Jean Ruth

{{Infobox person

| name = Jean Ruth

| image = Jean Ruth in At War with the Army 1950.jpg

| caption = Ruth in At War with the Army (1950)

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1917|09|10|mf=yes}}

| birth_place = Malvern, Pennsylvania, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2004|09|18|1917|09|10|mf=yes}}

| death_place = Fortuna, California, U.S.

| occupation = Actress

| years_active = 1939–1957

| spouse = {{plainlist|

{{marriage|Freddie Slack|1945|1948|end=divorced}}
{{marriage|John Hay
|1951}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-oct-01-me-hay1-story.html|title=Jean Hay, 87; Host of Radio's 'Reveille With Beverly' Gave GIs Their Wake-Up Call|first=Dennis|last=McLellan|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 1, 2004|access-date=January 13, 2022}}

}}

|alma mater = University of Colorado{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/03/us/jean-hay-87-host-during-war-of-reveille-with-beverly-show-dies.html|title=Jean Hay, 87, Host During War of 'Reveille With Beverly' Show, Dies|author=Associated Press|work=The New York Times|date=October 3, 2004|access-date=January 13, 2022}}

}}

Jean Ruth (September 10, 1917{{Cite book|title=Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W8uTzAEACAAJ|pages=160–161|date=April 20, 2005|publisher=McFarland|first=Harris|last=Lentz|isbn=9780786421039|via=Google Books}} – September 18, 2004) was an American actress and radio personality.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/150124917/|title=Jean Gets Raves For Stage Role|work=The Pittsburgh Press|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|date=September 23, 1948|access-date=January 13, 2022|page=13|via=Newspapers.com}} {{Closed access}}

Early life and career

Born in Malvern, Pennsylvania, Ruth was the daughter of Davis Clifford Ruth and Evelyn Read Hillyer."United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:6KWF-19PR : 10 February 2023), Jean Ruth, .[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-philadelphia-inquirer/158700924/ "New Jersey Notes"]. The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 27, 1914. p. 3. Retrieved November 9, 2024. She graduated from Monrovia High School in 1935Knudsen, Elizabeth (June 5, 1935). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/monrovia-news-post/158698598/ "Elizabeth Looks Into Future for Class of 1935 (Continued from page one)"]. Monrovia News-Post. p. 3. Retrieved November 9, 2024. and the University of Colorado in 1941.

As an actress, she is best known for appearing in the Martin and Lewis film At War with the Army (1950).{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1nlZAAAAMAAJ|title=The Jerry Lewis Films: An Analytical Filmography of the Innovative Comic|pages=33–35|first1=James|last1=Neubaur|first2=Ted|last2=Okuda|publisher=McFarland|date=1995|isbn=9780899509617|via=Google Books}} Her radio broadcasts during WWII from 1941-44 were the basis for the musical film Reveille with Beverly. She claimed later that while broadcasting she would be asked to read out the titles of songs that didn't exist, which served as secret messages to the French Resistance. She also later befriended the famous wartime Japanese-American radio announcer Iva Toguri after she was prosecuted for treason for radio broadcasts from Tokyo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nysun.com/obituaries/jean-ruth-hay-87-morning-radio-host-of-reveille/2296/|title=Jean Ruth Hay, 87, Morning Radio Host of 'Reveille with Beverly' During World War II|first=Stephen|last=Miller|work=The New York Sun|date=September 27, 2004|access-date=January 13, 2022}}

Personal life

She was married to American swing and boogie-woogie pianist and bandleader Freddie Slack from 1945 to 1948.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nysun.com/obituaries/jean-ruth-hay-87-morning-radio-host-of-reveille/2296/|title=Jean Ruth Hay, 87, Morning Radio Host of 'Reveille with Beverly' During World War II|first=Stephen|last=Miller|work=The New York Sun|date=September 27, 2004|access-date=January 13, 2022}}