Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singer and actress during the 1920s and 1930s, who had over 60 hit recordings and worked in stage, radio, and film. Known as "America's sweetheart of song", her signature tunes were "Shine On, Harvest Moon", "Ten Cents a Dance" and "Love Me or Leave Me".
As a young girl in Nebraska, Etting had wanted to become an artist; she drew and sketched all the time. At sixteen, her grandparents decided to send her to art school in Chicago. While Etting attended class, she found a job at the Marigold Gardens nightclub. After a short time there, Etting gave up art classes in favor of a career in show business. Etting, who enjoyed singing in school and church, never took any formal singing lessons. She quickly became a featured vocalist at the club. Etting was then managed by Moe Snyder, whom she married in 1922. Snyder was known for being very protective of Ruth, keeping her out of trouble in the dangerous city and referring to her as "the little lady", along with other affectionate names. He made arrangements for Etting's recording and film contracts as well as her personal and radio appearances. She became nationally known when she appeared in Flo Ziegfeld's Follies of 1927.
Etting intended to retire from performing in 1935, but that did not happen until after a messy divorce from Snyder in 1937. Harry Myrl Alderman, Etting's pianist, was separated from his wife when he and Etting began a relationship. Snyder began making telephone threats to Etting in January 1938. In October, Snyder traveled to Los Angeles and detained Alderman as he was leaving a local radio station. At gunpoint, he forced the pianist to take him to Etting's home, saying he intended to kill Etting, Alderman, and his own daughter, Edith Snyder, who worked for Etting. Snyder shot Alderman, who survived. Three days later, Alderman's wife filed suit against Etting for alienation of affection.
While Alderman and Etting claimed to have been married in Mexico in July 1938, Alderman's divorce would not be finalized until December of that year. The couple married during Moe Snyder's trial for attempted murder in December 1938. Etting and Alderman relocated to a farm outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado, where they kept out of the spotlight except for occasional public appearances and interviews. Her fictionalized story was told in the musical film Love Me Or Leave Me (1955) with Doris Day as Ruth Etting and James Cagney as Moe Snyder.
Biography
A detailed biography of Ruth Etting's life was written by Kenneth Irwin and Charles O. Lloyd titled "Ruth Etting: America's Forgotten Sweetheart."
thumb|left|Etting in a photo for her CBS radio program sponsored by Oldsmobile.
Ruth Etting was born on November 23, 1896, in David City, Nebraska, to Alfred Etting, a banker, and Winifred Etting (née Kleinhan). Etting's grandfather, George, owned the Etting Roller Mills. To the delight of his granddaughter, George Etting allowed traveling circuses and shows to use the lot behind the mills for performances.
Etting was interested in drawing at an early age; she drew and sketched anywhere she was able. Her grandparents were asked to buy the textbooks she had used at the end of a school term because Etting had filled them with her drawings. Etting gained a job designing costumes at the Marigold Gardens nightclub, which led to employment singing and dancing in the chorus. She gave up art school soon after beginning to work at Marigold Gardens.
While she enjoyed singing at school and in church, Etting never took formal voice lessons. She said that she had patterned her song styling after Marion Harris, but created her own unique style by alternating tempos and by varying some notes and phrases. Describing herself as a "high, squeaky soprano" during her days in David City, Etting developed a lower range singing voice after her arrival in Chicago which led to her success. The club enjoyed her performance exceedingly, and Ruth became a featured vocalist at the nightclub.
Etting was hired as one of the lead singers for a new show to be presented at Fred Mann’s Million Dollar Rainbo Room in Chicago's Rainbo Gardens. One of her co-stars was Chicago ballerina Betty “Buddye” Felsen. The show, Rainbo Trail, was directed by Frank Westphal. It opened on December 15, 1922 and ran until March 1, 1923.
Etting met gangster Martin "Moe the Gimp" Snyder in 1922, when she was performing at the Marigold Gardens in Chicago. Etting described herself as a young, naive girl when she arrived; and due to her inexperience in the ways of the big city, she became reliant on Snyder after their meeting. Snyder also used his political connections to gain bookings for Etting, who was called "Miss City Hall" because of Snyder's influence in Chicago. Etting married Snyder on July 17, 1922, in Crown Point, Indiana. She later said she married him "nine-tenths out of fear and one-tenth out of pity."]]
The couple moved to New York in 1927, where Etting made her Broadway debut in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927. When Etting arrived, songwriters Rodgers and Hart discovered that the song "Ten Cents a Dance" was not written for Etting's voice range. The three spent the night rewriting the song so Etting could perform it.
Etting was first heard on radio station WLS while she was living in Chicago. Her appearance drew so much fan mail the station signed her to a year's contract for twice weekly performances. On CBS, she broadcast twice weekly in a 15 minute radio show in the 1930s. By 1934, she was on NBC with sports announcer Ted Husing and sponsorship of the program from Oldsmobile .
Personal life
thumb|Etting on the cover of the June 1935 edition of Radio Mirror.
Etting saved some of her paycheck each week, regardless of the amount she was making at the time. Her friends said she invested in California real estate rather than the stock market. Etting, who made many of her own clothes, did her own housekeeping and lived frugally, initially announced her retirement in 1935. It is not clear why she did not go through with her announced plans, but she issued a second statement regarding retirement after filing for divorce from Snyder in November 1937.
Snyder's aggressive and controlling management style began to cause problems for Etting; during her work with Whoopee! on Broadway, Snyder was a constant presence. He was never without a gun and enjoyed poking people with it while saying "Put your hands up!" and then laughing when their fright was evident. Snyder also persisted in cornering Ziegfeld because he believed Etting's role in the musical could be improved. Ziegfeld had a different opinion and indicated nothing would be changed. Snyder would then mumble that it was not a suggestion but a demand. In 1936, she thought taking work in England might be the answer, but Snyder created problems while she was working there also. Soon after the couple arrived in England, Snyder became involved in a street fight, which created adverse publicity for Etting.