Jessie Ralph facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jessie Ralph
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Trailer for The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937)
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| Born |
Jessie Ralph Chambers
November 5, 1864 |
| Died | May 30, 1944 (aged 79) Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1880–1941 |
| Spouse(s) | William Patton (?–?; his death) |
Jessie Ralph Patton (née Chambers; November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944), known as Jessie Ralph, was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic films.
Contents
Early life
Jessie Ralph Chambers was the 13th child born to sailing captain James Chambers and his wife. Born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1864, she made her acting debut in stock theater in 1880, at age 16.
Career
Her Broadway debut came in The Kreutzer Sonata (1906), and her final appearance on Broadway came in The Good Earth (1932).
Ralph debuted in two-reel films in New York in 1915 and went to Hollywood in 1933. 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.
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
She was married to actor William Patton until his death. They had no children.
Death
Ralph retired from Hollywood in 1941 after her leg was amputated. She died in Gloucester, Massachusetts, on May 30, 1944, aged 79. Her gravesite is there, in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Director | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | A Ringer for Max | short | ||
| 1915 | The Galloper | Sybil | ||
| 1915 | Mary's Lamb | Mary Lamb | ||
| 1916 | New York | Mrs. Macey | George Fitzmaurice | |
| 1919 | The Madonna of the Slums | short | ||
| 1921 | Such a Little Queen | Mary | George Fawcett | |
| 1933 | Child of Manhattan | Aunt Minnie | Edward Buzzell | |
| 1933 | Elmer, the Great | Sarah Crosby | Mervyn LeRoy | uncredited |
| 1933 | Cocktail Hour | Princess de Longville | Victor Schertzinger | |
| 1933 | Ann Carver's Profession | Terry (Graham's Maid) | Edward Buzzell | |
| 1934 | Nana | Zoe | George Fitzmaurice | |
| 1934 | Coming Out Party | Nora | John G. Blystone | |
| 1934 | Murder at the Vanities | Mrs. Helene Smith | Mitchell Leisen | |
| 1934 | The Affairs of Cellini | Beatrice | Gregory La Cava | |
| 1934 | One Night of Love | Angelina | Victor Schertzinger | |
| 1934 | We Live Again | Matrona Pavlovna | Rouben Mamoulian | |
| 1934 | Evelyn Prentice | Mrs. Blake | William K. Howard | |
| 1935 | David Copperfield | Nurse Peggotty | George Cukor | |
| 1935 | Enchanted April | Mrs. Phoebe Fisher | Harry Beaumont | |
| 1935 | Vanessa: Her Love Story | Lady Mullion | William K. Howard | |
| 1935 | Les Misérables | Madame Magloire | Richard Boleslawski | |
| 1935 | Mark of the Vampire | Midwife | Tod Browning | |
| 1935 | Paris in Spring | Countess de Charelle | Lewis Milestone | |
| 1935 | Jalna | Gran Whiteoak | John Cromwell | |
| 1935 | I Live My Life | Mrs. O.H.B. Gage, Kay's grandmother | W.S. Van Dyke | |
| 1935 | Metropolitan | Charwoman | Richard Boleslawski | |
| 1935 | I Found Stella Parish | Nana | Mervyn LeRoy | |
| 1935 | Captain Blood | Mrs. Barlow | Michael Curtiz | |
| 1936 | The Garden Murder Case | Mrs. Hammle | Edwin L. Marin | |
| 1936 | Yellow Dust | Mrs. Bryan | Wallace Fox | |
| 1936 | Little Lord Fauntleroy | The Applewoman | John Cromwell | |
| 1936 | The Unguarded Hour | Lady Hathaway | Sam Wood | |
| 1936 | Bunker Bean | Grandmother | Edward Killy | |
| 1936 | San Francisco | Mrs. Maisie Burley | W.S. Van Dyke | |
| 1936 | Walking on Air | Evelyn Bennett | Joseph Santley | |
| 1936 | Camille | Nanine | George Cukor | |
| 1936 | After the Thin Man | Aunt Katherine Forrest | W.S. Van Dyke | |
| 1937 | The Good Earth | Cuckoo | Sidney Franklin | |
| 1937 | The Last of Mrs. Cheyney | Duchess | Richard Boleslawski | |
| 1937 | Double Wedding | Mrs. Kensington-Bly | Richard Thorpe | |
| 1938 | Love Is a Headache | Sheriff Janet Winfield | Richard Thorpe | |
| 1938 | Hold That Kiss | Aunt Lucy | Edwin L. Marin | |
| 1938 | Port of Seven Seas | Honorine | James Whale | |
| 1939 | Four Girls in White | Miss Tobias | S. Sylvan Simon | |
| 1939 | St. Louis Blues | Aunt Tibbie | Raoul Walsh | |
| 1939 | Cafe Society | Mrs. De Witt | Edward H. Griffith | |
| 1939 | The Kid from Texas | Aunt Minetta | S. Sylvan Simon | |
| 1939 | Mickey the Kid | Veronica M. Hudson | Arthur Lubin | |
| 1939 | Drums Along the Mohawk | Mrs. Weaver | John Ford | |
| 1940 | The Blue Bird | Fairy Berylune | Walter Lang | |
| 1940 | Star Dust | Aunt Martha Parker | Walter Lang | |
| 1940 | I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby | Mama McGann | Albert S. Rogell | |
| 1940 | Girl from Avenue A | Mrs. Van Dyne | Otto Brower | |
| 1940 | I Want a Divorce | Grandma Brokaw | Ralph Murphy | |
| 1940 | The Bank Dick | Mrs. Hermisillo Brunch | Edward F. Cline | |
| 1941 | The Lady from Cheyenne | Mrs. McGuinness | Frank Lloyd | |
| 1941 | They Met in Bombay | Duchess of Beltravers | Clarence Brown |
See also
In Spanish: Jessie Ralph para niños
