Full Name Esther Worth Occupation Actress Cause of death Heart attack Years active 1915–1962 | Nationality American Name Esther Ralston Other names Jane Carleton Role Film actress | |
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Spouse Ted Lloyd (m. 1939–1954), Will Morgan (m. 1935–1938), George Webb (m. 1926–1934) Books Some Day We'll Laugh: An Autobiography Children Ted Lloyd Jr., Judy Lloyd, Mary Esther Webb Movies Children of Divorce, Lonely Wives, The American Venus, Sadie McKee, Old Ironsides Similar People Frank Tuttle, James Cruze, Herbert Brenon, Jesse L Lasky, Adolph Zukor | ||
Esther Ralston tribute
Esther Ralston (née Esther Louise Worth; 17 September 1902 Bar Harbor, Maine – 14 January 1994 Ventura, California) was an American film actress who was popular in the silent era.
Contents
- Esther Ralston tribute
- Movie legends esther ralston reprise
- Early life and career
- Retirement and later years
- Marriages
- Death
- Filmography
- References
Movie legends esther ralston reprise
Early life and career
Ralston was born Esther Worth in Bar Harbor, Maine, one of five siblings. She was the older sister of actor Howard Ralston (July 25, 1904, Bar Harbor, Maine – June 1, 1992, Los Angeles, California), who appeared in nine films between 1920-24.
She began her career as a child actress in a family vaudeville act which was billed as "The Ralston Family with Baby Esther, America's Youngest Juliet". From this, she appeared in a few small silent film roles including a role alongside her brother in the 1920 film adaptation of Huckleberry Finn. Ralston later gained attention as Mrs. Darling in the 1924 film version of Peter Pan.
In the late 1920s she appeared in many films for Paramount, at one point earning as much as $8000 a week, and garnering much popularity, especially in Britain. She appeared mainly in comedies, often portraying spirited society girls, but received good reviews for her forays into dramatic roles.
Retirement and later years
Despite making a successful transition to sound, she was mainly relegated to supporting roles by the mid-1930s. Her last leading role was in To the Last Man in 1933, directed by Henry Hathaway and starring Randolph Scott. Ralston made her final film, Tin Pan Alley, in 1940 and chose to retire from films. She continued working on the stage and in radio throughout the 1940s, including being the leading lady for part of the run of Woman of Courage
She returned to the screen in the early 1950s with guest roles on television series including Kraft Television Theatre and Tales of Tomorrow. In 1962, she had a leading role in the short-lived daytime drama, Our Five Daughters, her final onscreen role. In 1985, Ralston released her autobiography, Some Day We'll Laugh.
Marriages
On December 25, 1925, Ralston married her manager, the actor George Webb Frey (1897–1943) in Manhattan, New York. He was credited in films as George Webb. They had a daughter, Mary Esther (born 1931), who, at birth was known as the "$100,000 Baby" because her mother turned down a substantial film contract while pregnant. George and Esther divorced in 1934. George filed for bankruptcy in Los Angeles in March 1934.
On June 16, 1935, Ralston married actor Will Morgan (né Wilburt Whitfield Morgan), then a former New York stage actor and singer. They divorced in 1938. Morgan led the saxophone section for eight years for Fred Waring.
On August 6, 1939, Ralston married radio announcer and columnist Ted Lloyd (né Theodore Allen Lloyd; 1915–1961) in Greenwich, Connecticut. Music publisher Jack Robbins (né John Jacob Robbins; 1894–1959) was Lloyd's best man. The couple had two children, Judy (born 1942) and Ted, Jr. (born 1943). Ted and Esther divorced in 1954. Before marrying Ralston, Lloyd had worked for newspapers and a trade magazine, Radio News. In 1942, Lloyd became director of radio for 20th Century Fox. In 1946, with Hal Horne and Armand Deutsch, Lloyd formed Ted Lloyd, Inc., to manage personalities and to produce radio (later, TV) programs. He produced several radio dramas, including My True Story for the NBC Red Network, Adventures of the Abbotts on NBC Red Network (18 episodes in 1955), Whispering Streets for CBS Radio, and Escape for CBS-TV.
Death
On January 14, 1994, Ralston died of a heart attack at age 91 in her home in Ventura, California. The family held services January 17, 1994, in Ventura, the day of the Northridge earthquake.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Ether Ralston had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6664 Hollywood Boulevard.