Samuel Joachim

 Samuel Joachim, known professionally as Jimmy Ritz (October 4, 1904 – November 17, 1985)

Ritz had three brothers, George, Al, and Harry, and a sister, Gertrude Soll. They grew up in Brooklyn, with Al starting out as a dancer in vaudeville, and his brothers joining him later. Originally billed as The Collegians when they played Coney Island in 1925, they claimed to have gotten the name Ritz off a laundry truck when their agent insisted on a name change. 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.

Though their reputation languished in the 50’s and 60’s, stars influenced by The Ritz Brothers often spoke out in their defense. Many, from Sid Caesar to Huntz Hall, have acknowledged a debt to Harry Ritz. Ritz died on November 17, 1985, in Los Angeles, California due to heart disease at the age of 81. He is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, inside the Beth Olam Mausoleum.