Age: 70
Birthplace: Chatham Borough, New Jersey, U.S.
Deborah Rush (born April 10, 1954) is an American actress.
Rush has worked in television, film and on Broadway. In 1984, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for Michael Frayn's comedy Noises Off. She also acted in Stephen Adly Guirgis' The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. In 2003 she acted in the comedy film American Wedding, as Mary Flaherty, Michelle Flaherty's mom.
In December 2008, she joined the cast of the Broadway revival of Blithe Spirit.
Rush has acted in a number of movies and television series, including the Woody Allen films Zelig and The Purple Rose of Cairo. She was a regular cast member of the television series Strangers with Candy. She had a recurring role on Spin City as Helen Winston, eventual ex-wife of mayor Randall Winston, and on Orange Is the New Black, as Piper's mother.
She is the daughter-in-law of television journalist Walter Cronkite and is the mother of two sons, Walter Cronkite IV and the late Peter Cronkite.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Honky Tonk Freeway | Sister Mary Magdalene | |
1982 | Split Image | Judith | |
1983 | Zelig | Lita Fox | |
1983 | Night in Heaven, AA Night in Heaven | Patsy | |
1985 | Purple Rose of Cairo, TheThe Purple Rose of Cairo | Rita | |
1985 | Compromising Positions | Brenda Dunck | |
1986 | Heat | D.D. | |
1988 | Big Business | Binky Shelton | |
1989 | Parents | Mrs. Zellner | |
1989 | Family Business | Michele Dempsey | |
1990 | My Blue Heaven | Linda | |
1992 | Passed Away | Denise Scanlan | |
1995 | Reckless | Trish | |
1997 | In & Out | Ava Blazer | |
1998 | You've Got Mail | Veronica Grant | |
1999 | Three to Tango | Lenore | |
2002 | Good Girl, TheThe Good Girl | Gwen Jackson | |
2003 | American Wedding | Mary Flaherty | |
2005 | Strangers with Candy | Sara Blank | |
2006 | Half Nelson | Jo Dunne | |
2007 | Good Life, TheThe Good Life | Diane | |
2008 | Fling | Katherine | |
2009 | Julie & Julia | Avis DeVoto | |
2009 | Box, TheThe Box | Clymene Steward | |
2012 | Rhymes with Banana | Jane |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Kiss Me, Petruchio | Bianca | TV film |
1982 | Alice at the Palace | Alice's Mother | TV film |
1982 | Midsummer Night's Dream, AA Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | TV film |
1985 | Spenser: For Hire | Angela | Episode: "No Room at the Inn" |
1987 | Crime Story | Penelope Worth | Episode: "The Pinnacle" |
1987 | Leg Work | Judy | Episode: "Things That Go Bump in the Night" |
1987 | Invisible Thread | Dr. Norris | TV film |
1988 | Dictator, TheThe Dictator | Isabel Domino | Episode: "1.1" |
1990 | Against the Law | Louise Ciardi | Episode: "Pilot" |
1992 | Unnatural Pursuits | Stephanie Didcot | Episode: "I Don't Do Cuddles" |
1994 | Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III | Isabel Hazard | TV miniseries |
1995 | Client, TheThe Client | Phoebe Halliwell | Episode: "Pilot" |
1996-1997 | Spin City | Helen Winston | Recurring role (4 episodes) |
1997 | Law & Order | Frances Houston | Episode: "Blood" |
1999 | Earthly Possessions | Heidi Anderson | TV film |
1999-2000 | Strangers with Candy | Sara Blank | Main role (30 episodes) |
2000 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Christina Harlin | Episode: "Russian Love Poem" |
2000 | Madigan Men | Mrs. Wolfe | Episode: "Meet the Wolves" |
2004 | Jury, TheThe Jury | Ms. Davenport | Episode: "The Honeymoon Suite" |
2004 | Tempting Adam | Ruth Heller | TV film |
2010 | Electric Company, TheThe Electric Company | Caroline Heffenbacher | Episode: "Revolutionary Doughnuts" |
2010 | Big Lake | Linda Franklin | (10 episodes) |
2012 | Good Wife, TheThe Good Wife | Judge Sally Rigby | Episode: "Gloves Come Off" |
2013 | Girls | Thomas-John's Mother | Episode: "It's a Shame About Ray" |
2013 | Orange Is the New Black | Carol Chapman | Episodes: "I Wasn't Ready", "Lesbian Request Denied", "WAC Pack" |
2014 | Inside Amy Schumer | Amy's mother | Episode: "Slow Your Roll" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1975-1976 | Dance with Me | Goldie Pot | |
1983-1985 | Noises Off | Brooke Ashton | |
1985-1986 | Hay Fever | Jackie Coryton | |
1993-1994 | Sisters Rosensweig, TheThe Sisters Rosensweig | Gorgeous Teitelbaum | Replacement |
2005 | Absurd Person Singular | Marion | |
2009 | Blithe Spirit | Mrs. Bradman |