Connie Izay

Connie Izay
A smiling young white woman with long dark hair
Connie Ruscetti, later Izay, from the 1947 yearbook of Hopewell High School in Pennsylvania
Born
Constance Blanche Ruscetti

(1928-11-29)November 29, 1928
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania
DiedAugust 21, 1982(1982-08-21) (aged 53)
Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s)Nurse, actress, technical advisor
Known forWork on medical television programs, including M*A*S*H and Marcus Welby M.D.
SpouseVictor Izay

Constance "Connie" Ruscetti Izay (November 29, 1928 – August 21, 1982) was an American nurse, actress, and technical advisor on television programs, including M*A*S*H and Marcus Welby, M.D.

Early life and education[edit]

Constance Blanche Ruscetti was born in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joseph Ruscetti and Rose Palazzi Ruscetti. She graduated from Hopewell High School in Aliquippa in 1947,[1] and trained as a nurse at Sewickley Valley Hospital. In her twenties, she moved to Albuquerque with her parents.[2]

Career[edit]

Izay was a registered nurse. She worked as a nurse educator in the Virgin Islands for two years,[2][3] and was employed at the Lovelace Clinic in New Mexico, where she helped with medical testing for the first American astronauts.[4]

Izay was also active in community theater in Albuquerque.[3][5] She married a theatre director, and moved to Los Angeles with him. She sometimes worked as a studio nurse, and sometimes played nurses in medical television programs. She was "Nurse Connie" in three episodes of M*A*S*H, and played a nurse in Man from Atlantis and Marcus Welby, M.D.[6] "Though she's never seen a shrapnel wound in her life, Izay is now regularly called upon to bandage simulated war wounds on the Korean front," noted a 1980 profile.[4] She was also a medical technical advisor on several television shows, especially Marcus Welby and M*A*S*H, but also an episode of Bonanza that involved a kitchen-table surgery to remove a bullet.[7] She was "on the set at all times",[8] read scripts for medical errors, highlighted terminology actors might need help to pronounce correctly, and showed actors how to hold medical equipment.[4][6]

Beyond the technical aspects of her work, she tried to improve how nurses were portrayed on television. "I recall many a day when she'd come home elated because she and Loretta (Swit) had instigated change in the image that the nurses would present in the series," recalled her husband in 1983.[9]

Personal life and legacy[edit]

Ruscetti married actor Victor Izay in 1955.[2] They had three children, Gregory, Victoria, and Stephen.[10] She died from breast cancer in 1982, in Los Angeles, at the age of 53.[11] The 1983 M*A*S*H episode "As Time Goes By", the last episode filmed for the series,[12] and the second-to-last episode aired, was dedicated to her memory.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hopewell High School, The Viking (1947 yearbook): 31; via Ancestry.
  2. ^ a b c "Victor Izay to Claim Connie Ruscetti as Bride". The Albuquerque Tribune. 1955-08-31. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "'Moon is Blue' Opens Tonight in Old Town". Albuquerque Journal. 1958-07-24. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c Murrill, Mary Beth (1980-02-17). "Showbiz: Expertise Leads to Advisor Role". Scrantonian Tribune. p. 83. Retrieved 2023-10-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "'Harvey'". Albuquerque Journal. 1955-09-11. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Scott, Vernon (1972-05-15). "Registered Nurse Briefs Dr. Welby on What to Do". Simpson's Leader-Times. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Labonté, Richard (1980-03-01). "Experts keep TV factual". The Ottawa Citizen. p. 41. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "'Marcus Welby' in Fifth Season". York Daily Record. 1973-08-04. p. 52. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "New Series Top Rated; KIVA-TV Becomes Satellite". Albuquerque Journal. 1983-09-22. p. 17. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Wilks, Flo (1965-05-23). "Victor Izay Returns to Present New 'Tales of Horror' Performance". Albuquerque Journal. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Connie Izay, TV medical show adviser". Fort Lauderdale News. 1982-08-28. p. 30. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "M-A-S-H Films Final Scene, Says Goodbye After 11 Years" Gamecock (January 17, 1983): 3.
  13. ^ Kleiner, Dick (1983-10-30). "Ask TV Scout". The News Tribune. p. 125. Retrieved 2023-10-10 – via Newspapers.com.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Connie_Izay&oldid=1234531810"