Ruth Warrick (June 29th - January 15, 2005)

Before I begin I want to just say that the purpose of this blog entry is to pay tribute to Ruth Warrick's acting career. I know she did quite a bit for several charities and humanitarian causes and also contributed grately to the Democratic Party but only the highlights of her acting career will be discussed below. Also, her year of birth is unclear. In 1999 she gave her year of birth as 1916 but after her passing some reports said 1915. In 1941, she joined cinema history when she played Emily Kane in Orson Welles' epic production Citizen Kane. Between then and 1984 she appeared in 25 more films. Between 1953 and 1954 she played Janet Johnson, R.N. on "The Guiding Light." From 1956 to 1960 she played Aunt Edie Hughes Frye on "As the World Turns." From 1959 to 1960 she worked on Broadway as an understudy. During the 1961-1962 television season she played a lead role in the television series "Father of the Bride" which lasted only one season. Her other television credits include "Pantomime Quiz", "Family Feud", "The Merv Griffin Show", "The Bigelow Theatre", "Fireside Theatre", "Studio One", "Robert Montgomery Presents", "Perry Mason", "Gunsmoke", "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." and "The Love Boat." She played Hannah Cord on the prime time soap opera "Peyton Place" which ran from 1964 until 1969. She reprised the role in the 1985 TV movie "Peyton Place: The Next Generation." In 1970, she originated the role of Phoebe English Tyler Wallingford Matthews Wallingford on the ABC daytime drama "All My Children." As Phoebe she became known to generation after generation of loyals fans. She stayed with the program throughout the 1970's, 1980's and 1990's. She crossed over the character of Phoebe onto the soap "Loving" occasionally during its run from 1983 until 1995. In the beginning Phoebe English was married to Dr. Charles Tyler (Hugh Franklin) but the marriage fell apart when he began an affair with his secretary Mona Kane (Frances Heflin). After Charles ended their marriage a long time rivalry between the two women began. Also her husband's affair caused Phoebe to turn to alcohol for comfort which lead to drunken driving arrests and other embarrassments. Phoebe was the classic example of the wealthy "snob." In addition to marrying a rich doctor, her family, the English family, were the founders of Pine Valley, the show's setting. Eventually Phoebe found love with con man Langley Wallingford (Louis Edmonds) and they married despite his shady past. In 1986 Phoebe and Langley were broken up by the much younger and very sinister Wade Matthews (Christopher Holder) who convinced an intoxicated Phoebe to marry him. His plan was to murder her and obtain her large fortune but it was thwarted and Langley and Phoebe reunited. A delight for fans was when Phoebe battled her troublesome stepdaughter Verla Grubbs (Carol Burnett). She also became known for intruding in the life of her niece, Brooke English (Julia Barr). In 2001 Warrick fell and severely broke her hip which required her to remain in a wheelchair. Her injury was written into the show's storyline and Phoebe was now featured in a wheelchair. Warrick's final major storyline was in 2002. She made a few appearances between then and her death in 2005. In 2004, Warrick along with other soap legends, was presented with the Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement Award. She was present for "All My Children's" 35th anniversary episode which aired on January 5, 2005. Even though her screen time was brief and she had no lines her cameo was very well embraced by everyone. The beloved actress died ten days later. "All My Children" killed off Phoebe Wallingford in May 2005, with her funeral episode airing on May 12, 2005. It was stated that she passed away due to natural causes and that her final words were "Langley is waiting for me." Emily Kane and Phoebe Wallingford...two memorable ladies...brought to life by one giant screen legend.

In Memoriam Remembers: Ruth Warrick