Tex Ritter

Woodward Maurice "Tex" Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was an American country music singer and actor. He was popular in the mid 1930s into the 1960s.

His son was actor John and his grandchildren include Jason and Tyler, and granddaughter Carly. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

In 1936, Ritter moved to Los Angeles. His motion picture debut was in Song of the Gringo (1936). He starred in 12 B-movie Westerns for Grand National, including Headin' for the Rio Grande (1936), and Trouble in Texas (1937) co-starring Rita Hayworth.

Between 1938 and 1945, he starred in around forty "singing cowboy" movies. He made four movies with actress and future wife Dorothy Fay.

Ritter died in Nashville, Tennessee on January 2, 1974 from an aortic dissection, aged 68.