Marcia Mascotte Ralston (19 September 1906 – 23 November 1988) was an Australian-born actress who appeared in Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s.
In Australia
Ralston's father was well known Australian singer and actor
John Ralston. She attended
Bethlehem College, Ashfield and won third place in a 1926
Miss Australia
Miss Australia was the title for the winner of the Miss Australia Quest or the Miss Australia Awards, which ran from 1954 until 2000, when the last Miss Australia was named. From 2002, the Miss World Australia contest has been held, and the Miss ...
competition.
Known as Mascotte Ralston, she won a place in
J. C. Williamson's Musical Comedy Company, working her way up from the chorus until she was playing Lili in
Lilac Time. She had a leading part in the "comedy mystery" ''
The Ghost Train'' from January 1927, and during its run she met drummer
Phil Harris
Wonga Philip Harris (June 24, 1904 – August 11, 1995) was an American actor, comedian, musician and songwriter. He was an orchestra leader and a pioneer in radio situation comedy, first with ''The Jack Benny Program'', then in '' The Phil Harr ...
and they married on 2 September 1927, then moved to California. She had a Warner Bros. contract by 1937 and appeared in a number of supporting and leading roles, mostly in B films.
Career in Hollywood
Her marriage to Harris ended in divorce in 1940. She continued to act in various bit parts and supporting roles until the late 1940s. Work after this included instructing for the
Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray (born Moses Teichman, April 4, 1895 – March 3, 1991) was an American ballroom dancer and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name.
Early life and start in dance
Arthur Mur ...
dance studio in the early 1950s. She married Bud Henderson in 1954.
"Behind the Hollywood Scene" ''The Day'', November 15, 1954. Harrison Carroll
Accessed 31 December 2013 Henderson's sister Betty was married to actor Robert Young. The connection resulted in an occasional supporting role as Nurse Donnelly in the TV series ''Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to:
* Marcus (name), a masculine given name
* Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name
Places
* Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44
* Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...
'' in the early 1970s. She died at Rancho Mirage, California in 1988.
Filmography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralston, Marcia
1906 births
1988 deaths
Australian film actresses
Actresses from Sydney
20th-century Australian actresses
Australian expatriate actresses in the United States