Ruth Terry

Ruth Mae Terry, born Ruth Mae McMahon on October 21, 1920, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, was an American singer and actress whose career spanned film, television, and the stage from the 1930s through the 1960s. The daughter of Irish-American parents, Mr. and Mrs. M. E. McMahon, she attended St. John's Catholic School in Benton Harbor. Her stage name was attributed to Walter Winchell, who combined the names of two prominent baseball players of the era, Babe Ruth and Bill Terry.

Terry demonstrated an early aptitude for singing, winning multiple prizes before performing with the Paul Ash Theater Orchestra at the age of twelve. That same year she left Benton Harbor to sing with Clyde McCoy's orchestra. Her Broadway career took place between 1917 and 1919 and included appearances in The Gold Diggers, I Love You, and Lombardi, Ltd.

Her film career began with Love and Hisses in 1937, a production that also featured Walter Winchell, at which point she was earning $400 per week. Terry went on to appear in the western Call of the Canyon alongside Gene Autry and in several films featuring Roy Rogers. Her most recognized screen role came in Pistol Packin' Mama, based on the song of the same name, in which she appeared with Robert Livingston. Alongside her film work, Terry maintained a singing career, including a guest appearance as female vocalist on The Bob Crosby Show on NBC radio on August 15, 1943.

On June 20, 1942, Terry eloped with test pilot John Martin, and the two were married in Las Vegas, Nevada. She married her second husband, Canadian John P. Gilmour, on October 25, 1947, and retired from acting at that time. A November 8, 1947, article in her hometown newspaper, The News-Palladium, noted that she, her husband, and her four-year-old son from a previous marriage planned to settle in St. Genevieve de Pierre Fonds, Quebec.

Terry died on March 11, 2016, at the age of 95, and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City.