Monday, March 30, 2009

Karl L. Ritter, also known as Ryder Keane

Karl Lewis Ritter was born in May, 1890 (some sources say 1891) to Henry and Magdalene Ritter. He graduated from Sandusky High School in 1909 and from Kenyon College in 1914. An article in the Centennial Edition of the Sandusky Register, December 31, 1922 reported that at that time Karl Ritter had been acting for five years on Broadway. Karl’s stage name was Ryder Keane. The three big hits which the Register article discussed were all mystery plays. “The Thirteenth Chair” ran for more than a year in New York. In Chicago, Ryder Keane appeared in the Rinehart-Hopwood thriller “The Bat.” In September 1921 Ryder Keane portrayed Charles Wilder in the Broadway play “The Cat and the Canary” which opened at New York’s National Theater.

By 1920 Ryder Keane was married to the actress Ilka Marie Diehl, a native of Cleveland. On her passport application, available at Ancestry Library Edition, Ilka stated that she was an actress on her way to Australia to perform in the play “Tiger Rose.” Portraits of Ryder Keane and Ilka Marie Diehl appear in the Billy Rose Theatre Collection of New York Public Library’s Digital Gallery. Nine plays in which Ryder Keane had a role are listed in the Internet Broadway Database.

4 comments:

Tim said...

What a cool blog. We need more interesting history from all over.
I was pointed to it by Dominique of Midwestguest Blog

Jeff and Jenn said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jeff and Jenn said...

I love this blog! What wonderful work you all are doing!
I am trying to find a free-will baptist cemetery donated by John Calvin in 1823 in northern York Township. I can't seem to find it! Do you have any ideas about it? I am looking because I read that an ancestor of mine, Tryphena Smith, was the first person buried here.

Thanks so much for this blog and all of the wonderful history you are preserving. I know so many people are grateful.

Anonymous said...

Dear Jeff and Jenn,

There is a York Township in Sandusky County, which is a neighbor to Erie County, where Sandusky, Ohio is the county seat. Try contacting this genealogical society:

http://www.kinhunters.org/