Jessie Ralph
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Jessie Ralph | |
|---|---|
 Trailer for The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) | |
| Born | Jessie Ralph Chambers November 5, 1864 |
| Died | May 30, 1944 (aged 79) Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1880–1941 |
| Spouse(s) | William Patton (1901–?; his death) |
Jessie Ralph Patton (née Chambers; November 5, 1864[citation needed] – May 30, 1944), was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic films.
Early life
[edit]Jessie Ralph Chambers was the 13th child born to sailing captain James Chambers and his wife.[1] Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1864, she made her acting debut in stock theater in 1880, at age 16.[2]
Career
[edit]Her Broadway debut came in The Kreutzer Sonata (1906), and her final appearance on Broadway came in The Good Earth (1932).[3]
Ralph debuted in two-reel films in New York in 1915 and went to Hollywood in 1933.[2] in a movie career that spanned 25 years, she became a permanent Hollywood actress in 1933. She was nearly 70 then, so her parts were limited to matronly roles, but her expertise at stealing scenes captured the imagination of cinema-goers of the time.[citation needed]
Her best-known roles are as Greta Garbo's maid in Camille, as W.C. Fields' battle-axe of a mother-in-law in The Bank Dick, as Myrna Loy's Aunt Katherine (in a state of permanent high dudgeon) in After the Thin Man, and as Peggotty in David Copperfield. She starred in 55 movies, 52 from 1933 to 1941.
Personal life
[edit]She married actor William Patton on August 21, 1901 in Manhattan, New York.[4] They remained married until his death.[5] They had no children.[1]
Death
[edit]Ralph retired from Hollywood in 1941 after her leg was amputated.[2] She died in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on May 30, 1944, aged 79.[1] Her gravesite is there, in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. [citation needed]
Filmography
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Jessie Ralph, 79, of Stage, Screen". The New York Times. May 31, 1944. p. 19. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
- ^ a b c Gordon, Dr Roger L. (2018). Supporting Actors in Motion Pictures. Dorrance Publishing. pp. 32–33. ISBN 9781480944992. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- ^ "Jessie Ralph". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on September 14, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
- ^ Ralph, Jessie. "New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ "Jessie Ralph". Billboard. June 10, 1944. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
External links
[edit]
- Jessie Ralph at IMDb
- Jessie Ralph at the Internet Broadway Database
- Jessie Ralph portrait at NY Public Library Billy Rose Collection
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