Ruby Dandridge (March 3, 1900 – October 17, 1987) was an American actress from the early 1900s to the 1950s. She is best known for her radio work in her early days of acting.

Life and career

Born in Wichita, Kansas as Ruby Jean Butler, her parents were Nellie Simon and George Butler, of Jamaican, and Native American descent. On September 30, 1919, she married Cyril Dandridge. She moved with her husband to Cleveland, Ohio, where her daughter, actress Vivian Dandridge (1921–1991) was born. A second daughter, Academy Award-nominated actress Dorothy Dandridge, was born there the following year, in 1922, five months after Ruby and Cyril divorced. It is noted that after her divorce, Ruby Dandridge became involved with her companion Geneva Williams, who reportedly overworked the children and punished them harshly.

Ruby Dandridge is best known for her role on the radio show Amos 'n Andy, in which she played Sadie Blake and Harriet Crawford, and on radio's Judy Canova Show, in which she played "Geranium". She is recognized for her role in the 1959 movie A Hole in the Head as "Sally".

Last years and death

She attended her daughter Dorothy Dandridge's funeral in 1965. Ruby died of a heart attack, at the age of 87, on October 17, 1987 in Los Angeles, California, and was interred next to Dorothy at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California.

Source: Wikipedia