Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Ruth Godfrey White - article by Frank Reighter

Here is another article researched by my friend and fellow "people locator", Frank Reighter.
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Ruth Godfrey White
Born Feb. 24, 1922 in Illinois, Died Jan. 7, 1985 in California

Ruth was trained as a dancer, and worked with the Jack Cole Dancers. Ruth moved to California. She worked in several Three Stooges shorts as Ruth Godfrey, and after marrying Jules White's son, Harold (Hal) White, worked in several more as Ruth Godfrey White. Ruth and Hal adopted two children, Jonathan (B 7/7/59) and Gretchen (B 6/8/61), and retired from films to become a full-time mother and housewife.

Ruth and Hal resided at 10822 Reseda Blvd. in Northridge, CA. Harold White died of a heart attack while on a fishing trip in Mexico, Feb. 10, 1979. Ruth Godfrey White died Jan. 7, 1985 at Northridge Hospital of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Her body was cremated by Coastal Cremations, Inc., in Pasadena, CA., after services at Bastian and Perott Mortuary.

Her Columbia film credits are as follows:

A Merry Mix-Up (1957) Leona
Muscle Up a Little Closer (1957) May Trent
The Ten Commandments (1956) choreographer
Rumpus in the Harem (1956) Sheba, Reba or Heba
Shot in the Frontier (1954) Bella
Knutzy Knights (1954) Lady in Waiting
Pals and Gals (1954) Belle
Musty Muscateers (1954) Tillith
Pardon My Backfire (1953) Nettie
A Blissful Blunder (1952) ?
Rhythm and Weep (1946) Tilda

Below is a posed scene from "Rhythm and Weep", with Ruth on the left. The other two ladies are Gloria Patrice and Nita Bieber.

Also I recently found two listings for "Soundies", the 3 minute musicals that were played on a projection juke-box type of machine at amusement parks, penny arcades & bars in the 1940's. One listing was filmed 10/25/1943, called "Chicken Reel" and it featured the Rhythmaires and the Godfrey Dancers, led by Ruth Godfrey. The other was filmed 11/8/1943 and was called "Hawaiian Holiday", and featured only the Godfrey Dancers.

Frank Reighter c 2008
at

5 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 5, 2010 at 11:24 PM

    I am Ruth Godfrey White's niece and I loved this blog. Please add that she taught dance classes in Hollywood and in the San Fernando Valley for many years. She taught jazz, ballet and interpretive. Thanks for your wonderful blog about my wonderful Auntie Ruthie!!

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  2. AnonymousOctober 6, 2010 at 8:49 PM

    Hi "niece",
    Thanks for the nice comment. Email me at fereighter@aol.com so we can discuss Ruth some more. The search was fun, and challenging, and any other imput will be appreciated.
    Thanks
    Frank Reighter

    ReplyDelete
  3. HughMNJuly 23, 2012 at 8:04 PM

    Hi folks,
    I'm researching a documentary film about Jack Cole, and would love to know more about Ruth Godfrey's time with Jack. If Ms. Godfrey White's niece sees this message, I'd be most grateful for email contact. Thanks! Hugh@timelinefilms.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousNovember 29, 2012 at 4:53 PM

    Ruth Godfrey White is related to Daniel Boone.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousDecember 10, 2015 at 2:26 PM

    I too am a niece of Ruth Godfrey White. She was indeed related to Daniel Boone (she was directly descended from Daniel's brother, Squire Boone). I am curious about the article by Frank Reighter where he mentioned her starring in 2 films with the Godfrey Dancers. She had 3 sisters (Dolores, Lois and Gloria) all who were good dancers. Were these sisters part of the Godfrey Dancers?

    ReplyDelete