Deborah Rush

Deborah Rush
Born	(1954-04-10) April 10, 1954 Chatham Borough, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1978–present
Spouse(s)	Chip Cronkite (1985–present; 2 children)

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.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Honky Tonk Freeway	Sister Mary Magdalene
1982	Split Image	Judith
1983	Zelig	Lita Fox
1983	A Night in Heaven	Patsy
1985	The 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	The Good Girl	Gwen Jackson
2003	American Wedding	Mary Flaherty
2005	Strangers with Candy	Sara Blank
2006	Half Nelson	Jo Dunne
2007	The Good Life	Diane
2008	Fling	Katherine
2009	Julie & Julia	Avis DeVoto
2009	The Box	Clymene Steward
2012	Rhymes with Banana	Jane

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Kiss Me, Petruchio	Bianca	TV film
1982	Alice at the Palace	Alice's Mother	TV film
1982	A 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	The 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	The 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	The Jury	Ms. Davenport	Episode: "The Honeymoon Suite"
2004	Tempting Adam	Ruth Heller	TV film
2010	The Electric Company	Caroline Heffenbacher	Episode: "Revolutionary Doughnuts"
2010	Big Lake	Linda Franklin	(10 episodes)
2012	The 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"

Theater

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	The Sisters Rosensweig	Gorgeous Teitelbaum	Replacement
2005	Absurd Person Singular	Marion
2009	Blithe Spirit	Mrs. Bradman

External links

• Deborah Rush at the Internet Movie Database
• Deborah Rush at the Internet Broadway Database
• Deborah Rush at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Deborah Rush at Broadway.com