"The Ritz Brothers" Entertainer Jimmy Ritz 1985 Beth Olam - Hollywood Forever Cemetery

Samuel Joachim (October 4, 1904 – November 17, 1985),[1] known professionally as Jimmy Ritz, was an American actor and comedian. He was also the second Ritz Brother.

Early life

Ritz was born Samuel Joachim to parents Max (December 1871 – January 4, 1939) and Pauline Joachim (May 1874 – November 26, 1935) on October 4, 1904. His father was a haberdasher from Austria-Hungary and his mother was Russian.[2] Ritz had three brothers, George, Al, and Harry, and a sister, Gertrude Soll.[3]

Career

The Ritz Brothers began as a dancing act in 1925, and by 1929 they had become vaudeville headliners. When vaudeville faded, they took their act, which combined complicated dance routines, sound-alike singing voices and a distinctively zany, juvenile humor (their theme song was titled Collegiate), to film, full theatrical presentations, and eventually television.

They were appearing on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood when movie producer Darryl F. Zanuck spotted them. Their first film, Sing, Baby, Sing, in 1936, was followed by On the Avenue, You Can't Have Everything, Life Begins in College, Hi'ya, Chum, One in a Million, The Gorilla, The Three Musketeers, The Goldwyn Follies, Straight, Place and Show, Pack Up Your Troubles, Argentine Nights, Behind the Eight Ball, Blazing Stewardesses and Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood, the last two with Harry only. Al died in 1965.[4]

Death

Ritz died on November 17, 1985 in Los Angeles, California due to heart disease at the age of 81. He was survived by his sister Gertrude, his brother Harry and his daughter Alison Wolff who died after an unsuccessful heart-lung transplant on April 21, 1999. He is buried with his brothers in the Beth Olam Mausoleum at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.[1][2]

Filmography

Year Movie

1934 Hotel Anchovy
1936 Sing, Baby, Sing
1937 Cinema Circus
1937 One in a Million

1937 On the Avenue

1937 You Can't Have Everything

1937 Life Begins in College

1937 Ali Baba Goes to Town
1938 The Goldwyn Follies
1938 Kentucky Moonshine
1938 Straight Place and Show

1939 The Three Musketeers

1939 The Gorilla

1939 Pack Up Your Troubles

1940 Argentine Nights

1942 Behind the Eight Ball

1943 Hi'ya, Chum

1943 Show-Business at War
1943 Never a Dull Moment
1956 Brooklyn Goes to Las Vegas
1975 Blazing Stewardesses
1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood

References

1. "IMDb Entry". Internet Movie Database. 
2. "Jimmy Ritz (1904-1985) Find A Grave Memorial". Find a Grave. 
3. Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence and McNeilly, Donald (2007), Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, New York: Routledge, p. 935, ISBN 0-415-93853-8.
4. "Jimmy Ritz, Comic, Dies at 81". The New York Times. November 21, 1985.