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