Руби Дэндридж: Жизнь и карьера американской актрисы

American actress (1900–1987)

Ruby Jean Dandridge (née Butler; March 3, 1900 – 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. Dandridge's father was also "a famous minstrel man."

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. The production began on July 8 at the Mayan Theater. 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). In other films, she played Rheba, a maid, in Junior Miss (1945), Dabby in Tap Roots (1948), the housekeeper in Three Little Girls in Blue (1946), Mrs. Kelso in Cabin in the Sky (1943) and Violet in Tish (1942). Dandridge played Oriole on both radio and TV versions of The Beulah Show, Also in the 1950s, Dandridge formed a nightclub act that played in clubs around Los Angeles.

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. 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. 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 Notes1933 King Kong Native Dancer Uncredited1934 Black Moon Black House Servant Uncredited1939 Midnight Shadow Mrs. Lingley 1940 Broken Strings Dancer Uncredited1942The Night Before the Divorce One of Roselle's Fans UncreditedGallant Lady Sarah Tish Violet UncreditedThe War Against Mrs. Hadley Maid UncreditedBroken StringsDancer Uncredited1943A Night for Crime Alice Jones Cook UncreditedCabin in the Sky Mrs. Kelso Corregidor Hyacinth Melody Parade Ruby I Dood It Mammy, in the Show UncreditedNever a Dull Moment Daisy Uncredited1944 Hat Check Honey Ophelia UncreditedLadies of Washington Nellie UncreditedCarolina Blues Josephine UncreditedCan't Help Singing Henrietta Uncredited1945 The Clock Milk Customer UncreditedJunior Miss Rheba Saratoga Trunk Turbaned Vendor Uncredited 1946 Inside JobIvory UncreditedThree Little Girls in Blue Mammy UncreditedHome 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 Uncredited1959 A Hole in the Head Sally