Ruth Hughes Aarons (June 11, 1918 – June 6, 1980)[1] was a US table tennis player, vaudeville entertainer, and talent manager.
Early life
Ruth Aarons was born in Stamford, Connecticut, to Leila (née Hughes), an opera singer, and Alfred E. Aarons, a Broadway theatrical producer. She came from a wealthy Jewish family, and lived in New York City, where she attended and graduated from St. Agatha Episcopal High School in 1936.[2]
Table tennis career
Originally a tennis player, Aarons was reportedly introduced to table tennis by mere chance, in the summer of 1933. During a rainstorm, which ended a tennis match early, she discovered and quickly became fascinated by table tennis. Over time, Aarons developed and mastered her own defensive technique centered on the
"shakehand" grip, for which she became notable.[3]
Aarons would spend the next five years traveling the United States and Europe, competing in various table tennis matches and championships, and enjoying much success, eventually building a reputation as a strong defensive player. Her main achievements were winning two gold medals in the singles competition at the World Table Tennis Championships in 1936 and 1937, being the only American competitor to do so at the time. She also won doubles and team medals for the United States in the World Table Tennis Championships.[4] Upon winning the gold medal in Prague in 1936, Aarons refused to shake the hand of Astrid Krebsbach, her opponent from Nazi Germany, proclaiming: "I am Jewish".[5]
The champion of Woman's Singles in 1937 was declared vacant due to time limit rule in force at the time. In 2001, it was decided to declare the two players (i.e., Ruth Aarons and Gertrude Pritzi) Co-Champions.[6]
While still involved in professional table tennis, Aarons, thanks to her father's theatrical connections, performed in vaudeville for several years, in both America and England, in a routine centered on the game. These performances enjoyed much success in the United States, as the
English Table Tennis Association (ETTA), who had jurisdiction over her USATT-made performance contracts for shows in England, and eventual suspension by the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in January 1937. Officials claimed that Aarons violated the newly enacted (December 1936) policy prohibiting active members from accepting compensation for public table tennis playing.[7]
Aarons would later come back for the 1937 Women's World Singles Championships, and then retire altogether.
Later in life, Aarons developed an addiction to prescription medication, particularly
Seconal. According to close friend David Cassidy, he would discover thousands of pills in her home while visiting. The medication eventually took its toll physically and psychologically, exacerbated greatly by the tragic death of longtime friend and actor Jack Cassidy in December 1976. By 1979, all her clients had lost faith in her capability as a manager and moved on.[10]
On June 6, 1980, just five days before her 62nd birthday, Aarons was found dead in the shower of her Beverly Hills home, presumably from falling and hitting her head. According to Cassidy, her drug use was so profound that her muscles often atrophied, which rendered her unable to leave her bed, much less to stand.[11]
^Pauline Dubkin Yearwood (August 3, 2007). "Righting a wrong". Chicago Jewish News. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2011.