David Ruffin died in the E/R at U of Penn Hospital on June 1, 1991

Tom Meros does a good recap of this sad event:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuGlNNTjWaE

Marv. I remember the entire final days of David in Philadelphia. I have all the newspaper clippings telling all about this terrible ordeal. I did not realize that he had been performing in the UK immediately before coming to Philadelphia.

There will never be another David Ruffin. These are sad presentations by all means but it clearly shows how great he was immediately before his passing. Thanks for sharing.

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Originally Posted by woodward

Marv. I remember the entire final days of David in Philadelphia. I have all the newspaper clippings telling all about this terrible ordeal. I did not realize that he had been performing in the UK immediately before coming to Philadelphia.

There will never be another David Ruffin. These are sad presentations by all means but it clearly shows how great he was immediately before his passing. Thanks for sharing.

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You are most welcome Woodward. Yes, I too remember that week, as well as moment the news came that he had passed. I use to live in Philly, so I know the area where he was found and rushed to the hospital.

There was only one david,i remember reading that he had a money belt with[40k]but when he was admitted the belt was gone.

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Originally Posted by arr&bee

There was only one david,i remember reading that he had a money belt with[40k]but when he was admitted the belt was gone.

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Not only that, the clothes he was wearing when brought to the hospital were removed and burned in an incinerator! The condition of David's body was of someone that had been roughed up and drowned! His daughter Cheryl said when they got to Philadelphia to identify him at the hospital, his head was swollen, bloated to the size of a basketball. His hands were all bruised and cut up. When I saw him at the funeral home in Detroit, he looked exactly like himself. He looked like a king lying in repose. So there were a lot of suspicious activity surrounding David's death.

I always said Ruff was killed...

It's very sad to think about how some of our motown legends passed,for me i will always picture them singing and bringing joy to all who love the music.

These scans are from the UK Record Collector magazine in 1991, probably the last interview before his death. He was touring the UK with Eddie and Dennis
Attachment 16956

Scan 2
Attachment 16957

Scan 3
3Attachment 16958

I attended the Manchester concert on that 1991 tour. I met Eddie Kendricks prior to the show. I say "met" but it was a strange meeting. He was leaving the theatre , presumably after doing a sound check or similar. I had about 20 album covers, which he autographed for me, but he never said a word to me. I seem to recall trying to make conversation but nothing happened.
After the concert, David Ruffin emerged from the Theatre alone and got into a waiting car. He autographed a few album covers and was driven off.
Days , or a few weeks later, I heard of his death. It seemed unbelievable .

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Originally Posted by snakepit

I attended the Manchester concert on that 1991 tour. I met Eddie Kendricks prior to the show. I say "met" but it was a strange meeting. He was leaving the theatre , presumably after doing a sound check or similar. I had about 20 album covers, which he autographed for me, but he never said a word to me. I seem to recall trying to make conversation but nothing happened.
After the concert, David Ruffin emerged from the Theatre alone and got into a waiting car. He autographed a few album covers and was driven off.
Days , or a few weeks later, I heard of his death. It seemed unbelievable .

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Eddie really was a very friendly guy. I think that at the time you met him, he had already started to lose his voice, because of his illness and preserved what he had for the stage. Just a guess here.

I think he was ill..
He didn't look very well as I recall

Eddie probably knew he was knocking on death's door the same time of Ruff's unfortunate passing. He surely didn't look well the last four years of his life, that's for sure.

I beleive this was possibly David Ruffins last gig. It was the final night of this short tour he did with Eddie Kendricks & Dennis Edwards on May 3 1991, they returned to America a day or two later. This is a ticket from that last gig in the UK.Attachment 16961

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Originally Posted by motownmorph1

I beleive this was possibly David Ruffins last gig. It was the final night of this short tour he did with Eddie Kendricks & Dennis Edwards on May 3 1991, they returned to America a day or two later. This is a ticket from that last gig in the UK.Attachment 16961

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This was one of the last photos of the UK tour with David and Dennis - I met all three after the show and TBH Eddie and David were the most approachable. They both signed LP's for me and the programme from the show. One of the things I remember vividly about the Ipswich show was that the group on for the first half were heavy rock and I spent most of that in the theatre bar.

What a sad end to a truly great vocalist.......