This Photo of Ruth Etting was taken by Alfred Cheney Johnston, the official photographer of the Ziegfeld Follies and was taken in 1923. Ruth Etting (November 23, 1896 – September 24, 1978) was an American singing star of the 1930s, who had over sixty hit recordings . . . as well as a quite colorful life: In 1937 she fell in love with her pianist, Myrl Alderman, who was consequently shot by her husband, Moe Snyder — but survived. Snyder was jailed for the assault, and Etting divorced him on November 30, 1937. She married Alderman in December 1938, but the scandal effectively ended her career. . . today, she would just be MORE famous . .