Ruth Terry was born Ruth McMahon in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in the year 1920. As a child, she began her journey in the entertainment industry by singing with the band in a dance hall where her father worked as a bouncer. Her beautiful singing voice soon led her to participate in local amateur talent contests, where she consistently emerged victorious.
As she entered her fourth grade, her parents decided to nurture her passion for singing by taking her out of school, allowing her to continue her education through private tutors. She continued to excel in talent contests, eventually becoming part of a vaudeville act called The Capps Family and Ruthie Mae.
Her remarkable voice and talent soon caught the attention of a Chicago radio station, offering her a spot to sing on the airwaves. Later, she secured her own 15-minute time slot on a South Bend, Indiana radio station. At the tender age of 12, she won a contract to sing with the prestigious Chicago musical group, The Paul Ash Chicago Theater Orchestra.
After her engagement with The Paul Ash Chicago Theater Orchestra, Ruth Terry traveled to New York, where she landed a job as a song plugger for the renowned composer Irving Berlin, a friend of her aunt's. She eventually developed her own nightclub act, adopting the stage name Ruth Terry at the suggestion of gossip columnist Walter Winchell.
Ruth Terry's talent soon took her to Miami, where she performed at various esteemed nightspots and hotels. It was during this time that she was discovered by talent scouts from 20th Century-Fox, who offered her a contract at the mere age of 16 in 1937.
Ruth Terry was brought to Hollywood by Fox, where she received diction and acting lessons. The studio soon cast her in her first film, International Settlement (1938),although her role was limited to a single line. She continued to work with Fox for two more years until she was dropped in 1939.
In 1940, Ruth Terry was signed by Howard Hughes, who later sold her contract to Republic Pictures. It was at Republic that she began making westerns, a genre in which she would spend a significant portion of her career. She collaborated with notable stars such as Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Robert Livingston.
Ruth Terry's contract with Republic ended in 1947, and she made only one more film for Columbia before retiring from the industry. She soon remarried and moved to Canada with her husband, but the marriage ultimately ended in 1957. Ruth Terry returned to the United States and, in 1962, appeared in a small role in the low-budget horror film Hand of Death as a favor to a friend.
Ruth Terry's remarkable journey in the entertainment industry spanned nearly three decades, during which she established herself as a talented singer and actress, making a lasting impact on the world of Hollywood.
