Marie Rudisill

Background

She was an aunt to novelist Truman Capote (his mother, Lillie Mae Faulk, was her elder sister). Rudisill was born Edna Marie Faulk in Monroeville, Alabama.

Career

Rudisill helped to raise Capote, who lived with her at times during his childhood, both in Alabama and New York City. Her first marriage, to a Japanese man in the 1930s, ended in divorce due to her family"s disapproval. She later wrote, "I really loved that manitoba

He was so talented and such a sweet wonderful person.

She wrote, "A man who drinks excessively, it"s not a happy marriage. We loved each other, but we had our times." The couple had one son, James, and Rudisill had three grandchildren.

Rudisill authored eight books, including Fruitcake: Memories of Truman Capote & Sook. She was a resident of Florida.

Rudisill"s book Fruitcake (published by Hill Street Press) led to her being invited to be a guest on on December 14, 2000.

During her first visit she showed Jay Leno and Mel Gibson how to make fruitcakes. This led to her being named the Fruitcake Lady and to several more appearances on, in which she instructed host Jay Leno and other guests in the preparation of various baked desserts. In 2002, the "Ask the Fruitcake Lady" segments became a regular part of In these segments, viewers posed prerecorded questions to Rudisill (including questions of a graphic sexual nature), and her frank and often unpredictable responses were shown.

She often lost patience with what she perceived as stupidity on the part of some questioners, and lapsed into profanity.

Marie Rudisill died in Hudson, Florida, on November 3, 2006, at the age of 95, just before the publication date of her latest book, Ask the Fruitcake Lady: Everything You Would Already Know If You Had Any Sense, on November 7. The November 8 broadcast of the Tonight Show included a tribute composed of highlights from her segments on the show, including one in which she cooked with (and was hugged and kissed on the cheek by) Tom Cruise.

An updated version of her 1989 cookbook, Sook"s Cookbook: Memories and Traditional Recipes from the Deep South, was published by Louisiana State University Press in September 2008.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Ask the Fruitcake Lady: Everything You Would Already Know If You Had Any Sense

    (Marie Rudisill, aka "The Fruitcake Lady," made her first ...)

  • Ask the Fruitcake Lady: Everything You Would Already Know If You Had Any Sense by Marie Rudisill (2006-11-01)

    (Will be shipped from US. Brand new copy.)