Biography for
Ruth Warrick More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

29 June 1915, St. Joseph, Missouri, USA

Date of Death

15 January 2005, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (complications from pneumonia)

Nickname

Mrs. Citizen Kane

Height

5' 6" (1.68 m)

Mini Biography

Reedy and regal actress Ruth Warrick will be remembered for two names and two names alone. In films, she will indelibly be referred to as the castoff first "Mrs. Citizen Kane," and on TV she will forever be synonymous with her character of Phoebe Tyler Wallingford, the obnoxiously wealthy, viper-tongued, manipulative and meddlesome Pine Valley grande dame who held court for 35 years until her death in 2005.

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri in 1915, Ruth moved to Kansas City while in high school and later studied at the University of Kansas City. An essay contest winner, a resulting promotional tour brought her to New York where her interest in acting was increasingly piqued. Stage-trained in New York, she appeared in such plays as "Bury the Dead" (1933) and was a radio singer at one point. She met her first husband during one her many broadcasts. This in turn led her to Orson Welles and his Mercury Theater, and the rest is history. In 1941 Welles escorted her and his company of members to Hollywood...and major stardom.

Exclusively chosen by Welles to make her ladylike debut as Emily Norton Kane in what most consider the greatest American film of all time, she followed Citizen Kane (1941) with nearly two dozen films, most of which were "B" melodramas and rugged adventures. She could play the altruistic wife with stoic ease but enjoyed more enthusiastic notices when controlling, tightly-wound or neurotic. Appearing with some of Hollywood's most illustrious male and female stars, she played a countess opposite Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in The Corsican Brothers (1941); co-starred with Mercury Theater compatriots Joseph Cotten, Agnes Moorehead and Everett Sloane in the classic film noir Journey Into Fear (1943); and starred in several war-themed movies including Secret Command (1944) with Chester Morris, Mr. Winkle Goes to War (1944) with Edward G. Robinson, and China Sky (1945), with 'Randolph Scott' (I). Post-war credits tended to regress her to second lead status opposite the likes of Joan Crawford and Ingrid Bergman, yet she still managed a few top femme roles in such films as Driftwood (1947) and One Too Many (1950), the latter in which she played an alcoholic.

The focus of Ruth's career switched to the "Golden Age" of TV in the 1950s. Aside from her many live dramatic showcases, she made a lasting mark in daytime soap opera. Her tight-lipped matrons on "Guiding Light" (1952) and "As the World Turns" (1956) were only a warm-up for her once-in-a-lifetime portrayal of one of daytime's most dominant, colorful and enduring characters. Cast on "All My Children" (1970) from the show's inception, Phoebe Tyler became a clear and instant favorite -- the lady you relished hating. Her priggish socialite character carried strong story lines for nearly two decades until advancing age and failing health restricted her time. Her well-received (and aptly titled) autobiography "The Confessions of Phoebe Tyler" (1980) chronicled the lives of both her and her alter-ego. Prime time also made use of Ruth's sudsy-styled talent as her Emmy nomination for the role of Hannah Cord in "Peyton Place" (1964) will attest.

Making her Broadway debut with "Miss Lonelyhearts" in 1957, Ruth's talents also included singing and, in between on-screen assignments, enjoyed the musical stage now and then. She understudied in "Take Me Along" (1959) with Jackie Gleason and in 1973 enjoyed a successful return to Broadway with the revival of "Irene" starring Debbie Reynolds. In regional and summer theater she starred in "Dial M for Murder," "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and "Long Day's Journey Into Night," among others. She also toured as Anna in "The King and I" and appeared in the musicals "Pal Joey" and "Roberta."

Her life, however, was not dedicated to just on-camera pursuits. On the contrary, long active in arts-in-education programs, including programs for the disadvantaged, Ruth received the first national Arts in Education Award in 1983 from the Board of Directors of Business and Industry for Arts in Education, Inc. The award was subsequently named the Ruth Warrick Award for Arts in Education and continued to be given annually. In 1991, she received her certification as a licensed metaphysical teacher. In her senior years, she became an avid spokesperson 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.

In frail health in later years, the still feisty, five times married-and-divorced actress made occasional appearances on her beloved daytime show, even while confined to a wheelchair after a serious fall in 2001. She made her final appearance on the show in early January, 2005 to commemorate its 35th anniversary, and passed away shortly after at age 89 of complications from pneumonia.

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

Spouse

Jarvis Cushing	(2 March 1975 - ?) (divorced)
Frank Freda	(1972 - 1973) (divorced)
Carl Neubert	(15 September 1961 - ?) (divorced)
Robert McNamara	(July 1953 - 1960) (divorced) 1 child
Carl Neubert	(23 April 1950 - 20 June 1952) (divorced)
Erik Rolf	(15 April 1938 - 19 July 1945) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

Cousin of actress Mimi Kennedy.

Has auburn hair and blue eyes.

Children with Rolf: Karen Elizabeth (b. 13 March 1941) and Jon (c. September 1942) Child with McNamara: son Timothy

Fell and broke her hip in early 2001 while vacationing in Italy. The fall was incorporated into the "All My Children" (1970) script, and she continued to play her Phoebe Tyler Wallingford character on a limited basis from a wheelchair.

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 life-long 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.".

Appeared very briefly on "All My Children" (1970) in early January of 2005, shortly before her death, to commemorate the soap opera's 35th anniversary.

In 1937, she won a contest to serve as Kansas City's paid ambassador and ended up in New York presenting a live turkey to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia at City Hall. She decided to stay in the big city and found work on radio and with the Mercury Theatre troupe headed by Orson Welles.

Appeared in the Broadway musicals "Take Me Along" with Jackie Gleason in 1959, and "Irene" with Debbie Reynolds in 1973.

Known for her tireless work to promote education, she was active in the League School in Walpole, Massachusetts for autistic children. She also taught in Operation Bootstrap, a Los Angeles program that provided teachers to poor neighborhoods, and was a active participant in Jimmy Carter's Cities in Schools program.

Graduated from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Her favorite musical was The King and I (1956), from which came her favorite song, "Getting to Know You."

She was an enormous fan of The Beatles.

She was a licensed teacher of the Unity School of Christianity.

In the 1980s, she admitted to have had a "torrid romance" with Anthony Quinn while making the film China Sky (1945).

In 1991, Warrick was honored with a caricature on the wall of the famous New York restaurant Sardi's in honor of the 50th anniversary of her performance in Citizen Kane (1941).

Became close friends with her "All My Children" (1970) co-star Louis Edmonds who played husband Langley Wallingford, to the point where he confided to her the real-life secret that he was gay.

Warrick broke her hip while on vacation in Greece in 2001 and was thereafter confined to a wheelchair.

Had three children from two of her five marriages.

The January 24, 2005, episode of "All My Children" (1970) was dedicated "In Loving Memory of Ruth Warrick." With Phoebe's passing, the show finally addressed her husband's Langley's death as Phoebe's last words were reportedly, "Langley is waiting for me." 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 story lines over the years.

Personal Quotes

"We have become the phenomenon of our time, the best game in town. In one week, we play to an audience larger than Clark Gable played to in his whole career. You say 'Phoebe,' and 50 million people know what you mean. Once you grab hold of one of those jobs, you don't want to let go." - in 1985 referring to her role on the soap opera "All My Children" (1970).

"It is as if the imaginary girl who was Kane's wife had grown into the woman who influences so many lives in the imaginary world of Pine Valley. Since Emily's character owes much to the compelling hand of Orson Welles, so indirectly, must Phoebe's." - referring to her two most famous character roles as Emily Kane in Citizen Kane (1941) and Phoebe Tyler in "All My Children" (1970).

I like to shock and surprise people. When it's all in good fun, of course.