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| Portrays: | Rigel | ||||
| Date of Birth: | September 20, 1955 | ||||
| Date of Death: | Missing required parameter 1=month! , | ||||
| Age: | 69 | ||||
| Nationality: |  USA
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Sarah Rush (born September 20, 1955) portrayed Flight Corporal Rigel in the original Battlestar Galactica.
Biography
Rush is a 1973 graduate of Wayneburg Central High School in Wayneburg, Pennsylvania, USA, and acted in school plays. She has, in her words, wanted to be an actor her whole life. An influence on that was the fact that her father's cousin was the legendary James Dean (1931-1955). Since then, she has acted in commercials, film, theater, and television.
Rush has a BFA in theater from Penn State University, and is a member of the Actor's Studio. Upon graudation from Penn State, she moved to New York on a scholarship from Samuel Gallu for "Most Promising Actor". In two weeks time, she signed a contract with Universal as a contract player for Universal Studios for 3 1/2 years.
She understudied for Kathleen Turner in the Broadway play "Toyer," which played at Kennedy Center.
While working as a contract player for Universal, she recalls her audition for Battlestar Galactica:
- When I think about the audition, I have to laugh! I was a contract player at Universal, and I think that certainly helped me to get the role. However, I remember walking in to a huge office in the Black Tower at Universal, and along with Glen Larson, there were about seven other people. It was pretty amazing to see all these folks in one room, looking at me! Anyway, I had one line, something like "100 microns and closing, 99 microns and closing. . . Red alert!" I said these lines into my fist, as if it were a microphone. I have always been very serious about acting, and so I took it very seriously.
- "When I finished, I looked up at everyone, and after a moment of total silence, we all started laughing!!!!! Glen Larson was so kind to me, and I am so grateful that he gave me the job."
Sarah followed her role on Galactica with her biggest part for Universal as Amanda Kent in The Seekers, the third and last of John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles books that were adapted for television in 1978-79 and featured a number of Galactica cast members in previous segments including Lorne Greene, John Colicos and Herb Jefferson Jr.
After her Universal contract expired, she left for New York where she studied acting with Uta Hagen and Herbert Berghof.
In the late 1980s to early 1990s, she was married and divorced, lost her mother and helped family members who were ill, which placed a pause in her acting career.
In 1999, she re-married to guitarist Fred Bova, after friends have attempted to get them together for two years.
Trivia
- Sarah Rush designed the braided hair style, which she initially believed to be apt for the role of Rigel. However, an unknown someone didn't like it, and it was removed. However, during filming, the hairdresser took out the braids and the cameras started filming before Rush had a chance to brush her hair.
- Rush fondly recalls a compliment she received from a fan of the show:
- "One of the best compliments I received was from a fellow who had become a member of the club. He said that he remembered an episode I was in from his childhood days, and he remembered me very specifically, including my lines. He wanted to watch it again to see if he remembered it correctly, and he had. He said that he had remembered me because I had been truthful and honest and brought real humanity to the moment in the scene.
- "I was so touched by that, because even though Battlestar Galactica's time frame is set in extraordinary circumstances with amazing technological effects, people are human and real and experience true feelings. That's actually one of the reasons I would love to do a science fiction show again, to bring that humanity in the midst of the vastness of Space."—from BattlestarPegasus.com
- SarahRush.com became Rush's official site in June 2001. She communicates to her fans via the guestbook and the message boards of the website.