Mercedes Ruehl

Mercedes J. Ruehl ( ; 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, and a Tony Award.

Ruehl won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as video store owner and romantic interest in Terry Gilliam's fantasy comedy drama The Fisher King (1991). She also acted in the films The Warriors (1979), Heartburn (1986), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), Big (1988), Married to the Mob (1988), Last Action Hero (1993), Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995), Roseanna's Grave (1997), Gia (1998), The Minus Man (1999) and Hustlers (2019). On television, she had a recurring role as a radio station manager in the NBC sitcom Frasier from 1995 to 1996.

On stage, she made her Broadway debut in the Herb Gardner play I'm Not Rappaport (1985). She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in the Neil Simon drama Lost in Yonkers (1991). She reprised the role in the 1993 film of the same name. She was further Tony-nominated for her performances in Michael Cristofer's The Shadow Box (1995) and Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2002). She has also acted in Broadway productions of The Rose Tattoo (1995), The American Plan (2009), and Torch Song (2017).

Early life and education Ruehl was born February 28, 1948, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, to Mercedes J. Ruehl, a schoolteacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent. Her father was of German and Irish descent and her mother was of Cuban and Irish descent. 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 Roman Catholic.

She attended the College of New Rochelle and graduated in 1969 with a BA in English. Her first starring role on Broadway came in 1984's I'm Not Rappaport. She then went on to win an Obie Award for her performance in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and twenty years later, an Obie for Woman Before a Glass. She won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as mentally challenged aunt Bella Kurnitz in 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: Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role as the trashy and devoted ex-wife Beverly in the revival of The Shadow Box; and Best Actress in a Play for her role as Stevie Gray in Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.

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

Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; for her performance as a strong-willed and pragmatic video store owner, she won the 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. The production opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and the limited engagement ran from January 22 until March 22. In his rave review in The New York Times, Ben Brantley called Ruehl's performance "masterly". 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.

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

Ruehl is on the faculty of HB Studio in New York City.

Personal life Ruehl had a son, Christopher, whom she placed for adoption in 1976 when she was 28. They were reunited in the late 1990s when he turned 21. In 1999, Ruehl married painter David Geiser with whom she adopted a son, Jake, (born 1995). 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. Geiser died unexpectedly of heart disease in his sleep at home on October 14, 2020, at the age of 73.

Filmography Film

Television

Theater

Source:

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