Tony Nominee Mary Fickett Dies at 83

Mary Fickett, an original "All My Children" cast member, has died. The actress who played Ruth Brent Martin was 83 when she passed away I her home in Virginia on Thursday, September 8. Fickett was the first performer to ever win an Emmy Award for working on a soap opera.

Fickett appeared on Broadway in LOVE AND KISSES, SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO, TEA AND SYMPATHY, and I KNOW MY LOVE. In 1958 she was nominated for a Tony for her role as Eleanor Roosevelt in SUNRISE AT CAMPOBELLO.

In 1979, Mary Fickett married soap opera director Allen Fristoe. Fristoe died in 2008. Fickett was married two previous times. Those marriages, to James R.W. Congdon and Jay Leonard Scheer, both ended in divorce.

Fickett is survived by her daughter, Bronwyn "Anne" Congdon, and her husband, Michael Filipovic; her son, Kenyon Congdon, and his wife, Tamara; her grandchildren by Bronwyn Brittany Stewart Congdon, Caitlin Congdon, Dylan Farinet, Zachary Filipovic, and Kiley Anne Filipovic; her grandchildren by Kenyon, Casey Congdon, Morgan Congdon, and Alex Congdon; and her great-grandchildren: Haylie CongDon Mitchell and Melisande Congdon Mitchell.

ABC will dedicate the September 21 episode to Fickett. The series will air its final episode two days later.

Services will be private. Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, Greater Richmond Chapter, 4600 Cox Road #130, Glen Allen, VA 23060.

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