""You're going out a youngster, but you've got to come back a star,"" Warner Baxter told Ruby Keeler in the 1933 film 42nd Street. The actor's scripted words would prove prophetic. The film propelled her to stardom.
Ruby Keeler's rags-to-riches story is told in this pictorial biography (with text as well). Born on August 25, 1910 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, her father an iceman, her family moved to New York City in 1912. Soon enrolled in the Professional Children's School, she got her first taste of life on the stage, eventually finding her way to Broadway. Her dancing brought her the pivotal role in 42nd Street and she was soon one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood. Her performance in No, No, Nanette in 1971, her first Broadway show in 41 years, met with rave reviews.
Keeler's life, including her ill-fated marriage to performer Al Jolson, is recounted here, with many never-before-seen photographs.