Mary Fickett

Mary Fickett is an American actress (b. 23 May 1932 in Bronxville, New York, USA).

Semi-Retirement and Retirement

In the mid 1990's Fickett decided that she wanted to slow down her schedule and spend more time with her family. She allowed her contract to expire and expected to go on recurring status, meaning she could still appear on the program but did not have to meet any contractual obligations or minimum number of appearances.

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Negotiations with the producers of the program broke down and the soap world was shocked when the role of Ruth Martin was recast with Lee Meriwether taking on the character in 1996.

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In 1999 Meriwether's agents had communication problems which aggravated the producers of All My Children. This prompted them to go full circle, firing Meriwether and rehiring Fickett on recurring status. She resumed the role of Ruth and supported several front burner storylines including son Tad's romance with Dixie and the breakdown of son Jake (Joe) Martin's marriage to Gillian. After another year, Fickett decided to call it quits from the busy schedule of soap opera acting and retired in December 2000. In 2002, the producers of All My Children wanted to bring Ruth back to the show's canvas but Fickett remained in retirment. Lee Meriwether has been playing Ruth when the occasion calls for it since then.

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