- Born
- Died
- Birth nameEsther Louise Worth
- Nickname
- "The American Venus"
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- In 'Some Day We'll Laugh: An Autobiography', she says, "In 1902 the family moved to Bar Harbor, Maine. (...) At 9 p.m. on Wednesday, September 17, 1902, I was born at No. 1 Eden St. and Papa immediately dubbed me, 'Maid of Bar Harbor!'"
The child "born in a trunk" of parents who graced the carnival and vaudeville circuits, was christened Esther Worth, but at age 2 she became part of the family act (with her four brothers and her parents) with the billing now extended to "The Ralston Family with Baby Esther, America's Youngest Juliet."
The wholesome but fun-loving teen Esther broke into silent films in several uncredited roles. Her first appearance in a motion picture was in The Deep Purple (1915), filmed at the World Studios, New Jersey. She also appeared in the serial Phantom Fortunes (1916). Afterwards, she appeared with her family in live theatre productions at the smaller venues, eventually crossing the continent and finding themselves in Los Angeles. As early as 1918 she and her brothers began finding extra work at Universal City.
At her peak, she she became one of the industry's highest-paid silent stars in scores of dramas, comedies and westerns, notably opposite Hoot Gibson and Tom Mix. Her more familiar earlier silent roles were as Mrs. Darling in the silent classic Peter Pan (1924), as the Fairy Godmother in A Kiss for Cinderella (1925), and as Mary Jane Wilks in the film version of Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn (1920). She was publicized as "The American Venus" by none other than showman Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. after appearing as a dazzling beauty queen in the film of the same name (The American Venus (1926)).
Appearing in close to 100 films over a 30-year period, she made several for Paramount and MGM come the advent of sound, including her first talkie The Sawdust Paradise (1928); the title role in The Case of Lena Smith (1929) a "lost" film directed by Josef von Sternberg; Betrayal (1929) starring Emil Jannings and Gary Cooper, and the romantic musical The Prodigal (1931) opposite Metropolitan opera star Lawrence Tibbett.
In England, she appeared opposite Basil Rathbone in After the Ball (1932) and Conrad Veidt in Rome Express (1932). Esther wanted Paramount Studios to up her contract to $100,000 when talkies came in; the company did not agree, and let her go. She went free lance in small productions. After supporting roles in Tin Pan Alley (1940) and San Francisco Docks (1940), and 7th billing in a B film in 1940 (San Francisco Docks (1940)), she retired from the screen at 38.
She earned a fortune from investments but eventually lost it due to the stock market crash of 1929. Forced to find work outside of the world of entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s she appeared on radio shows and TV commercials. In the ensuing years she was employed as a department store salesperson and talent executive.
Esther Ralston was married and divorced three times, and had three children - one from the first marriage, and two from the third.
She was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her film work.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net - The daughter of vaudevillians ,she was carried on stage as part of her parents act at the age of 2 and entered films in her early teens. One of her first roles was in the 1916 serial 'Phantom Fortunes and by the time she was 14 she was appearing in comedies and spectaculars produced by Cecil B de Mille resulting in her maturing at a young age.Paramount chose her to play Mrs Darling in 'Peter Pan' in 1924 when she was only a few years older than the actress who played Wendy. She was a prominent contract artiste, one of the best paid in the business, and in many films including 'The American Venus' and starred with Gary Cooper and Randolph Scott, among many others but she was less prominent when cast with such major stars as Clara Bow and Joan Crawford. Before she reached middle age her film career had diminished - mainly because she wanted Paramount Studios to up her price on her contract to $100,000 when talkies came in. They didn't ,and let her go. She went free lance so was through with major appearances.After 7th billing in a 'B' film in 1940 she retired from the screen at 38. In the 30's she turned to vaudeville headlining at the Palace, New York and the London Palladium billed as 'the famous American film star. She kept working to the end- in TV commercials as a 'voice' in radio programmes and at one time serving in a department store.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tonyman 5
- SpousesTheodore Allen (Ted) Lloyd(August 5, 1939 - November 24, 1953) (divorced, 2 children)Will Morgan(June 9, 1935 - April 25, 1938) (divorced)George Webb(December 25, 1925 - March 7, 1934) (divorced, 1 child)
- RelativesBob Ralston(Niece or Nephew)Bradford Ralston(Sibling)Howard Ralston(Sibling)
- After working in England in 1932, she returned to Hollywood the following year and was put under contract to MGM. Because she rejected Louis B. Mayer's advances, she was loaned out for "B" pictures and her film career declined.
- Profiled in "Speaking of Silents: First Ladies of the Screen" by William Drew, 1997.
- Her great-grandnephew is actor/musician Field Cate.
- [interview in 1978] I want to believe in something inspirational, that has courage, that you can hang your hat on a star. And you can't in the restricted films of today. It's too blatant. There's nothing courageous or inspirational about them. I just don't go anymore.
- As Good as Married (1937) - $750 /week
- Mister Dynamite (1935) - $750 /week
- Strange Wives (1934) - $750 /week
- Romance in the Rain (1934) - $750 /week
- Sadie McKee (1934) - $750 /week
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