Biography

From Wikipedia The Ritz Brothers were an American comedy team who appeared in films, and as live performers from 1925 to the late 1960s. Although there were four brothers, the sons of Austrian-born haberdasher Max Joachim and his wife Pauline, only three of them performed together. There was also a sister, Gertrude. The fourth brother, George, acted as their manager. The performers were:     Al Ritz (August 27, 1901 – December 22, 1965)     Jimmy Ritz (October 4, 1904 – November 17, 1985)     Harry Ritz (May 22, 1907 – March 29, 1986) The family name was Joachim (pronounced "joe-ACK-him", as Harry himself explained on a Joe Franklin TV interview), but eldest brother Al, a vaudeville dancer, adopted a new professional name after he saw the name "Ritz" on the side of a laundry truck. Jimmy and Harry followed suit when the brothers formed a team. The Ritzes emphasized precision dancing in their act, and added comedy material as they went along. By the early 1930s they were stage headliners.