Ruby Keeler

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Ruby Keeler (born August 25, 1909 in Halifax , Canada , † February 28, 1993 in Rancho Mirage , California ; actually Ethel Hilda Keeler ) was an American actress and dancer .

Life

At the age of three, she and her family moved to New York , where Ruby Keeler began taking dance lessons at an early age. At the age of 13 she got a job as a choir girl in a production by George M. Cohan . Over the next few years she appeared in numerous revues on Broadway and made her breakthrough as a solo star in 1927 through appearances in the revues Bye Bye Bonnie and The Sidewalks of New York . Florence Ziegfeld gave her a bigger role on the Eddie Cantor show Whoopee , but Ruby Keeler left the show before the premiere to marry Al Jolson . In 1929 she followed her husband to Hollywood .

She signed a contract with Warner Brothers and became a popular musical star . Most of their films, however, are better known for the lavish production numbers of Busby Berkeley than for the appearances of Ruby Keeler. This mostly played the somewhat naive young hope from the country, who made her breakthrough through an accident of the established star on the premiere night. Most of the time she was seen at the side of Dick Powell . Most critics criticized her lack of talent as a singer, dancer and actress, but the audience liked her personality.

In 1937 Ruby Keeler left her current contract out of solidarity with her husband and took on the role in Mother Carey's Chicken at RKO after Katharine Hepburn refused to participate. After Keeler and Jolson got divorced in 1940, Ruby Keeler largely withdrew from the public eye and appeared only very occasionally as an actress. She had four children with her second husband, John Homer Lowe, with whom she was married from 1941 until his death in 1969. She also had an adopted child from her previous marriage to Jolson. It wasn't until 1970 that Keeler returned to Broadway as a star in the new production of No, No, Nanette . Her performance was celebrated and brought her renewed attention. Her last film role was in 1989 in the comedy Beverly Hills Brats, opposite Peter Billingsley and Martin Sheen .

She was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame .

Filmography (selection)

Web links

Commons : Ruby Keeler  - collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Keeler, Ruby
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Keeler, Ethel Hilda
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH August 25, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Halifax , Canada
DATE OF DEATH February 28, 1993
Place of death Rancho Mirage , California, USA