| Ruby Dandridge | |
| Birth Name: | Ruby Jean Butler |
| Birth Date: | March 3, 1900 |
| Birth Place: | Wichita, Kansas, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1917 - 1962 |
| Partner: | Geneva Williams |
| Children: | Vivian Dandridge Dorothy Dandridge |
| Family: | Nayo 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.
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]
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] Dandridge played Oriole on both radio and TV versions of The Beulah Show,[11] and Geranium in The Judy Canova Show, and was a regular cast member on Tonight at Hoagy's. 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 of the Bride.
In 1955, Dandridge and her business partner Dorothy Foster bought land in Twentynine Palms, California, with plans to construct a subdivision of 250 homes.[12] Also in the 1950s, Dandridge formed a nightclub act that played in clubs around Los Angeles. 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."[13]
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.[14] 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.[15] 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.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1933 | King Kong | Native Dancer | Uncredited | |
| 1934 | Black Moon | Black House Servant | Uncredited | |
| 1939 | Midnight Shadow | Mrs. Lingley | ||
| 1940 | Broken Strings | Dancer | Uncredited | |
| 1942 | The Night Before the Divorce | One of Roselle's Fans | Uncredited | |
| Gallant Lady | Sarah | |||
| Tish | Violet | Uncredited | ||
| The War Against Mrs. Hadley | Maid | Uncredited | ||
| Broken Strings | Dancer | Uncredited | ||
| 1943 | A Night for Crime | Alice Jones - Cook | Uncredited | |
| Cabin in the Sky | Mrs. Kelso | |||
| Corregidor | Hyacinth | |||
| Melody Parade | Ruby | |||
| I Dood It | Mammy, in the Show | Uncredited | ||
| Never a Dull Moment | Daisy | Uncredited | ||
| 1944 | Hat Check Honey | Ophelia | Uncredited | |
| Ladies of Washington | Nellie | Uncredited | ||
| Carolina Blues | Josephine | Uncredited | ||
| Can't Help Singing | Henrietta | Uncredited | ||
| 1945 | The Clock | Milk Customer | Uncredited | |
| Junior Miss | Rheba | |||
| Saratoga Trunk | Turbaned Vendor | Uncredited | ||
| 1946 | Inside Job | Ivory | Uncredited | |
| Three Little Girls in Blue | Mammy | Uncredited | ||
| Home in Oklahoma | Devoria | |||
| 1947 | Dead Reckoning | Hyacinth | ||
| The Arnelo Affair | Maybelle - Parkson's Maid | |||
| My Wild Irish Rose | Della | |||
| 1948 | Tap Roots | Dabby | ||
| 1950 | Father Is a Bachelor | Lily | Uncredited | |
| 1959 | A Hole in the Head | Sally |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | Flop Goes the Weasel | Mammy Hen | Voice, uncredited | |
| 1946 | Screen Snapshots: The Judy Canova Show | Geranium, Radio Show Character | ||
| 1948 | Silly Billie | Maid |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951-1955 | The Amos 'n' Andy Show | Various roles | 4 episodes[16] | |
| 1952-1953 | The Beulah Show | Oriole | ||
| 1956 | Front Row Center | Winnie | Episode: "The Human Touch" | |
| 1956 | NBC Matinee Theater | Belle | Episode: "Strong Medicine" | |
| 1957 | Lux Video Theatre | Belle | Episode: "Dark Hammock" | |
| 1959 | Yancy Derringer | Lily Rose Beam | Episode: "V as in Voodoo" | |
| 1960 | Checkmate | Ellen | Episode: "The Princess in the Tower" | |
| 1961 | The Dick Powell Show | Margaret | Episode: "Goodbye, Hannah" | |
| 1961-1962 | Father of the Bride | Delilah |