New book on Ruth Etting to be published this fall

As excited as I am about the book, I'm maybe even more excited about the photo on the cover! It's an image I've never seen before, and it features the pearls-around-her-upper-arm-look that I love - and in fact, the dress has strings of pearls hanging down her back, and off one hip. Ruth Etting wore pearls like no one else! Check out these images for further proof! 1, 2, and 3
More on the book...
"In Ruth Etting: America's Forgotten Sweetheart, authors Kenneth Irwin and Charles Lloyd provide the first full-length biography of this ground-breaking artist. This book recounts Etting's early hears as a pioneering radio performer who quickly attained national celebrity, her recording career as "Sweetheart of Columbia Records," and her innovative work in early short subjects. The authors detail Etting's unhappy marriage to her husband-manager, Martin (Moe "The Gimp") Snyder, her second marriage to pianist arranger Myrl Alderman, and her Colorado Springs retirement. They also examine Etting's place in the history of American entertainment, specifically her trend-setting vocal style and her innovative work in phonograph recordings and radio performance--as well as her enormous popularity throughout the 1930s and beyond."For more on the book and more on the authors, check out their website!

There's an interesting photo available on eBay right now - it's of Buster Crabbe giving Ruth Etting a swimming lesson on September 3, 1935. Buster was a former Olympian - in 1928 he won the bronze medal for the 1,500 meter freestyle, and 1932, he won the gold medal for the 400 meter freestyle. He also starred in the 1933 Tarzan serial Tarzan the Fearless, and went on to make over 100 movies.




