Biography for
Irene Rich (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

13 October 1891, Buffalo, New York, USA

Date of Death

22 April 1988, Hope Ranch, California, USA (heart failure)

Birth Name

Irene Luther

Height

5' 6" (1.68 m)

Mini Biography

Born in 1891, silent-screen femme Irene Rich came from a once well-to-do family in Buffalo, New York. Her father faced a reversal of fortune while she was quite young and they subsequently moved to California. Following her education, Irene pursued a career as a realtor. She had already married twice by the time she decided to become an actress and, by the "ripe old age" of 27, had begun working as a movie extra. Success came quickly for Irene and her first part of real substance was in The Girl in His House (1918). She continued on as a poised, resourceful co-star and became a particular favorite of Will Rogers, who used her in Water, Water, Everywhere (1920/I), The Strange Boarder (1920), Jes' Call Me Jim (1920), Boys Will Be Boys (1921) and _The Ropin' Fool (1921)_. Her array of leading men went the gamut -- from Harry Carey in Desperate Trails (1921) to Lon Chaney in The Trap (1922) to John Barrymore in Beau Brummel (1924) to movie mutt Strongheart the Dog in Brawn of the North (1922). Irene's true screen persona, however, arrived in the form of tearjerkers, nobly portraying the ever-suffering, well-coiffed "doormat" in her own plush, domestic dramas. Somewhat reminiscent in both looks, style and demeanor to Irene Dunne, she became a favorite in women's pictures throughout the 1920s, one of her best known roles being in Lady Windermere's Fan (1925). With age Irene moved into more motherly types, and by the coming of sound she was frequently playing Will Rogers' pushy wife in a few of his social comedies, including So This Is London (1930) and Down to Earth (1932). At around the same time Irene enjoyed a spectacular new career on radio. In 1933 she began her nationwide anthology program entitled "Dear John" (also called "The Irene Rich Show") which lasted over a decade. Her leading man on that show for many of those years was Gale Gordon, who later played Lucille Ball's apoplectic nemesis on 1960s TV. Irene also enjoyed some success on stage in such productions as "Seven Keys to Baldpate" (1935), which starred George M. Cohan. Eventually she left it all, marrying a fourth time to businessman George Henry Clifford in 1950 and settling in comfortable retirement. She died at age 96 peacefully of heart failure and was survived by two daughters -- one of whom, Frances Rich, was an actress briefly on the 1930s stage and screen before becoming a noted sculptor.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net

Spouse

George Henry Clifford	(1950 - ?)
David Blankenthorn	(1926 - ?) (divorced)
Charles Rich	(? - ?) 2 children
Elvo Deffenbaugh	(? - ?) 1 child

Trivia

Children: Frances (c. 1910) and Jane (c. 1916)

Mother of actress Frances Rich.

She was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Radio at 6150 Hollywood Boulevard and for Motion Pictures at 6225 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.