Ruby Keeler
Encyclopedia
Ruby Keeler, born Ethel Hilda Keeler, (August 25, 1910 – February 28, 1993) was an actress, singer, and dancer most famous for her on-screen coupling with Dick Powell
in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Brothers, particularly 42nd Street
(1933). From 1928 to 1940, she was married to singer Al Jolson
. She retired from show business in the 1940s but made a widely publicized comeback on Broadway
in 1971.
, Canada
to an Irish Catholic
family, one of six siblings. Two sisters, Helen and Gertrude, had brief performing careers. Her father was a truck driver, and when she was three years old, her family packed up and moved to New York City
where he knew he could get better pay. But it was not enough: there were six children, and although Keeler was interested in taking dance lessons, the family could not afford to send her.
Keeler attended St. Catherine of Siena parochial school
on New York's East Side
, and one period each week a dance teacher would come and teach all styles of dance. The teacher saw potential in Keeler and spoke to her mother about Ruby taking lessons at her studio. Though her mother declined, apologizing for the lack of money, the teacher wanted to work with her so badly that she asked her mother if she would bring her to class lessons on Saturdays, and she agreed. During the classes, a girl she danced with told her about auditions for chorus girls. The law said you had to be 16 years old, and although they were only 13, they decided to lie about their ages at the audition. It was a tap audition, and there were a lot of other talented girls there. The stage was covered, except for a wooden apron at the front. When it was Ruby's turn to dance, she asked the dance director, Julian Mitchell
, if she could dance on the wooden part so that her taps could be heard. He did not answer, so she went ahead, walked up to the front of the stage, and started her routine. The director said, "who said you could dance up there?" She replied, "I asked you!" and she got a job in George M. Cohan
's The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly (1923), in which she made forty-five dollars a week to help her family.
, the publicity manager for Loew's Theaters who also served as the stageshow producer for Texas Guinan
at Larry Fay
's El Fay nightclub, a speakeasy frequented by gangsters. She was noticed by Broadway producer Charles B. Dillingham
, who gave her a role in Bye Bye Bonnie, which ran for six months. She then appeared in Lucky and The Sidewalks of New York, also produced by Dillingham. In the later show, she was seen by Flo Ziegfeld, who sent her bunch of roses and a note, "May I make you a star?". She would appear in Ziegfeld's Whoopee!
in 1928, the same year she married Al Jolson
.
The two met in Los Angeles (not at Texas Guinan
's as he would claim), where Nils Granlund
had sent her to assist in Loew's marketing campaign for The Jazz Singer
. Jolson was smitten and immediately proposed. Keeler reportedly initially declined but later relented. The couple married September 21, 1928 in Port Chester, New York
in a private ceremony performed by Surrogate Judge G. A. Slater of Westchester County, New York
. The two had hoped to be wed aboard the White Star Liner Olympic, but were informed that company regulations no longer allowed ship's captains to perform "at sea" ceremonies. The two sailed the following morning for a brief honeymoon before she began her tour with Whoopee!. The marriage (during which they adopted a son) was reportedly a rocky one. They moved to California, which took her away from the limelight. In 1929, at the urging of Ziegfeld, Jolson agreed to Keeler's returning to Broadway to star in Show Girl
.
In 1933, producer Darryl F. Zanuck
cast Keeler in the Warner Bros.
musical 42nd Street
appearing opposite Dick Powell
and Bebe Daniels
. The film was a huge success due to Busby Berkeley
's lavish innovative choreography. Following 42nd Street, Jack Warner
gave Keeler a long-term contract and cast her in Gold Diggers of 1933
, Footlight Parade
, Dames
, and Colleen
. Keeler and Jolson starred together in Go Into Your Dance
. Frank Tashlin
's 1937 cartoon, The Woods are Full of Cuckoos, featuring a porcine caricature called "Ruby Squealer". . Jolson and Keeler appeared on Broadway one last time together for the unsuccessful show Hold On To Your Hats in 1940.
In 1963, she appeared in The Greatest Show on Earth
, Jack Palance
's revival on television of the earlier Charlton Heston
circus film
of the same name. In 1972, Keeler starred in the successful Broadway
revival of the 1920s musical No, No, Nanette
, along with fellow Irish-Americans Helen Gallagher
and Patsy Kelly
. The production was directed by Keeler's 42nd Street
director, Busby Berkeley
, and choreographed by Donald Saddler
.
, also known as Donald Keeler, is best remembered for portraying chubby, beanie
-wearing farm boy, Sylvester "Porky" Brockway on TV's Lassie
(retitled Jeff's Collie in syndicated reruns and on DVD
) from 1954-57. Vieira's brother, Ken Weatherwax
, played Pugsley Addams
on the 1960s TV series The Addams Family
.
and is interred in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Orange, California
. She has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 6730 Hollywood Blvd.
Short Subjects:
Dick Powell
Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
in a string of successful early musicals at Warner Brothers, particularly 42nd Street
42nd Street (film)
-Cast:*Warner Baxter as Julian Marsh, director*Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock, star*George Brent as Pat Denning, Dorothy's old vaudeville partner*Ruby Keeler as Peggy Sawyer, the newcomer*Guy Kibbee as Abner Dillon, the show's backer...
(1933). From 1928 to 1940, she was married to singer Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
. She retired from show business in the 1940s but made a widely publicized comeback on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1971.
Early life
Keeler was born in Dartmouth, Nova ScotiaDartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
to an Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
family, one of six siblings. Two sisters, Helen and Gertrude, had brief performing careers. Her father was a truck driver, and when she was three years old, her family packed up and moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
where he knew he could get better pay. But it was not enough: there were six children, and although Keeler was interested in taking dance lessons, the family could not afford to send her.
Keeler attended St. Catherine of Siena parochial school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
on New York's East Side
East Side
-Municipalities:* East Side Township, Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, United States* East Side, Pennsylvania, United States- Canada :* Eastside, Ontario, a neighborhood in Sault Ste...
, and one period each week a dance teacher would come and teach all styles of dance. The teacher saw potential in Keeler and spoke to her mother about Ruby taking lessons at her studio. Though her mother declined, apologizing for the lack of money, the teacher wanted to work with her so badly that she asked her mother if she would bring her to class lessons on Saturdays, and she agreed. During the classes, a girl she danced with told her about auditions for chorus girls. The law said you had to be 16 years old, and although they were only 13, they decided to lie about their ages at the audition. It was a tap audition, and there were a lot of other talented girls there. The stage was covered, except for a wooden apron at the front. When it was Ruby's turn to dance, she asked the dance director, Julian Mitchell
Julian Mitchell
Julian Mitchell FRSL , full name Charles Julian Humphrey Mitchell, is an English playwright, screenwriter and occasional novelist...
, if she could dance on the wooden part so that her taps could be heard. He did not answer, so she went ahead, walked up to the front of the stage, and started her routine. The director said, "who said you could dance up there?" She replied, "I asked you!" and she got a job in George M. Cohan
George M. Cohan
George Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
's The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly (1923), in which she made forty-five dollars a week to help her family.
Early dance career
She was only fourteen when she was hired by Nils GranlundNils Granlund
Nils T. Granlund was an American Broadway show producer, radio industry pioneer, a publicist for Marcus Loew who formed Loews Theatres and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
, the publicity manager for Loew's Theaters who also served as the stageshow producer for Texas Guinan
Texas Guinan
Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
at Larry Fay
Larry Fay
Larry Fay was one of the early rumrunners of the Prohibition Era in New York City. He made a half a million dollars bringing whiskey into New York from Canada...
's El Fay nightclub, a speakeasy frequented by gangsters. She was noticed by Broadway producer Charles B. Dillingham
Charles B. Dillingham
Charles Bancroft Dillingham was a Broadway producer. He started his career as a theater reviewer for the New York Evening Post, then became a manager for such actors as Julia Marlowe....
, who gave her a role in Bye Bye Bonnie, which ran for six months. She then appeared in Lucky and The Sidewalks of New York, also produced by Dillingham. In the later show, she was seen by Flo Ziegfeld, who sent her bunch of roses and a note, "May I make you a star?". She would appear in Ziegfeld's Whoopee!
Whoopee!
Whoopee! is a musical comedy with the book, based on Owen Davis's play The Nervous Wreck, written by William Anthony McGuire, music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn...
in 1928, the same year she married Al Jolson
Al Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
.
The two met in Los Angeles (not at Texas Guinan
Texas Guinan
Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan was an American saloon keeper, actress, and entrepreneur.-Early life:...
's as he would claim), where Nils Granlund
Nils Granlund
Nils T. Granlund was an American Broadway show producer, radio industry pioneer, a publicist for Marcus Loew who formed Loews Theatres and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
had sent her to assist in Loew's marketing campaign for The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
. Jolson was smitten and immediately proposed. Keeler reportedly initially declined but later relented. The couple married September 21, 1928 in Port Chester, New York
Port Chester, New York
Port Chester is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The village is part of the town of Rye. As of the 2010 census, Port Chester had a population of 28,967...
in a private ceremony performed by Surrogate Judge G. A. Slater of Westchester County, New York
Westchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
. The two had hoped to be wed aboard the White Star Liner Olympic, but were informed that company regulations no longer allowed ship's captains to perform "at sea" ceremonies. The two sailed the following morning for a brief honeymoon before she began her tour with Whoopee!. The marriage (during which they adopted a son) was reportedly a rocky one. They moved to California, which took her away from the limelight. In 1929, at the urging of Ziegfeld, Jolson agreed to Keeler's returning to Broadway to star in Show Girl
Show Girl
Show Girl is a musical that ran from Jul 2, 1929 to Oct 5, 1929 with a book by William Anthony McGuire, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn, and music by George Gershwin. Its heroine, aspiring Broadway showgirl Dixie Dugan, was a character created by J. P...
.
In 1933, producer Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
cast Keeler in the Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
musical 42nd Street
42nd Street (film)
-Cast:*Warner Baxter as Julian Marsh, director*Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock, star*George Brent as Pat Denning, Dorothy's old vaudeville partner*Ruby Keeler as Peggy Sawyer, the newcomer*Guy Kibbee as Abner Dillon, the show's backer...
appearing opposite Dick Powell
Dick Powell
Richard Ewing "Dick" Powell was an American singer, actor, producer, director and studio boss.Despite the same last name he was not related to William Powell, Eleanor Powell or Jane Powell.-Biography:...
and Bebe Daniels
Bebe Daniels
Bebe Daniels was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent movie era as a child actress, became a star in musicals like 42nd Street, and later gained further fame on radio and television in Britain...
. The film was a huge success due to Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
's lavish innovative choreography. Following 42nd Street, Jack Warner
Jack Warner
Jack Leonard "J. L." Warner , born Jacob Warner in London, Ontario, was a Canadian American film executive who was the president and driving force behind the Warner Bros. Studios in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California...
gave Keeler a long-term contract and cast her in Gold Diggers of 1933
Gold Diggers of 1933
Gold Diggers of 1933 is a pre-code Warner Bros. musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin , staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley...
, Footlight Parade
Footlight Parade
-Cast:*James Cagney as Chester Kent, creator of musical prologues*Joan Blondell as Nan Prescott, his secretary*Ruby Keeler as Bea Thorn, dancer turned secretary turned dancer*Dick Powell as Scott 'Scotty' Blair, juvenile lead, former protege of Mrs...
, Dames
Dames
Dames is a 1934 Warner Bros. musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright with dance numbers created by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, ZaSu Pitts, and Hugh Herbert...
, and Colleen
Colleen (1936 film)
Colleen is a 1936 Warner Bros. musical film directed by Alfred E. Green. It stars Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, and Joan Blondell.-Plot:Colleen is the manager of a dress shop named "The Ames Company", owned by Donald Ames. They try to keep Uncle Cedric from working, because he'll ruin the company....
. Keeler and Jolson starred together in Go Into Your Dance
Go Into Your Dance
Go Into Your Dance is a 1935 musical film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Al Jolson, Ruby Keeler, Glenda Farrell, and Helen Morgan.-Plot:...
. Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin, born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, also known as Tish Tash or Frank Tash was an American animator, screenwriter, and film director.-Animator:...
's 1937 cartoon, The Woods are Full of Cuckoos, featuring a porcine caricature called "Ruby Squealer". . Jolson and Keeler appeared on Broadway one last time together for the unsuccessful show Hold On To Your Hats in 1940.
Later life
After a difficult marriage, Keeler and Jolson were divorced in 1940. Keeler remarried in 1941 to John Homer Lowe. Keeler left show business the same year. Keeler and Lowe had four children. Lowe died of cancer in 1969.In 1963, she appeared in The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)
The Greatest Show on Earth is an American drama series starring Jack Palance about the American circus, which aired on ABC from September 17, 1963, to April 28, 1964...
, Jack Palance
Jack Palance
Jack Palance , was an American actor. During half a century of film and television appearances, Palance was nominated for three Academy Awards, all as Best Actor in a Supporting Role, winning in 1991 for his role in City Slickers.-Early life:Palance, one of five children, was born Volodymyr...
's revival on television of the earlier Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston was an American actor of film, theatre and television. Heston is known for heroic roles in films such as The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor, El Cid, and Planet of the Apes...
circus film
The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture...
of the same name. In 1972, Keeler starred in the successful Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
revival of the 1920s musical No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette
No, No, Nanette is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play My Lady Friends...
, along with fellow Irish-Americans Helen Gallagher
Helen Gallagher
Helen Gallagher is an American actress, dancer, singer and makeup artist.-Early years:Born in Brooklyn, she was raised in Scarsdale, New York for several years until the Wall Street crash which heralded the Great Depression, and her family moved to the Bronx. Her parents separated and she was...
and Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly was an American stage and film comedic actress.-Early life and career:Kelly was born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly in Brooklyn, New York to Irish immigrants, John and Delia Kelly, and made her Broadway debut in 1928...
. The production was directed by Keeler's 42nd Street
42nd Street (musical)
42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...
director, Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley
Busby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
, and choreographed by Donald Saddler
Donald Saddler
Donald Saddler is an American choreographer, dancer, and theatre director.-Biography:Born in Van Nuys, California, Saddler studied dance at an early age to regain his strength after a bout of scarlet fever...
.
Family members in acting
Keeler had two nephews who also worked in the film business. Joey D. VieiraJoey D. Vieira
Joey D. Vieira is an American film and television actor. He began as a child actor using the professional name Donald Keeler as chubby, beanie-wearing farm boy, Sylvester "Porky" Brockway in the first several seasons of TV's Lassie...
, also known as Donald Keeler, is best remembered for portraying chubby, beanie
Beanie
A beanie is a head-hugging brimless cap with or without a visor that was once popular among school boys.-Description:In the United States of America, beanies are made by triangular sections of cloth joined by a button at the crown and seamed together around the sides.They can also be made from...
-wearing farm boy, Sylvester "Porky" Brockway on TV's Lassie
Lassie (1954 TV series)
Lassie is an American television series that follows the adventures of a female Rough Collie named Lassie and her companions, human and animal. The show was the creation of producer Robert Maxwell and animal trainer Rudd Weatherwax and was televised from September 12, 1954, to March 24, 1973...
(retitled Jeff's Collie in syndicated reruns and on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
) from 1954-57. Vieira's brother, Ken Weatherwax
Ken Weatherwax
Kenneth Patrick "Ken" Weatherwax is an American actor, best known for playing Pugsley Addams on The Addams Family television series....
, played Pugsley Addams
Pugsley Addams
Pugsley Addams is a member of the fictional Addams family, created by cartoonist Charles Addams.Pugsley is the oldest child of Morticia and Gomez Addams. He is a pre-teen boy who is almost always seen wearing a striped T-shirt and shorts...
on the 1960s TV series The Addams Family
The Addams Family (TV series)
The Addams Family is an American television series based on the characters in Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. The 30-minute series was shot in black-and-white and aired for two seasons in 64 installments on ABC from September 18, 1964, to April 8, 1966...
.
Death
Ruby Keeler died of cancer in Rancho Mirage, CaliforniaRancho Mirage, California
Rancho Mirage is a resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal population can exceed 20,000. In between Cathedral City and Palm Desert, it is one of the eight cities of the Coachella...
and is interred in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Orange, California
Orange, California
Southern California is well-known for year-round pleasant weather: - On average, the warmest month is August. - The highest recorded temperature was in 1985. - On average, the coolest month is December. - The lowest recorded temperature was in 1950...
. She has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
at 6730 Hollywood Blvd.
Filmography
Features:- Show Girl in HollywoodShow Girl in Hollywood__notoc__Show Girl In Hollywood is a musical comedy/drama film with Technicolor sequences, starring Alice White. It was adapted from the novel Hollywood Girl by J. P. McEvoy.The film only survives in black and white...
(1930) - 42nd Street42nd Street (film)-Cast:*Warner Baxter as Julian Marsh, director*Bebe Daniels as Dorothy Brock, star*George Brent as Pat Denning, Dorothy's old vaudeville partner*Ruby Keeler as Peggy Sawyer, the newcomer*Guy Kibbee as Abner Dillon, the show's backer...
(1933) - Gold Diggers of 1933Gold Diggers of 1933Gold Diggers of 1933 is a pre-code Warner Bros. musical film directed by Mervyn LeRoy with songs by Harry Warren and Al Dubin , staged and choreographed by Busby Berkeley...
(1933) - Footlight ParadeFootlight Parade-Cast:*James Cagney as Chester Kent, creator of musical prologues*Joan Blondell as Nan Prescott, his secretary*Ruby Keeler as Bea Thorn, dancer turned secretary turned dancer*Dick Powell as Scott 'Scotty' Blair, juvenile lead, former protege of Mrs...
(1933) - DamesDamesDames is a 1934 Warner Bros. musical comedy film directed by Ray Enright with dance numbers created by Busby Berkeley. The film stars Ruby Keeler, Dick Powell, Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, ZaSu Pitts, and Hugh Herbert...
(1934) - Flirtation WalkFlirtation WalkFlirtation Walk is a 1934 romantic musical film written by Delmer Daves and Lou Edelman, and directed by Frank Borzage. It focuses on a soldier who falls in love with a general's daughter during the general's brief stop in Hawaii, but she leaves with her father for the Philippines before their...
(1934) - Go Into Your DanceGo Into Your DanceGo Into Your Dance is a 1935 musical film directed by Archie Mayo and starring Al Jolson, Ruby Keeler, Glenda Farrell, and Helen Morgan.-Plot:...
(1935) - Shipmates Forever (1935)
- ColleenColleen (1936 film)Colleen is a 1936 Warner Bros. musical film directed by Alfred E. Green. It stars Dick Powell, Ruby Keeler, and Joan Blondell.-Plot:Colleen is the manager of a dress shop named "The Ames Company", owned by Donald Ames. They try to keep Uncle Cedric from working, because he'll ruin the company....
(1936) - Ready, Willing and AbleReady, Willing, and Able (film)Ready, Willing, and Able is a 1937 musical film starring Ruby Keeler and Ross Alexander. It also featured Lee Dixon, Allen Jenkins, Winifred Shaw, Louise Fazenda, and Carolyn Hughes. The director was Ray Enright....
(1937) - Mother Carey's ChickensMother Carey's Chickens (film)Mother Carey's Chickens is a 1938 drama film starring Anne Shirley and Ruby Keeler. The film was directed by Rowland V. Lee and based upon a 1917 play by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Rachel Crothers, which in turn was adapted from Wiggins' novel of the same title.Originally Katharine Hepburn was...
(1938) - Sweetheart of the CampusSweetheart of the CampusSweetheart of the Campus is a 1941 American musical comedy film directed by Edward Dmytryk.-Cast:* Ruby Keeler as Betty Blake* Ozzie Nelson as Ozzie Norton* Harriet Hilliard as Harriet Hale...
(1941) - The PhynxThe PhynxThe Phynx is a 1970 comedy film directed by Lee H. Katzin about a rock and roll band named The Phynx and their mission in foreign affairs. The group is sent to the country of Albania to locate hostages.-Cast:*The Phynx... Themselves...
(1970) - Beverly Hills BratsBeverly Hills BratsBeverly Hills Brats is a 1989 American comedy film. Directed by Jim Sotos, the film starred Peter Billingsley, Martin Sheen, Burt Young, Terry Moore, George Kirby, Ruby Keeler and Whoopi Goldberg in a cameo role.-Plot:...
(1989)
Short Subjects:
- Ruby Keeler (1929)
- Screen Snapshots Series 9, No. 20 (1930)
- And She Learned About Dames (1934)
- Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 7 (1937)
- A Day at Santa Anita (1937)
- Hollywood Handicap (1938)
- Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Recreation (1940)