Ruth Etting (23 November 1896 – 24 September 1978) was an American singing star of the 1930s, who had over sixty hit recordings. Her signature tunes were "Shine on Harvest Moon", "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "You Made Me Love You", and her other popular recordings included "Button Up Your Overcoat", "Mean to Me", and "Ten Cents A Dance".

Born in David City, Nebraska, she left home at age seventeen to attend art school in Chicago. Her job designing costumes at the Marigold Gardens nightclub led to employment singing and dancing in the chorus there. She became a featured vocalist at the nightclub and married gangster Martin "Moe the Gimp" Snyder on 12 July 1922. He managed her career, booking radio appearances, and eventually had her signed to an exclusive recording contract with Columbia Records.

She made her Broadway debut in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 , and appeared in a number of other hit shows in rapid succession, including Simple Simon and Whoopee!

In Hollywood she made a long series of movie shorts and three feature movies.

She appeared in London in Ray Henderson's Transatlantic Rhythm in 1936.

In 1937 she fell in love with her pianist, Myrl Alderman, who was consequently shot by her husband Moe Snyder—but survived. Snyder was jailed for the assault, and Etting divorced him 30 November 1937 and married Alderman in December 1938. The scandal effectively ended her career, though she briefly had a radio show in 1947. Alderman died on 16 November 1966.

Etting died in Colorado Springs, Colorado in 1978.

Her life was the basis for the 1955 movie Love Me or Leave Me which starred Doris Day and Jimmy Cagney.

Broadway

• the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 – in which she introduced Irving Berlin's "Shaking The Blues Away"
• Whoopee! – 1928 - in which she introduced "Love Me or Leave Me"
• the Nine-Fifteen Revue - 1929, in which she introduced "Get Happy"
• Simple Simon – 1930, in which she introduced "Ten Cents a Dance"
• the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931

Movie shorts

• The Book of Lovers -1929
• Roseland -1930
• One Good Turn -1930
• Broadway's Like That -1930
• Words & Music -1931
• Stage Struck -1931
• Radio Salutes -1931
• Old Lace -1931
• A Modern Cinderella -1932
• A Regular Trouper -1932
• A Mail Bride -1932
• Artistic Temper -1932
• Bye-Gones -1933
• Along Came Ruth -1933
• Crashing the Gate -1933
• California Weather -1933
• Knee Deep in Music -1933
• A Torch Tango -1934
• The Song of Fame -1934
• Derby Decade -1934
• Southern Style -1934
• Bandits and Ballads -1934
• An Old Spanish Onion -1935
• Ticket or Leave It -1935
• Tuned Out -1935
• Alladin from Manhattan -1936
• Melody in May -1936
• Sleepy Time -1936

Feature movies

• Roman Scandals -1933 – her breakthrough film, which starred Eddie Cantor and Gloria Stuart
• Gift of Gab -1934
• Hips, Hips, Hooray! -1934

External links

• A Ruth Etting website