Editing Ruby Keeler

{{Short description|American actress, dancer, and singer (1909–1993)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Ruby Keeler
| image         = Ruby Keeler by Scotty Welbourne, 1935.jpg
| caption       = Keeler in 1935
| birth_name    = Ethel Ruby Keeler
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1909|8|25}}
| birth_place   = [[Dartmouth, Nova Scotia]], Canada
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1993|2|28|1909|8|25}}
| death_place   = [[Rancho Mirage, California]], U.S.
| resting_place = Holy Sepulcher Cemetery, [[Orange, California]], U.S.
| awards        = [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]<br>[[Palm Springs Walk of Stars]]
| occupation    = {{flatlist|
* Actress
* dancer
* singer}}
| years_active  = 1923–1989
| spouse        = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Al Jolson]]|1928|1940|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|John Homer Lowe|1941|1969|end=died}}
}}
| children      = 5
| relatives     = [[Joey D. Vieira]] (nephew)<br/>[[Ken Weatherwax]] (nephew)
}}

'''Ethel Ruby Keeler'''<ref name="novascotiagenealogy.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/ItemView.aspx?ImageFile=1909-55900655&Event=birth&ID=230837|title=Ethel Ruby Keeler extract|access-date=October 24, 2016|work=Nova Scotia Genealogy|page=Page 55900655 - Number 55900657}}</ref> (August 25, 1909<ref name="novascotiagenealogy.com"/> – February 28, 1993) was a Canadian-born American actress, dancer, and singer who was paired on-screen with [[Dick Powell]] in a string of successful early musicals at [[Warner Bros.]], particularly ''[[42nd Street (film)|42nd Street]]'' (1933). From 1928 to 1940, she was married to actor and singer [[Al Jolson]]. She retired from show business in the 1940s, but made a widely publicized comeback on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1971.

==Early life==
Keeler was born in [[Dartmouth, Nova Scotia]], Canada, in 1909 to Ralph Hector and Nellie (''née'' Lahey) Keeler, one of six siblings in an Irish Catholic family. Two sisters, Helen and Gertrude, had brief performing careers. Her father was a truck driver. When Ruby was three years old, her family moved to New York City, where her father could get better pay.<ref name=foster/> Although Keeler was interested in taking dance lessons, the family could not afford to send her.

Keeler attended St. Catherine of Siena on New York's East Side, and one period each week, a dance teacher taught all styles of dance. The teacher saw potential in Keeler and spoke to her mother about Ruby taking lessons at her studio.<ref name="Tap">{{cite book| last1=Frank| first1=Rusty E.| last2=Hines| first2=Gregory| title=Tap! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories 1900–1955| date=March 22, 1995| publisher=Da Capo Press| page=358| isbn=978-0306806353| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KjRBswEACAAJ&q=Tap!+The+Greatest+Tap+Dance+Stars+and+Their+Stories+1900%E2%80%931955| access-date=April 30, 2019| via=Google Books}}</ref> 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 told her about auditions for chorus girls. The law required professional chorus girls to be at least 16 years old; although they were only 13, they decided to lie about their ages at the audition.<ref name="Tap"/> It was a [[Tap dance|tap]] audition, and many other talented girls were 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 $45 per week, equal to ${{Inflation|US|45|1923|fmt=c}} today. <ref name="Tap"/>

==Early dance career==
[[File:Al Jolson and Ruby Keeler on board the Olympic.jpg|thumb|Newlyweds [[Al Jolson]] and Ruby Keeler aboard the ''[[RMS Olympic|Olympic]]'' in September 1928]]
[[File:42nd-Street-Merkel-Keeler-Rogers.jpg|thumb|[[Una Merkel]], Ruby Keeler, and [[Ginger Rogers]] in ''[[42nd Street (film)|42nd Street]]'' (1933)]]
Around 1923, when she was around 14 years old, she was hired by [[Nils Granlund]], the publicity manager for [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loews Theaters]], who also served as the stage-show producer for [[Texas Guinan]] at [[Larry Fay]]'s El Fay nightclub, a [[speakeasy]] frequented by gangsters.<ref>{{cite book| last=Granlund| first=Nils Thor| title=Blondes, Brunettes, and Bullets| publisher=[[David McKay Company]]| location=New York City| year=1957| page=125| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a0FQAQAAMAAJ&q=el+fay| access-date=April 30, 2019}}</ref><ref name=foster>{{cite book| first=Charles| last=Foster| author-link=Charles Foster (writer)| title=Once Upon a Time in Paradise| year=2003| location=Toronto| publisher=[[Dundurn Press]]| pages=167–176| isbn=978-1550024647}}</ref> She was noticed by Broadway producer [[Charles B. Dillingham]], who gave her a role in ''Bye, Bye, Bonnie'' (produced by [[L. Lawrence Weber]]), which ran for six months. She then appeared in ''Lucky'' and as Mamie in ''The Sidewalks of New York'', also produced by Dillingham. In the later show, she was seen by [[Flo Ziegfeld]], who sent her a bunch of roses and a note that stated, "May I make you a star?"<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VTfrVOw8c_0C&pg=PA104| access-date=January 23, 2016| date=January 10, 2014| location=New York City| page=104| publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]| last=Hoefling| first=Larry J.| title=Nils Thor Granlund: Show Business Entrepreneur and America's First Radio Star| isbn=978-0786455997| via=Google Books}}</ref>

She appeared in Ziegfeld's ''[[Whoopee!]]'' (before being replaced before the opening by [[Ethel Shutta]]) in 1928, the same year she married [[Al Jolson]].<ref>{{cite episode| title=Ruby Keeler| url=http://www.goldenage-wtic.org/gaor-25.html| series=The Golden Age of Radio| last1=Bertel| first1=Dick| last2=Corcoran| last3=Ed| network=Broadcast Plaza, Inc.| station=WTIC Hartford, Conn.| airdate=April 1972| season=3| number=1}}</ref> The two met in Los Angeles (not at Texas Guinan's as he would claim), where Granlund had sent her to assist in the marketing campaign for ''[[The Jazz Singer]]''. Jolson was smitten and immediately proposed. The couple married September 21, 1928, in Port Chester, New York, in a private ceremony.<ref>{{cite news| newspaper=The New York Times| title=Jolson Secretly Weds Ruby Keeler, Actress; Captain of Olympic Barred From Officiating| date=September 22, 1928| page=1| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1928/09/22/archives/jolson-secretly-weds-ruby-keeler-actress-captain-of-olympic-barred.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=LJkhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=BJgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3068,4037894&dq=ruby+keeler&hl=en| title=Jolson Takes Third Bride| date=September 22, 1928| newspaper=[[Reading Eagle]]| access-date=November 14, 2010| via=Google News}}</ref> The two sailed the following morning for a brief honeymoon before she began her tour with ''Whoopee!''<ref name=foster/> She was 19 years old, and he was around 42.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://shadowwaltz.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html| work=Shadow Waltz| access-date=January 23, 2016| title=Happy Birthday Ruby!}}</ref>

In 1933, producer [[Darryl F. Zanuck]] cast Keeler in the Warner Bros. musical ''42nd Street'' opposite Dick Powell and [[Bebe Daniels]]. The film was a huge success due to [[Busby Berkeley|Busby Berkeley's]] lavish, innovative choreography. Following ''42nd Street'', [[Jack L. Warner]] gave Keeler a long-term contract and cast her in ''[[Gold Diggers of 1933]]'', ''[[Footlight Parade]]'', ''[[Dames (film)|Dames]]'', and ''[[Colleen (1936 film)|Colleen]]''. Keeler and Jolson starred together in ''[[Go into Your Dance]]'', which was their only film together. They are satirized in [[Frank Tashlin]]'s 1937 cartoon ''[[The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos]]''. Jolson and Keeler appeared on Broadway one last time together for the unsuccessful show ''Hold on to Your Hats''.

==Later life==
In 1963, Keeler appeared in ''[[The Greatest Show on Earth (TV series)|The Greatest Show on Earth]]'', [[Jack Palance]]'s television series based on the earlier [[Charlton Heston]] [[The Greatest Show on Earth (film)|circus film]] of the same name, and made a brief cameo in the 1970 film ''[[The Phynx]]''. In 1971, Keeler was acclaimed as a star again in the successful Broadway revival of the 1920s musical ''[[No, No, Nanette]]'', opposite [[Jack Gilford]], [[Bobby Van]], [[Helen Gallagher]], and [[Patsy Kelly]]. The production was supervised by Keeler's ''42nd Street'' director [[Busby Berkeley]], adapted and directed by [[Burt Shevelove]], and choreographed by [[Donald Saddler]], who won the Tony Award for his musical staging. Keeler starred in the musical for two seasons on Broadway, followed by two additional years touring in the show.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.ovrtur.com/production/2883638| access-date=January 23, 2016| work=Ovtur| title=No, No, Nanette}}</ref> After suffering a brain aneurysm in 1974, she became spokeswoman for the National Stroke Association.<ref name=NYTobit>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/01/arts/ruby-keeler-tap-dancing-actress-is-dead-at-82.html| title=Ruby Keeler, tap dancing actress, is dead at 82 (sic)| newspaper=[[The New York Times]]| date=March 3, 1993| access-date=December 25, 2015| first=Stephen| last=Holden}}</ref>

===Honors===
Keeler has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6730 [[Hollywood Boulevard]]. In 1979, she was awarded an honorary [[doctor of humane letters]] degree by [[St. Bonaventure University]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archives.sbu.edu/general/honorary.htm |title=Honorary Degree Recipients and Commencement Speakers |website=The Archives at St. Bonaventure University |access-date=October 5, 2017}}</ref> In 1992, a Golden Palm Star on the [[Palm Springs Walk of Stars]] was dedicated to her.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf| title=Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated| access-date=January 23, 2016| website=Palm Springs Walk of Stars| url-status=usurped| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013165655/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf| archive-date=October 13, 2012}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Keeler and Jolson adopted a son, but later divorced in 1940. In 1941, she married John Homer Lowe, a businessman, and left show business the same year.  (She returned for very, very occasional TV guest appearances beginning in the mid-1950s and a very few small cameo film roles starting in 1970; she also returned to Broadway in 1970.)  Keeler and Lowe had four children. Lowe died in 1969.{{Citation needed |date=September 2024}} 

Keeler had two nephews who also worked in the film business. [[Joey D. Vieira]], also known as Donald Keeler, is best remembered for portraying Sylvester "Porky" Brockway on TV's ''[[Lassie (1954 TV series)|Lassie]]'' (retitled ''Jeff's Collie'' in syndicated reruns and on DVD) from 1954 to 1957.<ref name="Lamparski">{{cite book| title=Whatever Became Of ...? Eighth Series| last=Lamparski| first=Richard| year=1982| publisher=Crown Publishers| location=New York| isbn=0-517-54855-0| pages=[https://archive.org/details/whateverbecameof0000lamp/page/230 230–1]| url-access=registration| url=https://archive.org/details/whateverbecameof0000lamp/page/230}}</ref> Vieira's brother, [[Ken Weatherwax]], played [[Pugsley Addams]] on the 1960s TV series ''[[The Addams Family (1964 TV series)|The Addams Family]]''.<ref name="Lamparski"/> Ruby's son John Lowe had a career as a Broadway stage manager for a number of productions beginning with ''No, No, Nanette'' in 1970.<ref>{{cite web| website=[[Internet Broadway Database]]| title=No, No, Nanette (1971)| access-date=January 23, 2016| url=http://www.ibdb.com/Production/View/3580}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| title=The Making of "No, No, Nanette"| first=Donald| last=Dunn| publisher=[[Citadel Press]]| year=1972| isbn=978-0806502656}}</ref>

Keeler was a Catholic.<ref>Morning News, January 10, 1948, ''Who Was Who in America'' (Vol. 2)</ref> She was also a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] who supported [[Dwight Eisenhower]]'s campaign during the [[1952 United States presidential election|1952 presidential election]].<ref>''Motion Picture and Television Magazine'', November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers</ref>

===Death===
Keeler died of kidney cancer on February 28, 1993, in [[Rancho Mirage, California]], aged 83.<ref name=NYTobit/>

==Filmography==

===Features===
{| class="wikitable sortable" 
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
|-
|1930 || ''[[Show Girl in Hollywood]]'' ||Herself 
|-
|rowspan=3|1933 || ''[[42nd Street (film)|42nd Street]]'' || Peggy Sawyer 
|-
| ''[[Gold Diggers of 1933]]'' || Polly Parker 
|-
| ''[[Footlight Parade]]'' || Bea Thorn 
|-
|rowspan=2|1934 || ''[[Dames (film)|Dames]]'' ||Barbara 
|-
| ''[[Flirtation Walk]]'' || Kit Fitts 
|-
|rowspan=2|1935 || ''[[Go into Your Dance]]'' ||Dorothy "Dot" Wayne 
|-
| ''[[Shipmates Forever]]'' ||June Blackburn 
|-
|1936 || ''[[Colleen (1936 film)|Colleen]]'' ||Colleen Rilley 
|-
|1937 || ''[[Ready, Willing, and Able (film)|Ready, Willing and Able]]'' ||Jane 
|-
|1938 || ''[[Mother Carey's Chickens (film)|Mother Carey's Chickens]]'' || Katherine "Kitty" Carey 
|-
|1941 || ''[[Sweetheart of the Campus]]'' ||Betty Blake 
|-
|1970 || data-sort-value="Phynx, The" | ''[[The Phynx]]'' ||Herself 
|-
|1989 || ''[[Beverly Hills Brats]]'' || Goldie
|}

===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)

==Stage work==
* ''The Rise of Rosie O'Reilly'' (1923)
* ''Bye, Bye, Bonnie'' (1927)
* ''Lucky'' (1927)
* ''Sidewalks of New York'' (1927)
* ''[[Whoopee!]]'' (1928) (replaced by [[Ethel Shutta]] before opening)
* ''[[Show Girl (1929 musical)|Show Girl]]'' (1929)
* ''Hold on to Your Hats'' (1940) (replaced by Eunice Healey before opening)
* ''[[No, No, Nanette]]'' (1971)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|Canada|United States|California|Film|Theatre}}
{{Commons}}
* {{AFI person | 136070-Ruby-Keeler }}
* {{IMDb name | 0444528 | Ruby Keeler }}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
* [http://www.virtual-history.com/movie/person/8711/ruby-keeler Ruby Keeler profile], virtual-history.com; accessed September 19, 2014.

{{Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeler, Ruby}}
[[Category:1909 births]]
[[Category:1993 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian women singers]]
[[Category:Actresses from Halifax, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Actresses from New York City]]
[[Category:American female dancers]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American musical theatre actresses]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American tap dancers]]
[[Category:California Republicans]]
[[Category:Canadian emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States]]
[[Category:Canadian female dancers]]
[[Category:Canadian film actresses]]
[[Category:Canadian musical theatre actresses]]
[[Category:Canadian people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Canadian Roman Catholics]]
[[Category:Canadian stage actresses]]
[[Category:Catholics from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Dancers from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from kidney cancer in the United States]]
[[Category:Musicians from Halifax, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:New York (state) Republicans]]
[[Category:People from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia]]
[[Category:Singers from New York City]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. contract players]]
[[Category:Singers from Nova Scotia]]