March 31, 2024
Old Hollywood star Barbara Rush, renowned for her regal beauty and for her work on the TV series Peyton Place and in the sci-fi classic It Came from Outer Space, died on Easter at 97.
Fox News reporter Claudia Cowan, her daughter by the late PR exec Warren Cowan, confirmed her passing.
Rush was born in Denver on January 4, 1927, in Denver. Incredibly, she started her career on the stage way back in 1937.
Discovered and signed to a studio contract, Rush made her film debut in the comedy The Goldbergs (1950), which was based on the popular radio and TV series.
Rush won a Golden Globe as Most Promising Female Newcomer for her work in It Came from Outer Space (1953). The early 3D film is now considered a sci-fi classic.
Rush was the second-to-last surviving member of that cast — actress Kathleen Hughes is still living at 95.
Other films in which Rush appeared include Magnificent Obsession (1954), directed by Douglas Sirk and starring Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson; Bigger Than Life (1956), directed by Nicholas Ray and starring James Mason; The Young Lions (1958), starring Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift; and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964), starring Brat Packers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., as well as Bing Crosby.
Rush was villainous Nora Clavicle on TV's Batman (1968) and played Marsha Russell on nighttime soap Peyton Place (1968-1969).
She popped up in the campy Can't Stop the Music (1980) and was a series regular on Flamingo Road (1980-1982) and All My Children (1992-1994), made many TV guest appearances and worked extensively on the stage.
She retired in 2007 after playing Ruth Camden on 7th Heaven (1997-2007), returning for the short Bleeding Hearts: The Arteries of Glenda Bryant (2017) alongside her niece, the actress Carolyn Hennesy.
Rush was married and divorced three times. She is survived by her two children, Christopher Hunter and Claudia Cowan, as well as other family members.
