Book details life of Ruth Etting
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 - 11:44 pm
David City artist Ruth Nichols got some good news this month. The long awaited book about Ruth Etting, for whom Nichols was named, is in print.In Ruth Etting: America's Forgotten Sweetheart, authors Kenneth Irwin and Charles O. Lloyd provide the first full-length biography of Ruth Etting, who was among the most important performers of the early 20th century.
Etting's life and stardom was the theme of Ruth Etting Vaudeville Days, a David City summer celebration, until the tradition ended early in the last decade. Nichols said she has never forgotten meeting Etting during the 1970s and giving her a portrait Nichols made.
"She was such a nice lady," Nichols said.
Etting was a friend of Nichols' uncle, Floyd Nichols, and Etting encouraged Floyd's pursuit of art school.
Nichols said she enjoyed visiting wth Irwin on the author's trips to David City for research.
According to the authors, Etting's influence extends from the Broadway stage to radio and film, and her successes included more than 60 popular recordings, such as her 1928 rendition of "Love Me or Leave Me," which was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2005. Although her story was brought to the screen in the classic 1955 film of the same title with Doris Day and James Cagney, no serious treatment of her life has been written until now.
This book recounts Etting's early years as a radio performer, her recording career as "Sweetheart of Columbia Records," and her innovative work in film. The authors also examine Etting's place in the history of American entertainment, specifically her trend-setting vocal style and her pioneering work in phonograph recordings and radio, as well as her enormous popularity throughout the 1930s. The most in-depth treatment of this artist's life and career, Ruth Etting: America's Forgotten Sweetheart includes anecdotes, previously unavailable photos, and a discography and filmography.
Kenneth Irwin has spent more than 15 years researching the life and career of Ruth Etting. His writings include articles on Etting and the liner notes for the CD Ruth Etting: Glorifier of American Song (1997).
Charles O. Lloyd is professor emeritus at Marshall University. He has published articles on the ancient Greek polis, Virgil, and the teaching of writing, and edited the national online Latin journal CPL Online.
For more information about the book go to www.scarecrowpress.com
November 2009 _ 360 pages _ 978-0-8108-6965-3_ $55.00 Cloth
