DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — and it's a story worth tellin'. On January 12, 1905, in Panola County, Texas, a boy came into the world by the name of Woodward Maurice Ritter. Now, Woodward Maurice is a fine name, dignified even.
But the world wasn't going to know him by that name for long. After he attended college, young Woodward Maurice made his way to a Houston radio station, and in 1928 he started singin' cowboy ballads into that microphone — and something about that voice, something about those songs, made people stop what they were doing and just listen. From Houston, he advanced all the way to Broadway.
Broadway. And that's where it happened — that's where they started calling him Tex. Just Tex.
One word, and it fit him like a good pair of boots. By 1936, he was stepping into the glow of moving picture cameras, beginning a whole series of popular western movies. The silver screen, the radio, then television, and then the Grand Ole Opry — Tex Ritter moved through all of it, leaving his mark at every stop.
He was named to the Country Music Hall of Fame, which is just about as high as that particular mountain goes. And then there's the recording most people know him by — the title song from the film 'High Noon.' That voice, low and unhurried, carrying the whole weight of a showdown in every note. Tex Ritter left this world on January 2, 1974.
Woodward Maurice from Panola County. They called him Tex, and Texas claimed him right back.
What the marker says
(January 12, 1905 - January 2, 1974) Western singing star Woodward Maurice ("Tex") Ritter was born in Panola County, Texas. After attending college, he began singing cowboy ballads on a Houston radio station in 1928. He advanced to broadway, where he was nicknamed "Tex," and in 1936 began a series of popular western movies. Ritter performed later for television and the Grand Ole Opry and was named to the Country Music Hall of fame. His best-know recording is the title song from the film "High Noon."