Tex Ritter

[Kaz ~:~]

Tex Ritter

Date of Birth 12 January 1905, Murvaul, Texas, USA

Date of Death 2 January 1974, Nashville, Tennessee, USA (heart attack)

Birth Name Woodward Maurice Ritter

Nickname America's Most Beloved Cowboy

Singing-cowboy star of "B" westerns during the 30's and 40's and later country-music recording star.
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Spouse

Dorothy Fay (14 June 1941 - 2 January 1974) (his death) (2 children)

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Perhaps best remembered for his haunting vocalization of the theme song in High Noon (1952).
Singer, father of John Ritter.

His spouse, Dorothy Fay, was his leading lady in many of his western features.

In his later years, he was a disk jockey on Nashville radio.

In 1970, he ran unsuccessfully in Tennessee for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.

Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1964.

Grandfather of Jason Ritter.

Had a long string of hit singles on Billboard's country charts -- including the No. 1 hits "I'm Wasting My Tears on You" (1944); "You Two-Timed Me Once Too Often" (1945); and "You Will Have to Pay"

(1946). Other famous hits included "Deck of Cards"

(1948) and "I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven" (1961).

"You Two-Timed Me Once Too Often" was Billboard's No. 1 country hit of the year in 1945.

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1980.

Veteran character actor Morgan Woodward's uncle, Dr. S. A. Woodward, lived in the San Angelo, Texas area.

One day, he was called to help in the birth of a male child. The family, not knowing what gender was expected, had not chosen a name, so in honor of the good doctor's service, they named him Woodward Ritter. Later, he would be known more widely as "Tex" Ritter.

Profiled in "Back in the Saddle: Essays on Western Film and Television Actors", Gary Yoggy, ed. (McFarland, 1998).

His horse in his earlier movies was called White Flash.

Father of Tom Ritter (deseased)

Grandfather of Stella Ritter.

Buried in Port Neches, Texas.

He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6631 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.

Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter came from a long line of Texas horsemen. His grandfather Benjamin Franklin Ritter (1834-1902) was a Confederate officer (2nd lieutenant) in Company F the 37th Texas Cavalry (Terrel's) during the War between the States. Benjamin saw action in the saddle in Texas and Louisiana.

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Salary

Song of the Gringo (1936) $2,400

Trouble in Texas (1937) $2,400

Hittin' the Trail (1937) $2,400