IRENE RICH
INFORMATION FROM IMDb
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)
Spouse
George Henry Clifford (1950 - ?)
David Blankenthorn (1926 - ?) (divorced)
Elvo Deffenbaugh (? - ?)
Charles Rich (? - ?) 2 children
Trivia
Children: Frances (c. 1910) and Jane (c. 1916)
Mother of actress Frances Rich.
Mini Biography
Silent screen femme Irene Rich came from a once well-to-do Buffalo, New York family. Born in 1891, her father faced a reversal of fortune while she was quite young and they subsequently moved to California. Following her education, Irene pursued a steady 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 came with the picture 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), The Strange Boarder (1920), Jes' Call Me Jim (1920), Boys Will Be Boys (1921), and the Ropin' Fool (1921). Her vast 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 star mongrel Strongheart 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, Ms. Rich became an avid favorite in women's pictures throughout the 1920s, one of her best known roles being Lady Windemere's Fan (1925). With age, Irene moved into more mothering types and by the coming of sound, 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 actor Gale Gordon, who later played Lucille Ball's portly nemesis on 60s 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 30s stage and screen before becoming a noted sculptor.
Gary Brumburgh
Filmography
Actress
1. "The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre"
... aka Chevrolet Television Theatre (USA)
... aka Chevrolet on Broadway (USA: first title)
... aka The Broadway Playhouse
- Leave It to Mother (1949) TV Episode
2. Joan of Arc (1948) .... Catherine de Royer (Joan's friend)
3. Fort Apache (1948) .... Mrs. Mary O'Rourke
... aka War Party
4. New Orleans (1947) .... Mrs. Rutledge Smith
5. Angel and the Badman (1947) .... Mrs. Worth
... aka The Angel and the Outlaw
6. Calendar Girl (1947) .... Lulu Varden
... aka Star Dust and Sweet Music (USA: reissue title)
7. This Time for Keeps (1942) .... Mrs. Bryant
... aka Over the Waves (USA: TV title)
8. Three Sons o' Guns (1941) .... Mrs. Margaret Patterson
9. Keeping Company (1940) .... Mrs. Susan Thomas
10. Queen of the Yukon (1940) .... Sadie Martin
11. The Lady in Question (1940) .... Michele Morestan
12. The Mortal Storm (1940) .... Amelie Roth
13. Everybody's Hobby (1939) .... Mrs. Myra Leslie
14. The Right Way (1939) .... The Mother
15. That Certain Age (1938) .... Dorothy Fullerton
16. Spitfire (1934) (uncredited) .... Woman
17. Manhattan Tower (1932) .... Ann Burns
18. Her Mad Night (1932) .... Joan Manners
... aka Held for Murder (USA: TV title)
19. Down to Earth (1932) .... Idy Peters
20. The Champ (1931/I) .... Linda Carlton
21. Wicked (1931) .... Mrs. Luther
22. The Mad Parade (1931) .... Mrs. Schuyler
... aka Forgotten Women (reissue title)
23. Five and Ten (1931) .... Jenny Rarick
... aka Daughter of Luxury (UK)
24. Strangers May Kiss (1931) .... Celia Corbin
25. Father's Son (1931) .... Ruth Emory
26. Beau Ideal (1931) .... Lady Brandon
27. Check and Double Check (1930) .... Mrs. Blair
28. On Your Back (1930) .... Julianne
29. So This Is London (1930) .... Mrs. Hiram Draper
30. They Had to See Paris (1929) .... Mrs. Idy Peters
31. The Exalted Flapper (1929) .... Queen Charlotte of Capra
32. Daughters of Desire (1929)
33. Shanghai Rose (1929) .... Shanghai Rose
34. Ned McCobb's Daughter (1928) .... Carol
35. Craig's Wife (1928) .... Mrs. Craig
36. Women They Talk About (1928) .... Irene Mervin Hughes
37. Perfect Crime (1928) .... Stella
38. Powder My Back (1928) .... Fritzi Foy
39. Across the Atlantic (1928)
40. Beware of Married Men (1928) .... Myra Martin
41. The Silver Slave (1927) .... Bernice Randall
42. The Desired Woman (1927) .... Diana Maxwell
43. Dearie (1927) .... Sylvia Darling/Dearie
44. The Climbers (1927) .... Duchess of Arrogan
45. Don't Tell the Wife (1927) .... Mrs. Cartier
46. My Official Wife (1926) .... Hélène, Countess Orloff
47. The Honeymoon Express (1926) .... Mary Lambert
48. Silken Shackles (1926) .... Denise Lake
49. Pleasure Buyers (1925) .... Joan Wiswell
50. Lady Windermere's Fan (1925) .... Mrs. Erlynne
51. Compromise (1925) .... Joan Trevore
52. The Wife Who Wasn't Wanted (1925) .... Mrs. John Mannering
53. Eve's Lover (1925) .... Eva Burnside
54. The Man Without a Conscience (1925) .... Shirley Graves
55. My Wife and I (1925) .... Mrs. James Borden
56. A Lost Lady (1924) .... Marian Forrester
57. This Woman (1924) .... Carol Drayton
58. Behold This Woman (1924) .... Louise Maurel
59. A Woman Who Sinned (1924) .... Mrs. Ransdell
60. Captain January (1924) .... Isabelle Morton
61. Being Respectable (1924) .... Suzanne Schuyler
62. Cytherea (1924) .... Fanny Randon
... aka The Forbidden Way (USA)
63. Beau Brummel (1924) .... Frederica Charlotte, Duchess of York
64. Pal o' Mine (1924) .... Julia Montfort
65. What the Butler Saw (1924) .... Mrs. Barrington
66. Boy of Mine (1923) .... Ruth Latimer
67. Lucretia Lombard (1923) .... Lucretia Morgan
... aka Flaming Passion
68. Defying Destiny (1923) .... Beth Alden
69. Rosita (1923) .... The Queen
70. Yesterday's Wife (1923) .... Megan Daye
71. Michael O'Halloran (1923) .... Nellie Minturn
72. Snowdrift (1923) .... Kitty (story)
73. Brass (1923) .... Mrs. Grotenberg
74. Dangerous Trails (1923) .... Grace Alderson
75. The Marriage Chance (1922) .... Mary Douglas
76. While Justice Waits (1922) .... Nell Hunt
77. Brawn of the North (1922) .... Marion Wells
78. The Ropin' Fool (1922) .... The Girl
79. The Yosemite Trail (1922) .... Eve Marsham
80. A Fool There Was (1922) .... Mrs. Schuyler
81. One Clear Call (1922) .... Maggie Thornton
82. The Trap (1922) .... The Teacher
... aka Heart of a Wolf (UK)
83. Strength of the Pines (1922) .... Linda
84. The Call of Home (1922) .... Alix Lansing
85. The Poverty of Riches (1921) .... Mrs. Holt
86. The Invisible Power (1921) .... Laura Chadwick
87. Desperate Trails (1921) .... Mrs. Walker
88. A Voice in the Dark (1921) .... Blanche Walton
89. A Tale of Two Worlds (1921) .... Mrs. Carmichael
90. Boys Will Be Boys (1921) .... Lucy
91. One Man in a Million (1921) .... Madame Maureveau
92. Sunset Jones (1921) .... Marion Rand
93. Godless Men (1920) .... Undetermined Role
94. Just Out of College (1920) .... Miss Jones
95. Stop Thief (1920) .... Madge Carr
96. Jes' Call Me Jim (1920) .... Miss Butterworth
97. The Strange Boarder (1920) .... Jane Ingraham
98. The Street Called Straight (1920) .... Drusilla Fane
99. Water, Water Everywhere (1920) .... Hope Beecher
100. The Spite Bride (1919) .... Eileen Moore
101. Her Purchase Price (1919) .... Marda
102. Wolves of the Night (1919) .... Juanita
103. The Blue Bonnet (1919) .... Martha Drake
104. The Sneak (1919) .... Enid Granley
105. The Lone Star Ranger (1919) .... Mrs. Laramie
106. Castles in the Air (1919) .... Mrs. Owen Pauncefort
107. The Silver Girl (1919) .... Julia Raymond
108. A Man in the Open (1919) .... Kate
109. Todd of the Times (1919) .... Janet Milton
110. A Law Unto Herself (1918) .... Stephanie
111. The Girl In His House (1918) .... Betty Burlingham
112. A Desert Wooing (1918) (uncredited) .... Bit Role
[b]Herself /b]
1. Hollywood Handicap (1938) (uncredited) .... Herself
