Ruth Etting

Ruth Etting was born on November 23, 1896, in David City, Nebraska, to Alfred Etting, a banker, and Winifred Etting. Her mother died when Etting was five years old, after which she was raised by her paternal grandparents, George and Hannah Etting, in David City. Her father remarried and relocated, leaving his daughter's upbringing entirely to the grandparents. George Etting owned the Etting Roller Mills and permitted traveling circuses and shows to perform on the lot behind the property, an arrangement that delighted his granddaughter. Etting developed an early passion for drawing and filled her school textbooks with sketches, prompting her grandparents to purchase the books at the end of each term.

At sixteen, Etting left David City for Chicago to attend art school. She secured work at the Marigold Gardens nightclub, initially designing costumes, which led to employment singing and dancing in the chorus. Before committing fully to performing, she also worked as a designer for a costume shop in Chicago's Loop and earned a partnership in the business. She eventually abandoned art school in favor of a performing career. Though she had enjoyed singing in school and church, Etting never received formal voice lessons. She described herself as a high soprano during her Nebraska years but developed a lower vocal range after arriving in Chicago. Her breakthrough at Marigold Gardens came when a featured male vocalist fell ill and Etting was asked to substitute; she adjusted by singing in a lower register, and the club subsequently made her a featured performer. She credited Marion Harris as an influence on her song styling but developed her own approach by alternating tempos and varying notes and phrases.

In 1922, Etting met gangster Martin "Moe the Gimp" Snyder while performing at Marigold Gardens. She married him on July 17, 1922, in Crown Point, Indiana, later describing the decision as motivated nine-tenths by fear and one-tenth by pity. Snyder, who had previously served as a bodyguard to Al Jolson, used his political connections in Chicago to secure bookings for Etting, earning her the nickname "Miss City Hall." He managed her career, arranged radio appearances, and negotiated an exclusive recording contract for her with Columbia Records. That same year, Etting was hired as a lead singer for Rainbo Trail, a new show at Fred Mann's Million Dollar Rainbo Room in Chicago's Rainbo Gardens, directed by Frank Westphal. The production opened on December 15, 1922, and ran until March 1, 1923.

Etting and Snyder relocated to New York in 1927, where she made her Broadway debut in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927, having been recommended to Florenz Ziegfeld by Irving Berlin. At her audition, Ziegfeld did not ask her to sing but instead had her walk across the room, hiring her on that basis. During the final rehearsal, Ziegfeld advised her simply to walk offstage after finishing her number rather than attempt a tap dance. She went on to appear in the Broadway musicals Whoopee! and Simple Simon. In Simple Simon, Etting replaced vocalist Lee Morse, who was unable to perform, joining the cast in Boston during its pre-Broadway tryout. Songwriters Rodgers and Hart spent the night reworking "Ten Cents a Dance" to suit her vocal range. During the show's Broadway run, Etting persuaded Ziegfeld to incorporate "Love Me or Leave Me," a song originally written for Whoopee! and which she had recorded in 1928. Her performance of it earned her a Vitaphone contract to make film shorts. Etting also appeared in the Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic of 1919, the Ziegfeld Follies of 1918, and Ziegfeld's final Follies production in 1931, giving her a Broadway career that spanned from 1927 to 1931.

Alongside her stage work, Etting accumulated more than sixty hit recordings and built a substantial presence in radio and film. Between 1929 and 1936 she made a long series of movie shorts, along with three feature films in 1933 and 1934. Her signature songs included "Shine On, Harvest Moon," "Ten Cents a Dance," and "Love Me or Leave Me," and she became widely known as "America's Sweetheart of Song."

Etting intended to retire from performing in 1935, but a turbulent personal life delayed that outcome. She divorced Snyder in 1937. Her pianist, Harry Myrl Alderman, was separated from his wife when he and Etting began a relationship. In January 1938, Snyder began making threatening telephone calls to Etting. In October of that year, he traveled to Los Angeles, intercepted Alderman outside a radio station, and at gunpoint forced him to drive to Etting's home, stating his intention to kill Etting, Alderman, and his own daughter Edith Snyder, who was employed by Etting. Snyder shot Alderman, who survived. Three days after the shooting, Alderman's wife filed an alienation-of-affection suit against Etting. Although Etting and Alderman claimed to have married in Mexico in July 1938, Alderman's divorce was not finalized until December of that year. The two formally married during Snyder's trial for attempted murder in December 1938. Etting and Alderman subsequently settled on a farm outside Colorado Springs, Colorado, largely withdrawing from public life except for occasional appearances and interviews. A fictionalized account of her life was presented in the 1955 film Love Me or Leave Me, with Doris Day portraying Etting and James Cagney portraying Moe Snyder. Ruth Etting died on September 24, 1978.