Ruehl, Mercedes 1948(?)–

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RUEHL, Mercedes 1948(?)–

(Mercedes Reuhle)

PERSONAL

Born February 28, 1948 (some sources cite 1950), in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, NY; father, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; mother's name, Mercedes (a schoolteacher); companion of David Geiser (an artist); children: Christopher, Jake Xavier. Education: College of New Rochelle, B.A., 1969; studied acting with Uta Hagen and Tad Danielewski.

Addresses: Agent—Steve Dontanville, William Morris Agency, 151 El Camino Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Career: Actress. Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver, CO, member of the company, c. 1980–82. Also worked as a sports mascot and a waitress.

Awards, Honors: Obie Award (with others), Village Voice, best ensemble performance, 1985, for The Marriage of Bette and Boo; National Society of Film Critics Award, best supporting actress, 1989, for Married to the Mob; Clarence Derwent Award, Actors' Equity Association, 1989, for Other People's Money; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award and Boston Society of Film Critics Award, both best actress, 1991, Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Saturn Award, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films, and Chicago Film Critics Association Award, all best supporting actress, 1992, and American Comedy Award, funniest supporting actress in a motion picture, 1992, all for The Fisher King; Antoinette Perry Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award, all best actress, 1991, and Helen Hayes Award, best actress in a nonresident production, 1992, all for Lost in Yonkers; Film Excellence Award, Boston Film Festival, 1993; Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best featured actress in a play, 1995, for The Shadow Box; Annual CableACE Award nomination, National Cable Television Association, c. 1995, for Indictment: The McMartin Trial; Antoinette Perry Award nomination, Obie Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award, all best actress, 2002, for The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?

CREDITS

Film Appearances:

American girl in casino, Dona Flor e seus dois maridos (also known as Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands), 1976.

Police officer in Central Park, The Warriors, Paramount, 1979.

Woman in taxi, Four Friends (also known as Georgia's Friends), Filmways, 1981.

Cybelle, Twisted, Hemdale, 1986.

Eve, Heartburn, Paramount, 1986.

Advertising agency executive, Radio Days, Orion, 1987.

Kay, 84 Charing Cross Road, Columbia, 1987.

Miss Cooper, Leader of the Band, 1987.

Sheila, The Secret of My Success (also known as The Secret of My Succe$s), Universal, 1987.

Connie Russo, Married to the Mob, Orion, 1988.

Mrs. Baskin, Big, Twentieth Century–Fox, 1988.

(Uncredited) Party guest, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Orion, 1989.

Samantha, Slaves of New York, TriStar, 1989.

Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Baylor, Crazy People, Paramount, 1990.

Anne Napolitano, The Fisher King, TriStar, 1991.

Elaine, Another You, TriStar, 1991.

Bella Kurnitz, Lost in Yonkers (also known as Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers), Columbia, 1993.

Ilene Madigan, Last Action Hero, Columbia, 1993.

Roseanna "Rosa" Beatto, Roseanna's Grave (also known as For Roseanna and For the Love of Roseanna), Fine Line, 1997.

Jane Durwin, The Minus Man, Artisan Entertainment, 1999.

Tina, Out of the Cold, Dream Rock/First Look Media/Moonstone Entertainment, 1999.

Victoria "Vic" Galetti, More Dogs than Bones, Dream Entertainment, 1999.

Elizabeth Avila, What's Cooking?, Trimark Pictures, 2000.

Grace, The Amati Girls, Providence Entertainment, 2000.

Boss, Spooky House, 2000, Highway, 2002.

Esther, Zeyda and the Hitman, Miracle Pictures, 2004.

Television Appearances; Series:

Station manager Kate Costas, a recurring role, Frasier, NBC, 1995–1996.

Television Appearances; Miniseries:

Dolly Rawlins, Widows, ABC, 2002.

Television Appearances; Movies:

Deputy district attorney Lael Rubin, Indictment: The McMartin Trial (also known as The Naked Movie Star Games and Nothing but the Truth: The McMartin Story), HBO, 1995.

Florence, North Shore Fish, Showtime, 1996.

Kathleen Carangi, Gia, HBO, 1998.

Dr. Jane Newhall, The Mary Kay Letourneau Story: All–American Girl, USA Network, 2000.

Susan Walker, Guilt by Association (also known as Coupable par amour), Court TV, 2002.

Lorraine Gibbons, Bad Apple, TNT, 2004.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Sandy Steuben, "Mom's on Strike," ABC Afterschool Specials, ABC, 1984.

Rebecca Miller, "The Lost Child," Hallmark Hall of Fame, CBS, 2000.

Television Appearances; Awards Presentations:

The 45th Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 1991.

Herself, The 64th Annual Academy Awards, ABC, 1992.

Presenter, The 65th Annual Academy Awards Presentation, ABC, 1993.

Herself, The 47th Annual Tony Awards, CBS, 1993.

Herself, The 49th Annual Tony Awards, 1995.

Television Appearances; Episodic:

Louise Taylor, "Homecoming," Our Family Honor, ABC, 1985.

(As Mercedes Reuhle) "Late Bloomer," Kate & Allie, CBS, 1986.

Bernadette Foley, "The Moves," The Cosby Show, NBC, 1990.

Wendy, "On Hope," Directed By, Showtime, 1994.

Leyla, "Underground," Subway Stories: Tales from the Underground, HBO, 1997.

Herself, Intimate Portrait: Brooke Shields, Lifetime, 2001.

Guest, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, syndicated, 2002.

Guest, Theatre Talk, PBS, 2002.

Emanuelle Baker, "These Dreams before Me," Missing (also known as 1–800–Missing), Lifetime, 2004.

Also appeared in episodes of Late Show with David Letterman, CBS.

Television Appearances; Pilots:

Kate Guttman, Everyday Life, NBC, 2004.

Stage Appearances:

Vanities, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Cincinnati, OH, and Indiana Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis, IN, both 1977–1978.

Girl, Billy Irish, Actors Collective, Ray Gordon Theatre, 1980.

Beatrice, Much Ado about Nothing, Denver Center Theatre Company, Denver, CO, 1980–1982.

Dorine, Tartuffe, Denver Center Theatre Company, 1980–1982.

Laninia, Androcles and the Lion, Denver Center Theatre Company, 1980–1982.

Lena, Misalliance, Denver Center Theatre Company, 1980–1982.

Title role, Medea, Denver Center Theatre Company, 1980–1982.

Fran, The Day They Shot John Lennon, 1982–1983.

Masha, Three Sisters, McCarter Theatre Company, Princeton, NJ, 1982–1983.

Joyce, Flirtations, T.O.M.I. Terrace Theatre, 1983.

Lucille, June Moon, Manhattan Punch Line, Lion Theatre, New York City, 1983–1984.

Monday after the Miracle, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, 1983–1984.

Clara, I'm Not Rappaport, American Place Theatre, New York City, 1985.

Joan Brennan, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, Estelle R. Newman Theatre, New York City, 1985.

Patricia, Coming of Age in Soho, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, Martinson Hall, New York City, 1985.

Karen, American Notes, New York Shakespeare Festival, Public Theatre, Susan Stein Shiva Theatre, New York City, 1988.

Kate Sullivan, Other People's Money, Minetta Lane Theatre, New York City, 1989–1991, and Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT.

Bella Kurnitz, Lost in Yonkers, Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York City, 1991–1993.

A Christmas Memory, Book–Friends Cafe, New York City, 1992.

Beverly, The Shadow Box, Circle in the Square, New York City, 1994–1995.

Serafina Delle Rose, The Rose Tattoo, Circle in the Square, 1995.

Mother, As Good as New, Manhattan Class Company, New York City, 1997.

Manhattan Casanova (staged reading), Manhattan Drama Collective, Neighborhood Playhouse, New York City, 2000, then Guild Hall, East Hampton, Long Island, NY, 2001.

Martha, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis, MN, 2001.

Stevie, The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, John Golden Theatre, New York City, 2002.

Title role, Lysistrata (staged reading), Harvey Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, New York City, 2003.

Ashley Montana Goes Ashore in the Caicos or What Am I Doing Here? (reading), Southampton College Writers Conference, Southampton, NY, 2004.

Appeared in Antony and Cleopatra, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Louisville, KY; and in The Vagina Monologues, Westside Theatre Downstairs, New York City; also appeared in regional theatre productions.