Jessie Ralph Patton ( 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.
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
Greta Garbo (born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson; 18 September 1905 – 15 April 1990) was a Swedish-American actress. Regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses, she was known for her melancholic, somber persona, her film portrayals of tragic ch ...
's maid in ''
Camille'', as
W.C. Fields' battle-axe of a mother-in-law in ''
The Bank Dick
''The Bank Dick'', released as ''The Bank Detective'' in the United Kingdom, is a 1940 American comedy film starring W. C. Fields. Set in Lompoc, California, Fields plays Egbert Sousé, a drunk who accidentally thwarts a bank robbery and ends up ...
'', as
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...
's Aunt Katherine (in a state of permanent high dudgeon) in ''
After the Thin Man
''After the Thin Man'' is a 1936 American murder mystery comedy film directed by W. S. Van Dyke and starring William Powell, Myrna Loy and James Stewart. A sequel to the 1934 feature ''The Thin Man'', the film presents Powell and Loy as Dashiel ...
'', and as Peggotty in ''
David Copperfield
''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...
''. 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 in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in her Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Filmography
References
External links
*
*
Jessie Ralphportrait at NY Public Library Billy Rose Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralph, Jessie
1864 births
1944 deaths
19th-century American actresses
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Massachusetts
American film actresses
American stage actresses
People from Gloucester, Massachusetts