ALL MY CHILDREN Actress Barbara Rush Dead at 97
Veteran actress Barbara Rush — best known to daytime audiences for her run as Nola Orsini on ALL MY CHILDREN in the 1990s and the aunt of GENERAL HOSPITAL star Carolyn Hennesy (Diane) — passed away on March 31 at the age of 97. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Fox News Channel senior correspondent Claudia Cowan.
“My wonderful mother passed away peacefully at 5:28 this evening,” Cowan told the outlet in a statement. “I was with her this morning and knew she was waiting for me to return home safely to transition. It’s fitting she chose to leave on Easter as it was one of her favorite holidays and now, of course, Easter will have a deeper significance for me and my family.”
On Twitter, Hennesy — whose mother, Ramona, was Rush’s sister — shared the Fox News story that included her cousin’s statement and wrote a simple, “RIP, Auntie B.”
Rush’s lengthy Hollywood career spanned theater, films, and television, and roles opposite leading men such as Frank Sinatra. Rock Hudson, Kirk Douglas, Dean Martin, and Paul Newman. She won the now-defunct Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female in 1954 for her starring turn in the sci-fi film It Came From Outer Space. Rush’s other credits included BEN CASEY, FANTASY ISLAND, THE LOVE BOAT, DR. KILDARE, THE FUGITIVE, and many others. One of the last television series she worked on was her recurring role as Grandma Ruth Camden in the family drama 7th HEAVEN, which ran from 1997-2007.
During the late 1960s, Rush played Marsha Russell on the ABC soap PEYTON PLACE. She made her way to AMC in 1992 during the storyline in which Michael E. Knight’s Tad had amnesia and showed up at Orsini Vineyards in California. Convinced that he was her long-lost son, Ted, Nola took Tad in and trained him in the family wine business.
Along with her daughter, Rush is survived by her son, Christopher Hunter. Our thoughts are with Hennesy and her cousins during this difficult time.
