Tex Ritter

Born: January 12, 1905, Murvaul, Texas
Died: January 2, 1974 (age 68), Nashville, Tennessee

Tex Ritter (Woodward Maurice Ritter) was an country singer and actor and the father of actor John Ritter.

What do you know about Tex Ritter. Try this quick quiz.

1. What is the 1936 film that introduces movie fans to Tex Ritter?

2. In 1945, Tex had the Number 1 1945 Country Song on Billboards list. What is the song?

• “I'm Wasting My Tears on You”
• “You Two-Timed Me Once Too Often”
• “I Dreamed of a Hillbilly Heaven”

3. What was his white horse’s name?

• Moonbeam
• White Flash
• Diamond

4. What was the Western series that starred Johnny Mack Brown, Tex Ritter and Fuzzy Knight?

5. In 1980, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

• True or False?

6. Ritter was married to actress on June 14, 1941. They had two sons, Thomas Ritter and well-known American television star John Ritter. The marriage lasted until his death. What was his actress wife’s name?

• Jean Simmons
• Dorothy Fay
• Dorothy Collins

7. He sang at the first Academy Awards ceremony to be televised in 1953. What was the song he sang?

• “High Noon”
• “Grand Ole Opry”
• “Country Roads”

8. In 1937, he stars in Trouble In Texas co-starring Rita Cansino. She changed her name and became a major Hollywood actress. Who is the actress?

• Dorothy Fay
• Rita Hayworth
• Jean Arthur

9. Tex helped start United Cerebral Palsy Associations, Inc, after his son, Thomas, was found to have cerebral palsy. Tex, Thomas, and John spent a great deal of time raising money and public awareness to help others with cerebral palsy.

• True or False?

10. He had a heart attack and died in Nashville, Tennessee ten days short of his 69th birthday.

• True or False?

11. Where is Tex Ritter buried?

• Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California
• Oak Bluff Memorial Park, Port Neches, Texas
• Forest Lawn (Hollywood Hills) Cemetery, Los Angeles, California

Check Your Answer

1. Song of the Gringo
2. “You Two-Timed Me Once Too Often”
3. White Flash
4. The Border Rangers
5. True
6. Dorothy Fay
7. “High Noon”
8. Rita Hayworth
9. True
10. True
11. Oak Bluff Memorial Park, Port Neches, Texas
    Plot: Section 8