January 5]], [[2005]]. This episode featured not only a rare apearance from Warrick, but the return of her step-daughter Verla played by comedic legend [[Carol Burnett]]. This episode also featured [[Agnes Nixon]] playing "Agnes Eckhardt," a board member of Pine Valley Hospital who shared screentime with not only Warrick's Phoebe but [[Susan Lucci]]'s [[Erica Kane]], [[Jill Larson]]'s Opal Cortlandt, and other core characters.
Warrick died of complications related to [[pneumonia]] on January 15, 2005, aged 88, at her home in Manhattan.<ref name="NYT Obit"/>


==Legacy==
She had three children from two of her three marriages. Ruth Warrick published her [[autobiography]] "''The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler''" in [[1980]], the same year she won a [[Soapy Award]] (a prelude to the [[Soap Opera Digest Awards]]).
The January 24, 2005 episode of ''All My Children'' was dedicated "In Loving Memory of Ruth Warrick". Phoebe died offscreen on May 4.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.soapcentral.com/all-my-children/recaps/2005/050502.php|title=All My Children Recaps: The week of May 2, 2005 on AMC|website=soapcentral.com}}</ref> Phoebe's funeral was aired May 12, 2005. The episode featured many of Warrick's most notable performances as flashbacks, and included the return of many of the characters who had been heavily involved in her storylines over the years. Warrick was included in the memorial tribute at the [[11th Screen Actors Guild Awards]].{{citation needed|date=January 2016}}


Film historian Scott Feinberg conducted the final interview with Warrick on August 14, 2004, at her apartment in New York City. After her death, her family put much of her estate in an auction.<ref>[http://www.dawsonandnye.com Profile], dawsonandnye.com; accessed March 29, 2015.</ref>
She recieved a Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] and was on hand to recieve her [[Daytime Emmy Award]] for [[Lifetime Achievement]] in [[2004]].


The auction included her extensive collection of art and photographs, as well as books signed by [[Bill Clinton|Bill]] and [[Hillary Clinton]]. Signed scripts from ''Peyton Place'' and ''All My Children'', as well as her [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] appearances were also in the catalog. The centerpiece of the catalog was the 25th anniversary reprint script of ''Citizen Kane'', signed by Warrick, Cotten, and Welles, one of only 100 printed. Her family donated her 2004 Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award to a museum in her hometown of [[Saint Joseph, Missouri]].
In her senior years, she became a spokeswoman for the Rights of [[Senior Citizens]] as well as the [[Disabled]] and was appointed to the U.N. World Women's Committee on Mental Health.


==Film credits==
She was the last living cast member of [[Citizen Kane]].
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1940
| ''[[Citizen Kane trailer]]''
| Herself, Emily Monroe Norton
| Short<ref name="Welles TIOW">{{cite book |last1=Welles |first1=Orson |author-link1=Orson Welles |last2=Bogdanovich |first2=Peter |author-link2=Peter Bogdanovich |last3=Rosenbaum |first3=Jonathan |author-link3=Jonathan Rosenbaum |title=[[This is Orson Welles]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] Publishers |location=New York |date=1992 |isbn=0-06-016616-9}}</ref>{{Rp|360}}
|-
| 1941
| ''[[Citizen Kane]]''
| Emily Monroe Norton Kane
| Film debut<ref name="AFI">{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/SearchResult.aspx?s=&TBL=PN&Type=CA&ID=136993 |title=Ruth Warrick |website=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]] |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| 1941
| ''{{sortname|The|Corsican Brothers|The Corsican Brothers (1941 film)}}''
| Isabelle Gravini
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1942
| ''[[Obliging Young Lady]]''
| Linda Norton
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Journey into Fear (1943 film)|Journey into Fear]]''
| Stephanie Graham
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Forever and a Day (1943 film)|Forever and a Day]]''
| Leslie Trimble
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Petticoat Larceny]]''
| Pat Mitchell
|
|-
| 1943
| ''{{sortname|The|Iron Major}}''
| Florence Ayres Cavanaugh
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Secret Command]]''
| Lea Damaron
|
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Guest in the House]]''
| Ann Proctor
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Mr. Winkle Goes to War]]''
| Amy Winkle
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1944
| ''[[Secret Command]]''
| Lea Damaron
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1945
| ''[[China Sky (film)|China Sky]]''
| Dr. Sara Durand
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1946
| ''[[Perilous Holiday]]''
| Agnes Stuart
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1946
| ''[[Song of the South]]''
| Sally
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Swell Guy]]''
| Ann Duncan
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Driftwood (1947 film)|Driftwood]]''
| Susan Moore
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1947
| ''[[Daisy Kenyon]]''
| Lucile O'Mara
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Arch of Triumph (1948 film)|Arch of Triumph]]''
| Kate Bergstroem
| Scenes removed<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=25448 |title=Arch of Triumph |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=January 21, 2016}}</ref>
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Make Believe Ballroom (film)|Make Believe Ballroom]]''
| Liza Lee
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1949
| ''{{sortname|The|Great Dan Patch}}''
| Ruth Treadwell
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Beauty on Parade (film)|Beauty on Parade]]''
| Marian Medford
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Second Chance (1950 film)|Second Chance]]''
| Emily Dean
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Let's Dance (1950 film)|Let's Dance]]''
| Carola Everett
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1950
| ''[[Three Husbands (1951 film)|Three Husbands]]''
| Jane Evans
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1951
| ''[[One Too Many (1950 film)|One Too Many]]''
| Helen Mason / Helen Leroy Lintz
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1954
| ''[[Roogie's Bump]]''
| Mrs. Rigsby
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1965
| ''[[A Letter To Nancy]]''
| Mrs. Helen Reed
|
|-
| 1966
| ''[[Ride Beyond Vengeance]]''
| Aunt Gussie
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1968
| ''[[How to Steal the World]]''
| Alice Garrow
|
|-
| 1969
| ''{{sortname|The|Great Bank Robbery|The Great Bank Robbery (1969 film)}}''
| Mrs. Applebee
| <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1983
| ''The Returning''
| Grace
|
|-
| 1984
| ''Death Mask''
| Beatrice VandenBerg
|
|}


==Selected television appearances==
On [[January 16]], [[2005]], a report from a correspondent for [[Sirius Satellite Radio]] posted on co-star [[Eden Riegel]]'s message board that Warrick had passed away. [http://p089.ezboard.com/fedenriegelfanforumfrm2.showMessage?topicID=2464.topic] The next day, soapdom.com released a story on Warrick's death. [http://www.soapdom.com/feature.aspx?a=11393]
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1961–1962
| ''[[Father of the Bride (TV series)|Father of the Bride]]''
| Ellie Banks
| TV series main cast; 34 episodes
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Perry Mason (1957 TV series)|Perry Mason]]''
| Mrs. Winlock
| Season 8 Episode 13: "The Case of the Blonde Bonanza": <ref name="AFI"/>
|-
| 1965
| ''[[Gunsmoke]]''
| Clara Benteen
| Season 11 Episode 2: "The Storm"
|-
| 1965–1969
| ''[[Peyton Place (TV series)|Peyton Place]]''
| Hannah Cord
| 88 episodes
|-
| 1968
| ''[[The Man from U.N.C.L.E.]]''
| Alice Garrow
| Season 4 Episode 15: "The Seven Wonders of the World: Part I"
|-
| 1970–2005
| ''[[All My Children]]''
| Phoebe Tyler Wallingford
| 511 episodes
|}


== See also ==
* {{Portal inline|Biography}}


==References==
[[Image:Phoebe2.jpg]] [[Image:Ruth citizen kaneDame.jpg]]
{{reflist|30em}}


==External links==
[[Image:PhoebeLast.jpg]]
{{commons category|Ruth Warrick}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{iobdb name}}
* {{emmytvlegends name|ruth-warrick}}
* {{Find a Grave}}
* [http://www.soapcentral.com/amc/theactors/warrick.php Ruth Warrick profile at Soapcentral.com]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20071216060905/http://alt.tcm.turner.com/MONTH_SPOTS/99/05/orson_welles.htm Interview with Ruth Warrick] (July 1997) at [[Turner Classic Movies]]


{{Daytime Emmy Award Lifetime Achievement}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Warrick, Ruth}}

[[Category:1916 births]]

[[Category:2005 deaths]]

[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
== External Links ==
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]

[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
*[http://abc.go.com/daytime/allmychildren/bios/ruth_warrick.html]
[[Category:Actresses from St. Joseph, Missouri]]

[[Category:American autobiographers]]
*[http://www.soapcentral.com/amc/theactors/warrick.php]
[[Category:American film actresses]]

[[Category:1915 births|Warrick, Ruth]]
[[Category:American musical theatre actresses]]
[[Category:2005 deaths|Warrick, Ruth]]
[[Category:American soap opera actresses]]
[[Category:American actors|Warrick, Ruth]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Soap opera actors|Warrick, Ruth]]
[[Category:Baptists from Missouri]]
[[Category:Television actors|Warrick, Ruth]]
[[Category:California Democrats]]
[[Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]
[[Category:Missouri Democrats]]
[[Category:New York (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:American women autobiographers]]
[[Category:Baptists from California]]
[[Category:Baptists from New York (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century Baptists]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in New York City]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]

Latest revision as of 14:04, 1 January 2025

Ruth Warrick
Born
Ruth Elizabeth Warrick

(1916-06-29)June 29, 1916
Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJanuary 15, 2005(2005-01-15) (aged 88)
New York City, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • activist
Years active1940–2005
Spouses
Erik Rolf
​
​
(m. 1938; div. 1946)​
Carl Neubert
​
​
(m. 1950; div. 1952)​
​
​
(m. 1961; div. 1963)​
Robert McNamara
​
​
(m. 1953; div. 1960)​
Frank Freda
​
​
(m. 1972; div. 1973)​
Jarvis Cushing
​
​
(m. 1975; div. 1976)​
Children3

Ruth Elizabeth Warrick[citation needed] (June 29, 1916 – January 15, 2005) was an American singer, actress and political activist, best known for her role as Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on All My Children, which she played regularly from 1970 until her death in 2005. She made her film debut in Citizen Kane, and years later celebrated her 80th birthday by attending a special screening of the film.

Early life and career

[edit]
As Emily Monroe Norton, the bride of Orson Welles' character, Charles Foster Kane, in Citizen Kane (1941)

Ruth Warrick was born June 29, 1916, in Saint Joseph, Missouri,[1] to Frederick Roswell Warrick and Annie Louise Warrick, née Scott. By writing an essay in high school called "Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis", Warrick won a contest to be Miss Jubilesta, Missouri's paid ambassador to New York City. There she began her career as a radio singer, and met her first husband Erik Rolf.[citation needed]

Warrick's first big break was being hired by a young Orson Welles for Citizen Kane (1941), in which she played Emily Monroe Norton, niece of the President of the United States and Kane's first wife. Welles pulled her photograph from the hundreds he had been sent by agents; he recognized her from a radio show they had worked on together in 1938. He spoke with her in New York: "I'm not looking for an actress that can play a lady," he said, "I want an actress who is a lady." She was in California within days, making several screen tests including one with Welles, and was regarded as perfect for the role.[2]: 246–247 [3] Warrick was expecting her first child during the filming of Kane, which prevented her being cast in The Magnificent Ambersons;[2]: 267, 315–316  but she worked on a 1942 episode ("My Little Boy") of Welles's radio series,[4][5] and Welles hired her again for Journey into Fear (1943).[2]: 328 

She appeared in The Corsican Brothers, The Iron Major, Mr. Winkle Goes to War, and Guest in the House. Following World War II, she had a role in the Academy Award-winning Disney film Song of the South; she also appeared in Daisy Kenyon, which starred Joan Crawford and Henry Fonda, but by the late 1940s her film roles were becoming infrequent and less notable. After playing Betty Hutton's sister-in-law in Let's Dance, she starred as a troubled wife looking back at her life in the religious drama Second Chance and an alcoholic wife and mother in One Too Many (all 1950).[6]

In the 1950s, she befriended soap opera executives Irna Phillips and Agnes Nixon. Warrick became a cast member on the soap opera The Guiding Light, playing Janet Johnson, R.N. from 1953 to 1954. Phillips was impressed by Warrick's performance and hired her for her new soap opera, As the World Turns when the show debuted in 1956. Her character, Edith Hughes, was madly in love with a married man, Jim Lowell. Phillips wanted the characters to live happily ever after, but Procter & Gamble, which owned the show, demanded that the characters not endorse adultery, so Jim "died". She stayed on the show until 1960.

From 1959 to 1960, she understudied for Una Merkel and (future All My Children co-star) Eileen Herlie in the Broadway musical, Take Me Along. During the 1961-62 television season, she starred in Father of the Bride television series. Then, in 1965, she joined the cast of the primetime serial, Peyton Place, playing Hannah Cord. While there had been primetime serials before (such as One Man's Family), none previously had enjoyed the phenomenal success of Peyton Place. Warrick received an Emmy Award nomination for her work on this show in 1967, the same year she left the show. In 1969, she made her last major film, The Great Bank Robbery. During this time, Agnes Nixon had been moving up the daytime television ranks. She had created her own show, One Life to Live, in 1968. ABC approved her new show, All My Children, in 1969.

All My Children

[edit]
As Mrs. Emmeline Marshall in the Broadway musical Irene

When All My Children debuted on January 5, 1970, Warrick was among the contracted cast, playing Pine Valley's imperious matriarch Phoebe Tyler (the character's full name via her marriages would eventually be Phoebe English Tyler Wallingford Matthews Wallingford). The show was an instant hit and Phoebe became a popular character. While her role was originally that of a serious society snob concerned mainly with keeping her family's name at the top of the town's social register, she later began to add much humor into the role, especially when her character, separated from her husband of many years, began having an affair with a phony professor Langley Wallingford, and eventually married him. Warrick received Daytime Emmy Award nominations in 1975 and 1977.

Due to health problems, actor Louis Edmonds, who portrayed Warrick's All My Children husband, left the show in 1995. Combined with Warrick's own health problems, that signaled a reduction in her screen time in the 1990s. Warrick broke her hip while on vacation in Greece in 2001 and thenceforth used a wheelchair. She had a brief re-emergence in 2002 when Phoebe made a return appearance at a hospital board meeting and later attended a society function with niece Brooke. Warrick was seldom on screen, but did appear on All My Children's 35th anniversary show on January 5, 2005. This would be Warrick's final screen appearance.[7]

Singing, writing and politics

[edit]

In 1971, she published a single with the song 41,000 Plus 4 The Ballad of the Kent State Massacre as a tribute to Sandra Lee Scheuer, William Knox Schroeder, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, and Allison Beth Krause, the four students killed at Kent State University during a demonstration against the Vietnam War.[8][deprecated source] She published her autobiography, The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler (co-written by Don Preston) in 1980, the same year she won a Soapy Award (a prelude to the Soap Opera Digest Awards). She received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was on hand to receive her Daytime Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2004.

Warrick was a member of the Democratic Party, working with the administrations of John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Jimmy Carter on labor and education issues. Upon Carter's 1980 defeat, she sent him a long letter thanking him for his efforts. He replied, telling her that if he had hired her as a speechwriter, he would have been reelected. Warrick had generally liberal political views. In her first years at All My Children, Warrick was flustered by her character's conservative politics and support of U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War, which Warrick strongly opposed.

In July 2000, she refused to accept a lifetime achievement award from the South Carolina Arts Commission because she was offended by legislators' decision to move the Confederate flag from the state Capitol dome to another spot on the grounds in response to a boycott of the state by flag opponents. A lifelong supporter of African-American rights, she felt the flag should be removed completely, and commented, "In my view, this was no compromise. It was a deliberate affront to the African-Americans, who see it as a sign of oppression and hate".

In 1991, Warrick received a certification as a licensed metaphysical teacher from a Unity school in Lee's Summit, Missouri.[9]

Death

[edit]

Warrick died of complications related to pneumonia on January 15, 2005, aged 88, at her home in Manhattan.[1]

Legacy

[edit]

The January 24, 2005 episode of All My Children was dedicated "In Loving Memory of Ruth Warrick". Phoebe died offscreen on May 4.[10] Phoebe's funeral was aired May 12, 2005. The episode featured many of Warrick's most notable performances as flashbacks, and included the return of many of the characters who had been heavily involved in her storylines over the years. Warrick was included in the memorial tribute at the 11th Screen Actors Guild Awards.[citation needed]

Film historian Scott Feinberg conducted the final interview with Warrick on August 14, 2004, at her apartment in New York City. After her death, her family put much of her estate in an auction.[11]

The auction included her extensive collection of art and photographs, as well as books signed by Bill and Hillary Clinton. Signed scripts from Peyton Place and All My Children, as well as her Broadway appearances were also in the catalog. The centerpiece of the catalog was the 25th anniversary reprint script of Citizen Kane, signed by Warrick, Cotten, and Welles, one of only 100 printed. Her family donated her 2004 Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award to a museum in her hometown of Saint Joseph, Missouri.

Film credits

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1940 Citizen Kane trailer Herself, Emily Monroe Norton Short[12]: 360 
1941 Citizen Kane Emily Monroe Norton Kane Film debut[6]
1941 The Corsican Brothers Isabelle Gravini [6]
1942 Obliging Young Lady Linda Norton [6]
1943 Journey into Fear Stephanie Graham [6]
1943 Forever and a Day Leslie Trimble [6]
1943 Petticoat Larceny Pat Mitchell
1943 The Iron Major Florence Ayres Cavanaugh [6]
1944 Secret Command Lea Damaron
1944 Guest in the House Ann Proctor [6]
1944 Mr. Winkle Goes to War Amy Winkle [6]
1944 Secret Command Lea Damaron [6]
1945 China Sky Dr. Sara Durand [6]
1946 Perilous Holiday Agnes Stuart [6]
1946 Song of the South Sally [6]
1947 Swell Guy Ann Duncan [6]
1947 Driftwood Susan Moore [6]
1947 Daisy Kenyon Lucile O'Mara [6]
1948 Arch of Triumph Kate Bergstroem Scenes removed[13]
1949 Make Believe Ballroom Liza Lee [6]
1949 The Great Dan Patch Ruth Treadwell [6]
1950 Beauty on Parade Marian Medford [6]
1950 Second Chance Emily Dean [6]
1950 Let's Dance Carola Everett [6]
1950 Three Husbands Jane Evans [6]
1951 One Too Many Helen Mason / Helen Leroy Lintz [6]
1954 Roogie's Bump Mrs. Rigsby [6]
1965 A Letter To Nancy Mrs. Helen Reed
1966 Ride Beyond Vengeance Aunt Gussie [6]
1968 How to Steal the World Alice Garrow
1969 The Great Bank Robbery Mrs. Applebee [6]
1983 The Returning Grace
1984 Death Mask Beatrice VandenBerg

Selected television appearances

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1961–1962 Father of the Bride Ellie Banks TV series main cast; 34 episodes
1964 Perry Mason Mrs. Winlock Season 8 Episode 13: "The Case of the Blonde Bonanza": [6]
1965 Gunsmoke Clara Benteen Season 11 Episode 2: "The Storm"
1965–1969 Peyton Place Hannah Cord 88 episodes
1968 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Alice Garrow Season 4 Episode 15: "The Seven Wonders of the World: Part I"
1970–2005 All My Children Phoebe Tyler Wallingford 511 episodes

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Carr, David (January 18, 2005). "Ruth Warrick, Veteran Film and TV Star, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c Brady, Frank (1989). Citizen Welles: A Biography of Orson Welles. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. ISBN 0-385-26759-2.
  3. ^ "Interview: Ruth Warrick". Archive of American Television. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  4. ^ "The Mercury Theatre". RadioGOLDINdex. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  5. ^ "1941 Orson Welles Show". Internet Archive. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa "Ruth Warrick". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
  7. ^ Butler, Desmond. "'All My Children' star Ruth Warrick dies". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Associated Press.
  8. ^ Brummer, Justin. "Vietnam War: Kent / Jackson State Songs". RYM. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  9. ^ "Film, Television and Stage Legend Ruth Warrick, Star of 'All My Children' and 'Citizen Kane,' Dies at 88". The Futon Critic/ABC. January 18, 2005. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  10. ^ "All My Children Recaps: The week of May 2, 2005 on AMC". soapcentral.com.
  11. ^ Profile, dawsonandnye.com; accessed March 29, 2015.
  12. ^ Welles, Orson; Bogdanovich, Peter; Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1992). This is Orson Welles. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-06-016616-9.
  13. ^ "Arch of Triumph". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 21, 2016.
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ruth Warrick.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Ruth_Warrick&oldid=1266627431"