#ruby dandridge

[citizenscreen]

Ruby Dandridge (March 3, 1900 - October 17, 1987)

[queer-cinephile]

30 Days of Classic Queer Hollywood

Day 24: Ruby Dandridge (1900 - 1987)

Ruby Dandridge was an African American actress best known for her roles on the radio shows Amos 'n' Andy and Judy Canova Show. She is recognizable for her performance in the films Dead Reckoning (1947) and A Hole in the Head (1959).

She was the mother of actresses Vivian Dandridge and Dorothy Dandridge, the latter of whom was an Academy Award nominee.

Dandridge was a bisexual woman. After her divorce from her daughters' father, she entered a relationship with a female companion, Geneva Williams. Dorothy Dandridge later revealed that Williams was a harsh disciplinarian and rather abusive towards the children.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Ruby Dandridge

Dorothy Dandridge 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.

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."

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.

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. Five years later, she appeared in a production of Hit the Deck at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco, California. One of Dandridge's earliest appearances, thought uncredited, was as a native dancer in King Kong in 1933. Dandridge was also in Junior Miss (1945), Tap Roots (1948), Three Little Girls in Blue (1946), Cabin in the Sky (1943), and Tish (1942). Lillian Randolph, Ernest Whitman, and Ruby Dandridge of the radio cast of The Beulah Show from 1952–1953.

In 1955, Dandridge and her business partner Dorothy Foster bought land in Twentynine Palms, California, with plans to construct a subdivision of 250 homes. 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."

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.

[mimi-0007]

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. Dandridge played Oriole on both radio and TV versions of The Beulah Show, and Geranium in The Judy Canova Show,  182  and was a regular cast member on Tonight at Hoagy's. : 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. Dorothy Dandridge mother.

[chochote-sijali]

I find it so cool and interesting that Dorothy Dandridge and her older sister were born in the 1920s and lived with their two mothers. I haven’t looked into how they felt about their non-biological mother as it’s said that she would “punish them harshly”, but it’s still so cool to hear about this in such an early time.

But then again, back then, I wouldn’t be surprised that two black women living together as a couple were the least of white America’s problems lol

[mias-playground]

Film and radio actress Ruby Dandridge (Dorothy's mom) Ruby at Wikipedia

[blondecrazydame]

Check out my latest Tribute! :)

[365daysoflesbians]

MARCH 3: Ruby Dandridge (1900-1987)

The mother of Hollywood icon Dorothy Dandridge, Ruby Dandridge was a formidable actress in her own right. In addition to her roles on hit radio shows like The Beulah Show and Amos ‘n Andy, she was also involved with a female lover for the majority of her life. 

Born on March 3 in Wichita, Kansas, Ruby was one of four children. Her mother was a maid and her father worked several blue collar jobs in addition to being “a famous minstrel man.” When she was nineteen, Ruby married a man named Cyril Dandridge and the two moved to Cleveland. They would have two children, Vivian and Dorothy, before divorcing in 1922. After her divorce, Ruby began a relationship with her life partner Geneva Williams. 

Dreaming of making it big in Hollywood, Ruby created a song-and-dance act for her two young daughters called The Wonder Children. The act was a success along the southern touring circuits, but work soon dried up after the Great Depression hit. In 1930, Ruby and Geneva relocated the girls to Los Angeles. It was there where Ruby got her own start as a “native dancer” in the 1933 production of King Kong. She would go on to play supporting roles in several Hollywood films, such as Three Little Girls in Blue (1943) and Tap Roots (1948). In 1943, she played the role of Mrs. Kelso in Cabin in the Woods, a Broadway film adaptation that featured an all-black cast including Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, and Louis Armstrong. 

Ruby is most well-known for playing various roles on the radio show Amos n’ Andy and Oriole in both radio and TV versions of The Beulah Show.  As the years went on, Dorothy began to branch out from The Wonder Children and became a celebrated actress in her own right. Ruby eventually took a backseat to her daughter’s skyrocketing career. Later in life, Dorothy would remark that Ruby’s partner Geneva was a cruel disciplinarian and that both her mothers had abusively pushed her into show business. 

In 1987, Ruby passed away in 1987 from a heart attack in her home in Los Angeles. She was interred next to Dorothy, who had passed in 1965 from an accidental overdose. She was played by Loretta Devine in the 1999 film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.  

[anton-wyzek]

Queer Hollywood and it’s stars that aren’t often talked about (btw I will not assign labels of sexuality to some of these people as they never clarified their identity)

Johnnie Ray, an early 50s singer who had a part in the film There’s No Business Like Show Business.

Patsy Kelly, actress of the 1930s who often was in films with Thelma Todd. Kelly was an out lesbian for the entirety of her career.

Ramon Novarro, considered a rival to silent film star Rudolph Valentino, Novarro had great success in silent films and made the transition to talkies. Novarro was never out in the span of his career due to his denial towards his sexuality.

Ruby Dandridge, an actress and mother of Vivian and Dorothy Dandridge. Ruby divorced Cyril Dandridge in 1922 and became romantically involved with Geneva Williams. Film roles are My Wild Irish Rose (1947) and A Hole in the Head (1959).

Montgomery Clift, one of the first method actors in Hollywood. Clift was either gay or bisexual and starred in films such as From Here To Eternity (1953) and Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

Dorothy Arzner, a director of films such as The Wild Party (1929) and Dance, Girl, Dance (1940). An out lesbian, Arzner’s partner was Marion Morgan. They were together for forty years until Morgan’s death in 1971.

[theglisted]

Ruby Dandridge: A LGBTQ+ Biography By The Ubuntu Bio Project

Ruby Dandridge: A LGBTQ+ Biography By The Ubuntu Bio Project

Ruby Dandridge was born on March 3, 1900 (to October 17, 1987). She was a radio, television, and film actress from the early days of those mediums, also notable for being the mother of actresses Vivian and Dorothy Dandridge.

Ruby Jean Butler was born in Wichita, Kansas, the daughter of Nellie Simon and George Butler. Her father was born in Jamaica in 1860, and came to the United States when he…

[ozu-teapot]

Dead Reckoning | John Cromwell | 1947

Charles Cane, Ruby Dandridge, Lizabeth Scott, Humphrey Bogart

[citizenscreen]

Remembering Ruby Dandridge on her birthday #botd

[yourdailyqueer]

Ruby Dandridge (deceased)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Bisexual

DOB: 3 March 1900

RIP: 17 October 1987

Ethnicity: African American

Occupation: Actress, entrepreneur 

[oldshowbiz]

Early African-American actresses Ruby Dandridge and Lillian Randolph.

Lillian Randolph got her start at WXYZ where a white radio producer "trained her for three months to do Negro dialect."

[dandridgelove]

Dorothy Dandridge and her mother, Ruby Dandridge.

Source: Cleveland Public Library in Black America Series: Cleveland, Ohio by Regennia N. Williams.

NOTE: Dorothy was 42 when she passed.

[sheistimeless]

Dorothy with her 1 month old daughter Harolyn and her mother, Ruby.