Ruby Dandridge (1899-1987) Ruby Dandridge in "Dead Reckoning" Born Ruby Jean Butler, her parents were Nellie Simon and George Butler. Ruby had mixed Jamaican, Mexican, and Native American ancestry. Her father was a janitor, minister, school principal, and entertainer, and it was he who inspired her to go into acting. Ruby's trademark was her high-pitched voice which rose even higher when she was excited. That voice later served her well as an actress in movies, radio, and television. Usually playing comic, befuddled maids, all Ruby had to do was open her mouth and audiences would break into hysterics. But the real Ruby Dandridge was anything but flighty or absent-minded. She was a strategist and a survivor who possessed a sharp and calculating mind. Ruby was a woman who could quickly read a person or situation and then manipulate ...