Mercedes Ruehl

Mercedes Ruehl
Ruehl in 2009
Born	(1948-02-28) February 28, 1948 (age 76) New York City, U.S.
Education	College of New Rochelle (BA) Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1976–present
Spouse	David Geiser ​ ​ (m. 1999; died 2020)​
Children	2
Relatives	Peter Ruehl (brother)

Mercedes J. Ruehl (/ruːl/ ROOL;^[1] born February 28, 1948) is an American screen, stage, and television actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, two Obie Awards, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards.

Ruehl is known for her leading performance in the play Lost in Yonkers (1990) and supporting performance in the film The Fisher King (1991). Her other film credits include Big (1988), Married to the Mob (1988), Last Action Hero (1993), Roseanna's Grave (1997), Gia (1998), The Minus Man (1999) and Hustlers (2019).

Early life and education

Ruehl was born February 28, 1948, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City,^[2] to Mercedes J. Ruehl, a schoolteacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent.^[3][4] Her father was of German and Irish descent and her mother was of Cuban and Irish descent.^[5][6] The family frequently moved during her childhood owing to Vincent Ruehl's assignments with the FBI, and lived in other states including Silver Spring, Maryland. She and her brother, Peter, were raised Catholic.^[7]

She attended the College of New Rochelle^[8] and graduated in 1969 with a BA in English.^[4]

Career

Ruehl began her acting career in New York City appearing in various off-off Broadway productions while working a variety of temping and waitressing jobs. She established herself in regional theatre with the Denver Center Theatre Company. In 1980, she was nearly cast in the sixth season of Saturday Night Live, losing her slot to Denny Dillon.^[9] Her first starring role on Broadway came in 1984's I'm Not Rappaport. She then went on to win the 1984 Obie Award for her performance in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and twenty years later, an Obie for Woman Before a Glass. She also received a 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers and continued her role in the show during its tour with co-star Mercedes McCambridge. Her performances in two other plays earned her two other Tony nominations: in 1995, as Best Actress (Featured Role – Play) for a revival of The Shadow Box; and in 2002, as Best Actress (Play) for Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.^[10]

In 1996, she was mentioned in the Sheryl Crow song A Change Would Do You Good. In 1999, they co-starred together in the movie The Minus Man.

Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; her performance as a strong-willed and pragmatic video store owner earned her the 1991 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, American Comedy Award, Boston Society of Film Critics Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globe. Earlier she had won the 1989 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Married to the Mob. She played KACL station manager Kate Costas in five episodes of Frasier, and had a major role in the made-for-TV film All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story. In 2005, she (along with Esai Morales) received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. She later played the mother of main character Vincent Chase in HBO's Entourage.

In 2009, she returned to the stage in Manhattan Theater Club's production of Richard Greenberg's The American Plan playing the role of Eva Adler.^[11] The production opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and the limited engagement ran From January 22 until March 22.^[12] In his rave review in The New York Times, Ben Brantley called Ruehl's performance "masterly".^[13] Ruehl next appeared in the drama/horror film What Ever Happened to Barker Daniels?, which was released in 2009. In January 2011, Ruehl starred in Sarah Treem's play The How and The Why, directed by Emily Mann at McCarter Theatre of Princeton University.^[14]

Ruehl appeared in the role of Ma in Harvey Fierstein's revamped and renamed revival of his play Torch Song Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater. The play began previews on September 26, and opened officially on October 19, 2017.^[15] The production later transferred to Broadway.

Ruehl is on the faculty of HB Studio in New York City.^[16]

Personal life

In 1999, Ruehl married painter David Geiser with whom she had adopted a son, Jake (born 1995).^[17][18] She had another son, Christopher, whom she placed for adoption in 1976 when she was 28. They were reunited in the late 1990s when he turned 21, and later Christopher became Jake's godfather.^[18] Ruehl and Geiser put their Hampton house on the market in 2017; the same year Ruehl said that they were no longer together, but remained close.^[19][20] Geiser died unexpectedly of heart disease in his sleep at home on October 14, 2020, at the age of 73.^[17]

Her brother, Peter, moved to Australia in 1987 where he was a newspaper columnist until his death in 2011.^[21]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands	American girl in casino	Film debut Uncredited
1979	The Warriors	Policewoman
1981	Four Friends	Woman in Taxi
1986	Heartburn	Eve
	Twisted	Cybelle
1987	Radio Days	Ad Man
	84 Charing Cross Road	Kay
	The Secret of My Succe$s	Sheila
	Leader of the Band	Miss Cooper
1988	Big	Mrs. Baskin
	Married to the Mob	Connie Russo
1989	Slaves of New York	Samantha
	Crimes and Misdemeanors	Party Guest	Uncredited
1990	Crazy People	Dr. Liz Baylor
1991	Another You	Elaine/Mimi Kravitz
	The Fisher King	Anne
1993	Lost in Yonkers	Bella Kurnitz
	Last Action Hero	Irene Madigan
1994	On Hope	Wendy	Short film
1997	Roseanna's Grave	Roseanna 'Rosa'
1999	The Minus Man	Jane
	Out of the Cold	Tina
2000	What's Cooking?	Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Avila
	More Dogs Than Bones	Victoria 'Vic' Galletti
	The Amati Girls	Grace
2002	Spooky House	Boss
2004	Zeyda and the Hitman	Esther
2010	Goldstar, Ohio	Adriana Rock	Short film
2014	Chu and Blossom	Mrs. Fefterg
2016	Good Business	Lorraine	Short film
2019	Hustlers	Mother
2024	The Nana Project	Helen “Nana” Lewis

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	The Doctors	Ursula	Television debut Recurring role
1984	ABC Afterschool Special	Sandy	Episode: "Mom's on Strike"
1985	Our Family Honor	Louise Taylor	Episode: "Homecoming"
1986	Kate & Allie	Millie	Episode: "Late Bloomer" Credited as Mercedes Ruehle
1990	The Cosby Show	Bernadette Foley	Episode: "The Moves"
1995	Indictment: The McMartin Trial	Lael Rubin	Television movie
1995–96	Frasier	Kate Costas	Recurring role; 5 episodes
1997	North Shore Fish	Florence	Television movie
	SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground	Leyla	Television movie Segment: "Underground"
1998	Gia	Kathleen Carangi	Television movie
2000	All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story	Jane Newhall	Television movie
	The Lost Child	Rebecca	Television movie
2001	Mr. Life		Television movie
2002	Guilt by Association	Susan Walker	Television movie
	Widows	Dolly Rawlins	4 episodes
2004	Everyday Life		Television movie
	1-800-Missing	Emmanuelle Baker	Episode: "These Dreams Before Me"
	Bad Apple	Lorraine Gibbons	Television movie
2004 and 2009	Law & Order	Judge Clara Lloyd/Zina Rybakov	2 episodes
2005	Mom at Sixteen	Terry Jeffries	Television movie
2006	So Here's What Happened	Rochelle	Television movie
	A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story	Sylvia Guerrero	Television movie
2006–08	Entourage	Rita Chase	2 episodes
2007	Psych	Detective Goochberg	Episode: "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast"
2009	Loving Leah	Janice Lever	Television movie
2012	El Jefe	Delmi Rodriguez	Television movie
	Luck	Renzo's Mother	Episode: "Episode Nine"
2013	Doubt	Mrs. Syd Newman	Television movie
	Monday Mornings	Judge Beverly Natheson	Episode: "Wheels Within Wheels"
	Star Spangled Banners	Rosalind Banner	Television movie
2015	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lucia Barba	Episode: "December Solstice"
2016	Life in Pieces	Mia	Episode: "Hair Recital Rainbow Mom"
	The Mysteries of Laura	Val Santiani	Episode: "The Mystery of the End of Watch"
	2 Broke Girls	Olga	Episode: "And the Godmama Drama"
2017	NCIS	Marie Quinn	Episode: "A Bowl of Cherries"
2017–18	Power	Connie Teresi	Recurring role; 7 episodes
2018–20	Bull	Judge Tessa Hudson	3 episodes
2022	New Amsterdam	Grace	Episode: "TBD"
2024	Accused	Connie	Episode: "Margot's Story"

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Refs
1985	Coming of Age in Soho	Patricia	The Public Theatre	[22]
1985	The Marriage of Bette and Boo	Joan Brennan
1985–88	I'm Not Rappaport	Clara	Booth Theatre, Broadway
1988	American Notes'	Karen	The Public Theatre
1989	Other People's Money	Kate Sullivan	Minetta Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway
1991	Lost in Yonkers	Bella Kurnitz	Richard Rodgers Theatre
1992	Antony and Cleopatra	Cleopatra	Actors Theater, Louisville
1994–95	The Shadow Box	Beverly	Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway
1995	The Rose Tattoo	Serafina Delle Rose
2000	The Vagina Monologues	Monologist	Westside Theatre, Off-Broadway
2000–01	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Martha	Guthrie Theater. Minneapolis
2002	The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?	Stevie	John Golden Theatre, Broadway
2005	Woman Before a Glass	Peggy Guggenheim	Promenade Theater, Off-Broadway
2009	The American Plan	Eva Adler	Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway
2010	Edward Albee's Occupant	Louise Nevelson	Peter Norton Space
2012	The How and the Why	Zelda Kahn	McCarter Theatre, New Jersey
2015	Full Gallop	Diana Vreeland	Old Globe Theatre, California
2017–19	Torch Song	Ma Beckoff	Second Stage Theater, Off-Broadway Helen Hayes Theatre, Broadway

Awards and nominations

Year	Title	Accolade	Results
1989	Married to the Mob	National Society of Film Critics Award, Best Supporting Actress	Won
1991	The Fisher King	Boston Society of Film Critics Award, Best Supporting Actress	Won
	Lost in Yonkers	Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actress in a Play	Won
	The Fisher King	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, Best Supporting Actress	Won
	Lost in Yonkers	Tony Award, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play	Won
	The Fisher King	Venice Film Festival Award, Best Lead Actress	Won
1992		Academy Award, Best Supporting Actress	Won
		American Comedy Award, Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Won
		Chicago Film Critics Association Award, Best Supporting Actor	Won
		Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award, Best Supporting Actress	Won
		Golden Globe Award, Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Won
		Saturn Award, Best Supporting Actress	Won
1993		Boston Film Festival Award, Film Excellence award	Won
1995	Indictment: The McMartin Trial	CableACE Award, Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries	Nominated
	The Rose Tattoo	Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actress in a Play	Nominated
	The Shadow Box	Tony Award, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play	Nominated
2002	The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?	Tony Award, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play	Nominated
2006	Mom at Sixteen	Prism Award, Performance in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Nominated
2007	A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story	Imagen Foundation Award, Best Actress - Television	Nominated

References

1. "Say How: R". National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled. Retrieved April 21, 2020.
2. Trescott, Jacqueline (26 March 1992). "Mercedes Ruehl, Driven; The Manic Actress On the Road to Oscar". The Washington Post. HighBeam Research. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
3. "Mercedes Ruehl biography". Film Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
4. Stark, John; Hutchings, David (September 5, 1988). "Playing a Gangster's Spitfire Wife, Mercedes Ruehl Heists the Spotlight in Married to the Mob". People. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
5. Corliss, Richard (April 6, 2002). "That Old Feeling: The Oscar Race". Time. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
6. Buckley, Michael. "STAGE TO SCREENS: Mercedes Ruehl, the Macy-Mamet Connection and Remembering Brad Sullivan". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
7. Ruehl, Mercedes. Casting a new light on a dark subject - novelist Cynthia Ozick - Interview. Interview. August 1994. FindArticles.com. Archived 2006-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
8. "About CNR". College of New Rochelle. Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
9. [1] Andy Hoglund, Vulture, August 13, 2020 Archived August 12, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
10. "Biography: Mercedes Ruehl". American Theatre Wing. February 2005. Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
11. Jones, Kenneth (January 22, 2009). "Ruehl & Rabe Are Mother and Daughter in Broadway's American Plan, Opening Jan. 22". Playbill. Playbill.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
12. Jones, Kenneth (February 19, 2009). "Broadway's American Plan Is Extended to March 22". Playbill. Playbill.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2009. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
13. "Rapunzel in the Catskills". The New York Times. January 22, 2009. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
14. Filichia, Peter (January 18, 2011). "'The How and the Why' review: Princeton play premiere proves to be all-inclusive success". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey: nj.com. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
15. "Torch Song, Starring Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl, Extends". TheaterMania. September 14, 2017. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
16. "Mercedes Ruehl, HB Studio NYC, Acting Workshop Teacher". HB Studio. 2021-02-04. Retrieved 2021-07-26.
17. "David Geiser, Artist, Was 73". East Hampton Star. November 5, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
18. "Mercedes Ruehl". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
19. Hoffman, Barbara (November 2, 2017). "Meet the 'most unloved woman in New York'". New York Post. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
20. "Mercedes Ruehl And David Geiser Unload East Hampton Home". Southampton Press. March 28, 2017. Retrieved February 23, 2021 – via 27east.
21. "Newspaper columnist Peter Ruehl dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. April 12, 2011. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
22. "Mercedes Ruehl theatre profile".

External links

• Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Broadway Database
• Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Mercedes Ruehl at IMDb 
• Mercedes Ruehl at the TCM Movie Database
• Ruehl Rules, a May 2005 Playbill article
• Brief Encounter with Mercedes Ruehl, a May 2002 Playbill interview