Mary Fickett (May 23, 1928 – September 8, 2011) was an American actress, best known for her roles in the American television dramas, The Nurses, The Edge of Night — as Sally Smith (1961), and as Dr. Katherine Lovell (1967–68) — and as Ruth Parker Brent Martin #1 on All My Children (1970–1996; 1999–2000).
Early life and career
Fickett was born in Buffalo, New York and raised in Bronxville, a suburb of New York City. She attended Wheaton College in Massachusetts, and made her theatrical debut in 1946 on Cape Cod. In 1949, she made her Broadway debut appearing in I Know My Love, a comedy starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Fickett studied acting at New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner and started her television career working on "Television Theatre" programs like Kraft Television Theatre in the 1950s. Her first feature film was Man on Fire alongside Bing Crosby in 1957. In 1958, she received a Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Sunrise at Campobello, opposite Ralph Bellamy.