Ruby Dandridge
Dandridge in Home in Oklahoma (1946)
Born
Ruby Jean Butler

(1900-03-03)March 3, 1900
Wichita, Kansas, U.S.
DiedOctober 17, 1987(1987-10-17) (aged 87)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeForest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
OccupationActress
Years active1917–1962
Spouse
Cyril Dandridge
​
​
(m. 1919; div. 1922)​
PartnerGeneva Williams
ChildrenVivian Dandridge
Dorothy Dandridge
FamilyNayo Wallace (great-granddaughter)

Ruby Jean Dandridge (née Butler; March 3, 1900[1] – October 17, 1987) was an American actress from the early 1900s through to the late 1950s. Dandridge is best known for her role on the radio show Amos 'n Andy, in which she played Sadie Blake and Harriet Crawford, and on radio's Judy Canova Show, in which she played Geranium. She is recognized for her role in the 1959 movie A Hole in the Head as Sally.

Early life

Born Ruby Jean Butler in Wichita, Kansas, on March 3, 1900, she was one of four children. Dandridge's parents were Nellie Simon, a maid, and George Butler, who was a janitor, grocer and entertainer.[2] Dandridge's father was also "a famous minstrel man."[3]

Career

In 1937, Dandridge played one of the witches in what an article in The Pittsburgh Courier called a "sepia representation" of Macbeth in Los Angeles. California.[4] The production began on July 8 at the Mayan Theater.[4] Five years later, she appeared in a production of Hit the Deck at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, California.[5] One of Dandridge's earliest appearances (uncredited, as were many of the minor roles she played) was as a native dancer in King Kong (1933).[6] In other films, she played Rheba, a maid, in Junior Miss (1945), Dabby in Tap Roots (1948),[7] the housekeeper in Three Little Girls in Blue (1946),[8] Mrs. Kelso in Cabin in the Sky (1943)[9] and Violet in Tish (1942).[10]

Lillian Randolph, Ernest Whitman, and Ruby Dandridge of the radio cast of The Beulah Show circa 1952–1953.

Dandridge played Oriole on both radio and TV versions of The Beulah Show,[11][12] and Geranium in The Judy Canova Show,[11]: 182  and was a regular cast member on Tonight at Hoagy's.[11]: 337  She is heard as Raindrop on Gene Autry's Melody Ranch (August 1949 - April 1951). For one season (1961-1962), Dandridge played the maid on the television version of Father Knows Best.[13]

Other business

In 1955, Dandridge and her business partner Dorothy Foster bought land in Twentynine Palms, California, with plans to construct a subdivision of 250 homes.[14] Also in the 1950s, Dandridge formed a nightclub act that played in clubs around Los Angeles.[13] A review of her act cited her "flashes of effervescent showmanship" and stated "What Ruby lacks in her voice, she invariably makes up for it with her winsome personality."[15]

Personal life, death and legacy

On September 30, 1919, she married Cyril Dandridge. Dandridge moved with her husband to Cleveland, Ohio, where her daughter, actress Vivian Dandridge, was born in 1921. Her second daughter, Academy Award-nominated actress Dorothy Dandridge, was born there in 1922, five months after Ruby and Cyril divorced. It is noted that after her divorce, Dandridge became involved with her companion Geneva Williams, who reportedly overworked the children and punished them harshly.[16] Dandridge attended her daughter Dorothy's funeral in 1965.

On October 17, 1987, Dandridge died of a heart attack at a nursing home in Los Angeles, California.[13] She was interred next to Dorothy at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. In the 1999 film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Ruby is portrayed by Loretta Devine.

Filmography

Features
Short subjects
  • Flop Goes the Weasel (1943) - Mammy Hen (voice, uncredited)
  • Screen Snapshots: The Judy Canova Show (1946) - Geranium, Radio Show Character
  • Silly Billie (1948) - Maid
Television

References

  1. ↑ No indication she was born in 1899. Her gravestone clearly states 1900; her Social Security Death Index year of birth is 1901.
  2. ↑ "Ruby Dandridge, Is Mother the Daughter of the Child?" African American Registry.
  3. ↑ Barron, Mark (April 22, 1949). "Broadway". Fitchburg Sentinel. Massachusetts, Fitchburg. p. 6. Retrieved April 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. 1 2 Patton, Bernice (June 12, 1937). "The Sepia Side of Hollywood". The Pittsburgh Courier. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. p. 21. Retrieved April 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ↑ "'Hit the Deck' Will Be at the Curran". Oakland Tribune. California, Oakland. May 25, 1942. p. 14. Retrieved April 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ↑ "Ruby Dandridge (1899-1987)", Blackface!
  7. ↑ "Colorful Civil War Story In Senate's 'Tap Roots'". The Evening News. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. July 15, 1948. p. 16. Retrieved April 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ↑ "Ruby Dandridge Gets Film Role". The Pittsburgh Courier. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. February 2, 1946. p. 17. Retrieved April 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ↑ Walker, Paul (April 27, 1943). ""Cabin in the Sky" Rated As a 12-Laugh Picture! "Hello Frisco," Held Over". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. p. 10. Retrieved April 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ↑ Walker, Paul (September 17, 1942). "'Curtain's Off the Track!' New Films Written Up--And Vice Versa! 3 New Today". Harrisburg Telegraph. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. p. 21. Retrieved April 21, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. 1 2 3 Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924–1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4. P. 37.
  12. 1 2 3 Ruby Dandridge filmography at IMDb
  13. 1 2 3 "Obituaries : Ruby Dandridge; Singer, Actress, Mother of Performer Daughters". Los Angeles Times. October 24, 1987. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  14. ↑ Levette, Harry (January 22, 1955). "This Is Hollywood". The New York Age. New York, New York City. p. 17. Retrieved April 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ↑ "Another Dandridge In Lights". The Pittsburgh Courier. Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh. March 17, 1956. p. 36. Retrieved April 22, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. ↑ Maslin, Janet (June 19, 1997). "Hollywood's Tryst With Dorothy Dandridge Inspires Real Love at Last". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
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