When did tex ritter diedre

American country singer (–)

This article is about the singer and actor.

Dorothy fay What was the sidekicks name? After traveling to Chicago with a musical troupe, he entered Northwestern Law School. This article is about the singer and actor. Promotional photo of Tex Ritter, circa s.

For the basketball player, see Tex Ritter (basketball).

Musical artist

Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, – January 2, ) was a pioneer of American country music singer and actor from the mids into the s. He was the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John Ritter, grandsons Jason Ritter and Tyler Ritter, and granddaughter Carly).

He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Early life

Woodward Maurice Ritter was born on January 12, , in Murvaul, Texas,^[1] to Martha Elizabeth (née Matthews) and James Everett Ritter. He grew up on his family's farm in Panola County, Texas, and attended grade school in Carthage, Texas.

He attended South Park High School in Beaumont, Texas. After graduating with honors, he entered the University of Texas at Austin in ^[2] to study pre-law and major in government, political science, and economics. After traveling to Chicago with a musical troupe, he entered Northwestern Law School.^[1]

Career

Radio and Broadway

An early pioneer of country music, Ritter soon became interested in show business.

In , he sang on KPRC in Houston, Texas,^[3] a minute program of mostly cowboy songs. That same year, he moved to New York City and landed a job in the men's chorus of the Broadway show The New Moon ().

Gunsmoke (1955) - Tex Ritter - YouTube

Tex Ritter - Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame

This Week in the West, Episode 9: Tex Ritter - National ...

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He appeared as cowboy Cord Elam in the Broadway production Green Grow the Lilacs (),^[2] the basis for the musical Oklahoma! He also played the part of Sagebrush Charlie in The Round Up ()^[4] and Mother Lode ().

In , he starred in New York City's first broadcast Western, The Lone Star Rangers on WOR, where he sang and told tales of the Old West.

Ritter wrote and starred in Cowboy Tom's Roundup on WINS in , a daily children's cowboy program aired over two other East Coast stations for three years. He also performed on the radio show WHN Barndance and sang on NBC Radio shows; and appeared in several radio dramas, including CBS'sBobby Benson's Adventures.^[5]

Movies

In , Ritter moved to Los Angeles.

Gene autry: Read Change Change source View history. Fox — and gleaned much knowledge from them. Retrieved December 27, Likely the most distinctive of the singing cowboys who rose to prominence in the s and s, Tex Ritter possessed a rumbling voice that was a perfect conduit for songs of the Old West and for heartbreak laments.

His motion picture debut was in Song of the Gringo () for Grand National Pictures.^[2] He went on to appear in 70 movies as an actor, and 76 on movie soundtracks. He attracted special attention in for his rendition of "The Ballad of High Noon" over the opening credits of the celebrated film High Noon, and later sang it at that year's Academy Awards ceremony, where it won Best Original Song.

Recording

Ritter's recording career was his most successful period. He was the first artist signed with the newly formed Capitol Records in ^[1]

In , he scored a hit with "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You", which hit number one on the country chart and number 11 on the pop chart.

An article in the trade publication Billboard noted 14 years later that with that song, he "reached the style of rhythmic tune that would assure his musical stature".^[6]

In Ritter recorded "The Ballad of High Noon" for the film High Noon. He performed the track at the first televised Academy Awards ceremony in , and it received an Oscar for Best Song that year.^[7]

Television

When television began to compete with movies for American audiences, Ritter began to make appearances on the new medium following 71 straight movie appearances.

In , he began performing on Town Hall Party on radio and television in Los Angeles. In , he co-hosted Ranch Party, a syndicated version of the show. He made his national TV debut in on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee and was one of five rotating hosts for its NBC-TV spin-off, Five Star Jubilee.

Later work

Ritter became one of the founding members of the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee, and spearheaded the effort to build the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum into which he was inducted in ^[2]

He moved to Nashville in and began working for radio station WSM and the Grand Ole Opry, earning a lifetime membership in the latter in ^[2]

Senate campaign

In , Ritter entered Tennessee's Republican primary election for United States Senate.

Despite high name recognition, he lost the nomination to United States Representative Bill Brock, who then defeated the incumbent Senator Albert Gore, Sr. in the general election.

Personal life

Ritter died of a heart attack in Nashville on January 2, , at age He was survived by his wife and two sons.

When did tex ritter diedre He abandoned this attempt, however, when it became clear he could not keep up with his studies and continue touring with the play. This article is about the singer and actor. Tex Ritter: Greatest Hits compilation , Curb, Tex Ritter Induction Year:

Ritter's son, John, became famous as an actor, playing Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three's Company (–). In , John died, at the age of 54, of an aortic dissection. Because John was initially diagnosed as having a heart attack, and because aortic dissection is known to be hereditary, the family now believes that Tex died of an aortic dissection rather than a heart attack.^[8]

Legacy

For his contribution to the recording industry, Ritter has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at Hollywood Boulevard.^[9] In , he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame^[10] at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

He was a member of the charter group of inductees into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame in Carthage, in ^[11]

In , Ritter was honored posthumously with a Golden Boot Award for his work in Western films.^[12]

Ritter can still be heard as the voice of Big Al, an audio-animatronicbear, at Disney theme park attraction Country Bear Jamboree at Tokyo Disneyland in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, and formerly at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World and Disneyland in Anaheim, California.

Selected filmography

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	US Country	Label
	"Children's Songs and Stories" (4 p's 78's in a cover with pictures)	Capitol
	Cowboy Favorites (4 p's 78's in a cover with pictures)
	Songs from the Western Screen
	Psalms
	Blood on the Saddle
	Lincoln Hymns
	Hillbilly Heaven
	Stan Kenton! Tex Ritter!
	Border Affair
	Friendly Voice
	The Best of Tex Ritter		38
	Sweet Land of Liberty		43
	Just Beyond the Moon		18
	Bump Tiddil Dee Bum Bum!		38
	Tennessee Blues (Label: Hilltop Records)
	Wild West
	Chuck Wagon Days
	Green Green Valley
	Super Country Legendary
	An American Legend		7
	Fall Away		44
	Comin' After Jinny

Singles

References

External links