Tex Ritter
| Tex Ritter | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Woodward Maurice Ritter |
| Also known as | Tex Ritter |
| Born |
January 12, 1905 Murvaul, Panola County, Texas, US |
| Died | January 2, 1974 (aged 68) Nashville, Tennessee |
| Genres | Country, Western |
| Occupation(s) | singer, actor |
| Instruments | vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1928–1974 |
| Labels | Columbia Records, Decca Records, Capitol Records |
Tex Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting (son John and grandsons Jason and Tyler). He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
He was born Woodward Maurice Ritter in Murvaul, Texas, the son of Martha Elizabeth (née Matthews) and James Everett Ritter. He grew up on his family's farm in Panola County and attended grade school in Carthage. He attended South Park High School in Beaumont, Texas. After graduating with honors, he entered the University of Texas at Austin in 1922; he studied pre-law and majored in government, political science, and economics. After traveling to Chicago with a musical troupe, he entered Northwestern Law School.
An early pioneer of country music, Ritter soon became interested in show business. In 1928, he sang on KPRC-AM in Houston, a 30-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 (1928). He appeared as cowboy Cord Elam in the Broadway production Green Grow the Lilacs (1931), the basis for the musical Oklahoma!. He also played the part of Sagebrush Charlie in The Round Up (1932) and Mother Lode (1934).
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