Jobyna Ralston(1899-1967)
- Actress
Curly-locked, cherubic knockabout comedienne of the silent cinema. Her
mother, portrait photographer Mrs. Kemp Raulston, named her after her
favorite actress, Jobyna Howland. She
harbored ambitions for her daughter to achieve similar fame and trained her to that end. After a
failed teenage marriage to a local farmer, Jobyna left her Tennessee home and
went to New York in 1919 to join the
Ned Wayburn dancing academy, a popular
springboard for aspiring actresses.
In 1920, she appeared first on screen in Reelcraft "Cuckoo" comedy
shorts made in Jacksonville, FL. Around this time she also
co-starred in Humor Risk (1921), which marked the film debut of The Marx Brothers, and is now considered a lost film. The following year
she made her one Broadway appearance in
"Two
Little Girls in Blue" by George M. Cohan.
Deciding that comedy was her forte, she went to Hollywood in 1922,
starting as an extra with Hal Roach.
She was cast in a rare dramatic role in
The Call of Home (1922), then
partnered with French comedian Max Linder
and subsequently starred in Roach's
James Parrott comedies. When Harold Lloyd
became aware of her talent, he picked her as his leading lady,
succeeding his wife-to-be
Mildred Davis. By that time, Jobyna had already been in 60 one-reel comedy shorts for Hal Roach. She proceeded to star in
six of Lloyd's features, of which
Why Worry? (1923),
The Freshman (1925) and
The Kid Brother (1927) are
standouts for her ability to combine considerable comedic talent with
pathos. Of her performance in
Girl Shy (1924), "Variety" commented
(April 2) "Jobyna Ralston . . . proves herself considerable of an actress
[sic] in addition to being decidedly pretty". In 1927 "Joby" was cast
in a featured role in the Academy Award-winning drama
Wings (1927), whose star,
Richard Arlen, she married in January of
that year (she eventually divorced Arlen in 1945 on the grounds of desertion, obtaining a $250,000 settlement). As a freelance comedienne she appeared in leading
roles opposite stars like Eddie Cantor,
Charles Ray and
Buck Jones.
Jobyna also starred with
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in an
obscure Frank Capra melodrama,
The Power of the Press (1928). She made just three talkies,
The College Coquette (1929),
Rough Waters (1930) (her co-star
being Rin Tin Tin!) and
Sheer Luck (1931). In regard to the
first, the New York Times (August 26, 1929) declared that "Miss
Ralston's utterances are frequently indistinct". Indeed, Jobyna was
found to have a noticeable lisp which, combined with her impending
pregnancy, effectively put an end to her career as a motion picture
actress.
mother, portrait photographer Mrs. Kemp Raulston, named her after her
favorite actress, Jobyna Howland. She
harbored ambitions for her daughter to achieve similar fame and trained her to that end. After a
failed teenage marriage to a local farmer, Jobyna left her Tennessee home and
went to New York in 1919 to join the
Ned Wayburn dancing academy, a popular
springboard for aspiring actresses.
In 1920, she appeared first on screen in Reelcraft "Cuckoo" comedy
shorts made in Jacksonville, FL. Around this time she also
co-starred in Humor Risk (1921), which marked the film debut of The Marx Brothers, and is now considered a lost film. The following year
she made her one Broadway appearance in
"Two
Little Girls in Blue" by George M. Cohan.
Deciding that comedy was her forte, she went to Hollywood in 1922,
starting as an extra with Hal Roach.
She was cast in a rare dramatic role in
The Call of Home (1922), then
partnered with French comedian Max Linder
and subsequently starred in Roach's
James Parrott comedies. When Harold Lloyd
became aware of her talent, he picked her as his leading lady,
succeeding his wife-to-be
Mildred Davis. By that time, Jobyna had already been in 60 one-reel comedy shorts for Hal Roach. She proceeded to star in
six of Lloyd's features, of which
Why Worry? (1923),
The Freshman (1925) and
The Kid Brother (1927) are
standouts for her ability to combine considerable comedic talent with
pathos. Of her performance in
Girl Shy (1924), "Variety" commented
(April 2) "Jobyna Ralston . . . proves herself considerable of an actress
[sic] in addition to being decidedly pretty". In 1927 "Joby" was cast
in a featured role in the Academy Award-winning drama
Wings (1927), whose star,
Richard Arlen, she married in January of
that year (she eventually divorced Arlen in 1945 on the grounds of desertion, obtaining a $250,000 settlement). As a freelance comedienne she appeared in leading
roles opposite stars like Eddie Cantor,
Charles Ray and
Buck Jones.
Jobyna also starred with
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in an
obscure Frank Capra melodrama,
The Power of the Press (1928). She made just three talkies,
The College Coquette (1929),
Rough Waters (1930) (her co-star
being Rin Tin Tin!) and
Sheer Luck (1931). In regard to the
first, the New York Times (August 26, 1929) declared that "Miss
Ralston's utterances are frequently indistinct". Indeed, Jobyna was
found to have a noticeable lisp which, combined with her impending
pregnancy, effectively put an end to her career as a motion picture
actress.