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Tex Ritter - "America's most beloved cowboy"
Woodard Maurice "Tex" Ritter was born January 12, 1905, on a farm in
Murvaul, Texas. Tex was one of the best-known singing cowboys in
western movie history. He went to highschool at South Park High near
Beaumont, Texas, then went on to study pre-law at the
University of Texas, in
Austin, Texas.
Ritter's diverse career spanning four decades began at KPRC radio station in
Houston, Texas in 1929. Ritter starred in eighty-five movies beginning in 1936. He signed a contract with
Decca Records in 1934. His hits include "
Rye Whiskey," "
Texas," "
Wayward Wind," "
You Are My Sunshine," and "
I Dreamed Of A Hill-Billy Heaven."
Ritter starred in over over 60 western movies including:
"Rollin' Plains"(1938);"Riders of the Rockies" (1937); "Trouble in Texas"; and "Deep in the Heart of Texas"(1942)
In 1964 he was the fifth country music start to be inducted into the
Country Music Hall Of Fame. In 1989 he was inducted into the
Western Music Association Hall of Fame.
Tex also starred in his own comics from 1950 to 1954 with a total of 20 issues, they are of course collectors items.
Tex had his own publishing company, Tex Ritter Music Publications. Among the books published there is "Tex Ritter All Star Song Folio," by Tex Ritter himself.
There have been several books written on Tex Ritter including; "
Tex Ritter, America's Most Beloved Cowboy" by Bill O'neal and "
The Tex Ritter Story" by Johnny Bond.
The Tex Ritter Museum, located in
Carthage, Texas - enteratains thousands of his fans every year.
Tex Ritter's son,
John Ritter went on to become famous in his own right, with TV show's like
Three's Company;
The Waltons; and
8 Simple Rules ... For Dating My Teenage Daughter.
Tex Ritter
(1905-1974)
Rest In Peace
Tex Ritter Discography:
Tex Ritter Filmography:
- 1955
- Wichita
- Apache Ambush - with Bill Williams, Richard Jaeckel, and Alex Montoya
- 1954
- The Cowboy - with John Dehner and William Conrad
- 1953
- The Marshal's Daughter - with Laurie Anders, Hoot Gibson, and Ken Murray
- 1950
- Holiday Rhythm - with Mary Beth Hughes, David Street, and Wally Vernon
- 1945
- Enemy of the Law
- Flaming Bullets - with Richard Alexander, and Stanford Jolley
- Frontier Fugitives
- Marked for Murder - with Edward Cassidy, Jack Ingram, and Bob Kortman
- Six-Gun Previews, Vol. 1
- 1944
- Cowboy Canteen - with Roy Acuff, Dick Curtis and Jeff Donnell
- Gangsters of the Frontier
- Marshal of Gunsmoke
- Oklahoma Raiders - with Richard Alexander and Bob Baker
- Three in the Saddle
- The Whispering Skull - with Edward Cassidy and Huntz Hall
- 1943
- Arizona Trail
- Cheyenne Roundup - with Johnny Mack Brown and Fuzzy Knight
- Frontier Badmen
- Old Chisholm Trail - with Johnny Mack Brown and Fuzzy Knight
- Raiders of San Joaquin
- Tenting Tonight on the Old Camp Ground
- The Lone Star Trail
- 1942
- Bullets for Bandits - with William Elliott, and Dorothy Short
- Deep in the Heart of Texas
- Little Joe, the Wrangler - with Johnny Mack Brown and Fuzzy Knight
- North of the Rockies
- Prairie Gunsmoke - with Virginia Carroll and William Elliott
- The Devil's Trail
- Vengeance of the West - with Dick Curtis and Robert Fiske
- 1941
- Dead or Alive - with Budd Buster and Reed Howes
- King of Dodge City
- Riding the Cherokee Trail - with Slim Andrews and Forrest Taylor
- Roaring Frontiers
- The Lone Star Vigilantes - with Frank Mitchell and Virginia Carpenter
- The Pioneers
- 1940
- Arizona Frontier
- Cowboy from Sundown - with Roscoe Ates and Carleton Young
- Rainbow over the Range
- Rhythm of the Rio Grande - with Warner P. Richmond and Martin Garralaga
- Rollin' Home to Texas
- Take Me Back to Oklahoma - with Donald Curtis and George Eldredge
- The Golden Trail
- Westbound Stage - with Nelson McDowell and Muriel Evans
- 1939
- Down the Wyoming Trail - with Horace Murphyand Mary Brodel
- Riders of the Frontier
- Roll, Wagons, Roll - with Nelson McDowelland Muriel Evans
- Rollin' Westward
- Song of the Buckaroo - with Mary Ruth and Tom London
- Sundown on the Prairie
- The Man from Texas - with Hal Price and Charles B. Wood
- 1938
- Frontier Town
- Riders of the Rockies
- Rollin' Plains - with Horace Murphy and Harriet Bennet
- Starlight over Texas
- Utah Trail - with Horace Murphy, Adele Pearce, and Pamela Blake
- Where the Buffalo Roam
- 1937
- Arizona Days
- Hittin' the Trail - with Iris Meredith and Horace Murphy
- Mystery of the Hooded Horseman
- Sing, Cowboy, Sing - with Louise Stanley and Karl Hackett
- Tex Rides With the Boy Scouts
- Trouble in Texas - with Earl Dwire and Yakima Canutt
- 1936
- Headin' For the Rio Grande
- Song of the Gringo - with Robert Emmett Tansey and Al Jennings
http://cowboyoutfitters.com/tex-ritter.html
http://www.birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/heritage/biographies/ritter_t.htm
http://www.ohwy.com/tx/t/texritmu.htm
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?p=amg&sql=B1793