1941
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From 1928 to 1940, she was married to actor and singer Al Jolson. She retired from show business in the 1940s, but made a widely publicized comeback on Broadway in 1971. Early life
RUBY KEELER AND AL JOLSON marriage 21 Sep 1928 - 26 Dec 1939. In the summer of 1928, Al Jolson was in his early forties, was the toast of Broadway, and had found great success while starring in the first full-length Hollywood talkie "The Jazz Singer."
In the summer of 1928, Jolson met young tap dancer, and later actress, Ruby Keeler in Los Angeles (Jolson would claim it was at Texas Guinan's night club) and was dazzled by her on sight.
21 Sep 1928 - 26 Dec 1939: Ethel Hilda "Ruby" Keeler, the third and most famous Mrs. Al Jolson. Marrying Jolson just as his film career was taking off, their marriage spanned the heights of his career, and the depths of his being forgotten by the public before World War II.
Keeler, who was Catholic of mostly Irish descent and husband Al Jolson, who was Jewish, could not conceive a child, so they adopted a baby boy who was half-Irish and half-Jewish. After she divorced Jolson, she had four children with her second husband.
Ruby Keeler’s personal life, particularly her marriage to the famous singer Al Jolson, was as high-profile as her film roles. They married in 1928, and the union was as celebrated as it was scrutinized, with Jolson’s stardom overshadowing Keeler’s for a time.
21 sie 2024 · Though Florenz Ziegfeld offered her a sizable role in Whoopee, Keeler dropped out before rehearsals because she had met and married (1928) her first husband, Al Jolson, while on a trip to the West Coast. In 1929 she appeared for only a month in Ziegfeld’s Stage Girl, returning to join Jolson.
