Ruth Warrick

Ruth Warrick
Warrick as Phoebe Tyler, 1973.
Born	Ruth Elizabeth Warrick (1916-06-29)June 29, 1916 Saint Joseph, Missouri, U.S.
Died	January 15, 2005(2005-01-15) (aged 88) Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Resting place	The Church of the Transfiguration, also known as the Little Church Around the Corner, 1 East 29th Street, New York, New York
Occupation	Actress, singer, activist
Years active	1941–2005
Spouse(s)	Erik Rolf (1938-1945; divorced); 2 children Carl Neubert (1950-52; divorced) Robert McNamara (1953-60; divorced); 1 child Carl Neubert (1961-1963; divorced Frank Freda (1972-73; divorced) Jarvis Cushing (1975-1976; divorced)

Ruth Elizabeth Warrick (June 29, 1916 – January 15, 2005), DM, was an American singer, actress and political activist, best known for her role as Phoebe Tyler Wallingford on All My Children, which she played regularly from 1970 until her death in 2005. At the time of her death she was twenty-second on the all-time list of longest-serving soap opera actors in the United States.

She made her film debut in Citizen Kane, and years later celebrated her 80th birthday by attending a special screening of the film to a packed, standing-room-only audience. Over the years, she collected several books about Orson Welles and Citizen Kane, in which she wrote "Property of Ruth Warrick, Mrs. Citizen Kane".

Ruth Warrick was born June 29, 1916, in Saint Joseph, Missouri, to Fred R. and Annie L. Warrick. By writing an essay in high school called "Prevention and Cure of Tuberculosis", Warrick won a contest to be Miss Jubilesta, Missouri's paid ambassador to New York City. There she began her career as a radio singer, and met her first husband Eric Rolf.

Warrick's first big break was being hired by a young Orson Welles for Citizen Kane (1941), in which she played Emily Monroe Norton, niece of the President of the United States and Kane's first wife. Welles pulled her photograph from the hundreds he had been sent by agents; he recognized her from a radio show they had worked on together in 1938. He spoke with her in New York: "I'm not looking for an actress that can play a lady," he said, "I want an actress who is a lady." She was in California within days, making several screen tests including one with Welles, and was regarded as perfect for the role. Warrick was expecting her first child during the filming of Kane, which prevented her being cast in The Magnificent Ambersons; but she worked on a 1942 episode ("My Little Boy") of Welles's radio series, and Welles hired her again for Journey into Fear (1943).