- His wife Aleta Friele, despondent over marriage and career problems, killed herself with a .22 rifle outside their Laurel Canyon home in December of 1935. Remarrying and moving to Encino, Ross committed suicide with a .22 target pistol shortly after the first anniversary of his wife's death. Both shot themselves in the temple.
- According to a "Classic Images" article on Ross written by John R. Allen, Jr., Ross had an unhealthy obsession with Warner Bros. star Bette Davis that lasted for years. He wanted desperately to appear in a romantic picture with her to prove himself to her. This unreciprocated attention apparently annoyed Davis, who supposedly taunted Ross and complained to studio higher-ups.
- Became a close friend to Henry Fonda in 1933 while both were performing together in summer stock. Fonda would serve as best man to Ross and Aleta when they married at Aleta's sister's home in East Orange, New Jersey, the following year.
- Met his second wife, Aleta, the daughter of a physician, while they were appearing with the University Players Theater in Cape Cod during the summer season of 1930.
- According to a Movie Mirror article published shortly after his death, Ross was married, at age 18, to an older woman and had a daughter. The union was supposedly short-lived and never proved, as no woman or daughter ever surfaced.
- His maternal great-grandfather, Morris Cohen, was a Polish Jewish immigrant.
- On Broadway, Ross' second wife, Aleta Friele, went by the stage name of Aleta Freel.
- His body was found by his gardener in a pile of grain sacks in the loft of his barn at his ranch at 17221 Ventura Blvd in Encino, CA. The .22 caliber revolver pistol he had used to shoot himself in his left temple was found clutched in his left hand.
- When he was given a 5 year contract at Warner Brothers', he had to rent a studio flat opposite his home to keep his extensive collection of model trains in.
- When Henry Fonda first moved to Hollywood, he lived with Ross Alexander and wife Aleta Friele at their home.
- Hobbies included watching Hockey and Heavy Weight boxing and he owned a large collection of electric trains.
- Ross Alexander was born and raised in Brooklyn until his high school years. He attended Erasmus High School in Brooklyn for a while until he and his family moved upstate to Rochester, New York. He attended high school there, but he dropped out before graduating.
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