CINEFILER

Irene Rich

Born
October 11, 1891
Died
April 22, 1988
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
Angel and the Badman
(1947)
Mrs. Worth
Joan of Arc
(1948)
Catherine le Royer, Joan's friend
Fort Apache
(1948)
Mrs. Mary O'Rourke
The Mortal Storm
(1940)
Mrs. Roth
New Orleans
(1947)
Mrs. Rutledge Smith
The Champ
(1931)
Linda Carleton
Calendar Girl
(1947)
Lulu Varden
Beau Brummel
(1924)
Frederica Charlotte, Duchess of York
Full Filmography
Acting
The Girl in His House
(1918)
Betty Burlingham
A Law Unto Herself
(1918)
Stephanie
A Man in the Open
(1919)
Kate
The Blue Bonnet
(1919)
Martha Drake
The Spite Bride
(1919)
Eileen Moore
The Lone Star Ranger
(1919)
Mrs. Laramie
The Silver Girl
(1919)
Julia Raymond
Jes' Call Me Jim
(1920)
Miss Butterworth
The Strange Boarder
(1920)
Jane Ingraham
Water, Water, Everywhere
(1920)
Hope Beecher
Stop Thief
(1920)
Madge Carr
Godless Men
(1920)
'Black Pawl's' Wife
The Street Called Straight
(1920)
Drusilla Fane
A Voice in the Dark
(1921)
Blanche Walton
A Tale of Two Worlds
(1921)
Mrs. Carmichael
The Poverty of Riches
(1921)
Mrs. Holt
Boys Will Be Boys
(1921)
Lucy
Desperate Trails
(1921)
Mrs. Walker
Brawn of the North
(1922)
Marion Wells
The Trap
(1922)
The Teacher
The Ropin' Fool
(1922)
The Girl
One Clear Call
(1922)
Maggie Thornton
A Fool There Was
(1922)
Mrs. Schuyler
Lucretia Lombard
(1923)
Lucretia Morgan
Boy of Mine
(1923)
Ruth Latimer
Rosita
(1923)
The Queen
Defying Destiny
(1923)
Beth Alden
Dangerous Trails
(1923)
Grace Alderson
Snowdrift
(1923)
Kitty (story)
Brass
(1923)
Mrs. Grotenberg - aka Mrs. G.
This Woman
(1924)
Carol Drayton
Cytherea
(1924)
Fanny Randon
Being Respectable
(1924)
Suzanne Schuyler
Captain January
(1924)
Isabelle Morton
Beau Brummel
(1924)
Frederica Charlotte, Duchess of York
Pal o' Mine
(1924)
Julia Montfort
Eve's Lover
(1925)
Eva Burnside
The Pleasure Buyers
(1925)
Joan Wiswell
The Man Without a Conscience
(1925)
Shirley Graves
Lady Windermere's Fan
(1925)
Mrs. Erlynne
My Wife and I
(1925)
Mrs. James Borden
Compromise
(1925)
Joan Trevore
The Honeymoon Express
(1926)
Mary Lambert
My Official Wife
(1926)
Hélène, Countess Orloff
Silken Shackles
(1926)
Denise Lake
Don't Tell the Wife
(1927)
Mrs. Cartier
The Climbers
(1927)
Duchess of Arrogan
The Desired Woman
(1927)
Diana Maxwell / Lady Diana Whitney
The Silver Slave
(1927)
Bernice Randall
Beware of Married Men
(1928)
Myra Martin
Powder My Back
(1928)
Fritzi Foy
Craig's Wife
(1928)
Harriet Craig
The Perfect Crime
(1928)
Stella
Ned McCobb's Daughter
(1928)
Carol
Women They Talk About
(1928)
Irene Mervin Hughes
Fashion News
(1928)
Self (1929)
They Had to See Paris
(1929)
Mrs. Idy Peters
Daughters of Desire
(1929)
Shanghai Rose
(1929)
Shanghai Rose
Check and Double Check
(1930)
Mrs. Blair
On Your Back
(1930)
Julianne
So This Is London
(1930)
Mrs. Hiram Draper
The Mad Parade
(1931)
Mrs. Schuyler
Strangers May Kiss
(1931)
Celia
Father's Son
(1931)
Ruth Emory
Wicked
(1931)
Mrs. Luther
Beau Ideal
(1931)
Lady Brandon
Five and Ten
(1931)
Jenny Rarick
The Champ
(1931)
Linda Carleton
Manhattan Tower
(1932)
Ann Burns
Her Mad Night
(1932)
Joan Manners
Down To Earth
(1932)
Idy Peters
That Certain Age
(1938)
Mrs. Dorothy Fullerton
Hollywood Handicap
(1938)
Woman at Racetrack
The Right Way
(1939)
Mrs. Martin
Everybody's Hobby
(1939)
Mrs. Myra Leslie
Keeping Company
(1940)
Mrs. Thomas
Queen of the Yukon
(1940)
Sadie Martin
The Lady in Question
(1940)
Michele Morestan
The Mortal Storm
(1940)
Mrs. Roth
Three Sons o' Guns
(1941)
Margaret Patterson
This Time for Keeps
(1942)
Mrs. Bryant
Calendar Girl
(1947)
Lulu Varden
New Orleans
(1947)
Mrs. Rutledge Smith
Angel and the Badman
(1947)
Mrs. Worth
Fort Apache
(1948)
Mrs. Mary O'Rourke
Joan of Arc
(1948)
Catherine le Royer, Joan's friend
Data provided by TMDB