1928 was a year when Ruby met two very influential men who would later dominate her life: Al Jolsen and Flo Ziegfeld Both would be instrumental in her professional and personal life. Many stories about their meeting have portrayed Ruby as the young chorus girl who was showered with gifts by this entertainment lounge lizard.

However, the true story is told in the biography of Ruby Keeler by Nancy Marlowe -Trump:

"...the truth is that Jolson saw Ruby in the Chicago Run of "Sidewalks of New York" and never forgot her. When she disembarked from the train in Los Angeles, Jolsen was there with the brass of Warner Brothers to meet with Fanny Brice. He spotted Ruby in the station and asked for an introduction. Ruby Said, in an interview for Films in Review (9/71) "the introduction was perfunctory, and everybody went their separate ways. That's the true story of how I met Jolsen."

Excerpted from Ruby Keeler, a biography by Nancy Marlowe-Trump. (page 44)

Al Jolsen was 46 when he married Ruby, and she was 18 years old. At the time, Ruby had several suitors and all stepped back when Jolsen showed up. He was indisputably the most famous entertainer in the world at the time. How could anyone refuse him? Ruby was slated to open in a show entitled "Whoopee" but never made it to the production when it arrived in New York. It could be said, that the young bride stepped aside from her now growing career, for the sake of her husband. Whatever the reason, Ruby accompanied her husband to California.

Later, family members would remember that Jolsen never allowed Ruby to go out alone anywhere, without a family member in tow. Today, we would call this slightly pathological, perhaps a bit controlling and certainly overly cautious. For the time, when a woman's career was secondary to a man's, this behavior was labeled "jealous" and "possessive". While Ruby herself, never came out to talk directly about this marriage, her friends and family didn't hesitate to set the record straight.

His behavior wasn't just a family matter; he apparently had no problem with standing up and singing right along with Ruby, who was performing on stage in the show "Show Girl" in which she was the star. There he'd be, "The world's greatest entertainer" right in the front row, singing along with Ruby ! Ruby later explained that when Al felt like singing, he went right ahead and did it!

Ruby and Al Jolsen honeymooning in Europe, 1928
Glamour still of Ruby taken during filming of 42nd Street
Between 1929 and 1933 when she debuted in the film 42nd Street, there are not many documents about her life; it seems that she shied away from the public eye and remained, Mrs. Al Jolsen in earnest. But eventually, his rather excessive controlling behaviors and the rising success of her career, put Ruby in a position where she finally would leave Al Jolsen in 1939. She reported at the time, that he was 'mentally cruel' to her during the marriage and later said their marriage was a mistake, and a long one. Al, meanwhile remained in denial, claiming that "Ruby's a wonderful girl and I am sorry If I gave her a inferiority complex. I hope that we can reconcile". But it was too late. Ruby filed for divorce and it was final one year later.
Another glamour still of Ruby taken during filming of 42nd Street.
Una Merkel, Ruby, and Ginger Rogers in a publicity still from 42nd Street.

The historic film 42nd Street put the studio, Warner Brothers, on the map in what would later be called the genre of the film musical. The consistent output and studio production line of these musicals would later be rivaled only by MGM. The Warner Brothers product was also as recognizable. What began as a great experiment, the use of sound in motion pictures, ended as a successful blending of story, music, character and sheer virtuosity on film. Busby Berkeley and Gower Champion, a distinguished team of stage director and choreographer began the journey with this film. What would later be one of the film's greatest dance directors, Busby Berkeley's use of the camera and the filming of choreographic numbers would never be equaled when the era was over.

By the years of 1939, the film musical at Warner's had just played itself out. About this time, Harry Warren and Al Dubin, who had been writing songs for the studio since 1933, also left the studios to pursue other opportunities; but not before some of the most extraordinary and unique song writing material had been written by them, the beginning of which is exhibited in the memorable songs of 42nd Street.

The film was such a phenomena, that the President of the United States, invited the cast and many other Hollywood actors to join him in celebrating his inauguration. A train, the 42nd Street Special, pulled out of the New York Station, bound for Washington and what would be just the beginning of Hollywood's service to the Washington political machine. But what about Ruby? She was on that train, and now celebrated in the press as the newest and freshest face ever to grace the stage of the film musical. She was a busy girl after this film at Warners, and Harry continued to write many wonderful songs for her which they teamed up on in several subsequent films.

After 42nd Street, Harry wrote songs for the following Ruby Keeler movies..."Gold Diggers of 1933" and "Footlight Parade" and later "Dames" and "Go Into Your Dance" all had a selection of wonderful Harry Warren songs. With Harry's first film with Warners, 42nd Street broke all the molds in the musical genre. First of all, the story was based on a gritty backstage tale that established the idea of the "backstage musicals" that had a certain plot formula. Somehow, 42nd Street was able to rise above this formula and create a 'realized' picture of this world that was not sweet. In fact, many scenes show the director riding the chorus of dancers and forcing them to dance until they drop. (Certainly an apt tale of the Hollywood chorus dancer) and so this film had a gritty realism that had not been seen before in this context. Here was Ruby, the sweetest kid you ever met, dancing with her marvelous technical agility to the great tunes that today remain our American standards.

Ruby posing with Harry Warren.
Harry Warren in later radio interviews mentions that at Warner's, they were often given just a few days to complete a song. He and Al would get notes from the director and Al Dubin, a master of ideas, would often come up with clever concepts that Berkeley would later elaborate on film. She was fortunate in that her introduction of many of Harry's songs on film in this period were enough to make them instantly popular and later many became standards. Ruby did do a film, without song and dance, and was the film called "Mother's Carries Chickens". Otherwise, her stardom was based on her amazing dancing abilities and her fresh, likable personality that audiences had come to love.
Ruby in "Go Into Your Dance"
Most people don't know that Ruby Keeler was a excellent golfer, and both she and Al Jolsen enjoyed their membership at the Hillcrest country club. She had great athletic prowess and later, met her next husband, in the atmosphere she loved best. John Lowe, a handsome bachelor and real estate agent met while playing their favorite sport; golf. Ruby was ready, in 1941 to retire from show business and settle down and add to her family (she already had one adopted son by Al Jolsen, Al Jr. ) and proceeded to have three more children. She would appear in only two more films in her career. At the Lakeside Country club Ruby enjoyed the friendships that would last a lifetime for her. She was active in the community of Toluca Lake and was a happy, full time mother to her three children. But that wasn't going to be the last of Ruby, the public who loved her would be graced with her presence only a few more times in her life which are detailed in the book written by one of her dearest friends, Rose Marlowe Trump.