Jessie Ralph

Jessie Ralph

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jessie Ralph (born Jessie Ralph Chambers, November 5, 1864 – May 30, 1944) was an American stage and screen actress, best known for her matronly roles in many classic motion pictures. She was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1864. She made her acting debut in 1880, at the age of sixteen. She made it to Broadway, where George M. Cohan cast her in many of his musicals, but she also excelled at dramatic roles. Although she made her Hollywood debut in 1916, in a motion picture career that would eventually span 25 years, she only became a permanent Hollywood actress in 1933. She was nearly 70 at this time, so her roles 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's maid in Camille, as W.C. Fields' battle-axe of a mother-in-law in The Bank Dick, as Myrna Loy's supercilious aunt Katherine in After the Thin Man, and as Nurse Peggotty in David Copperfield. She starred in 55 movies altogether, 52 between 1933 and 1941. Jessie Ralph retired from Hollywood in 1941, after her leg was amputated. She died four years later in her home town of Gloucester at the age of 79. She was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Acting

1941

They Met in Bombay
Movie

Duchess of Beltravers

1940

The Bank Dick
Movie

Mrs. Hermisillo Brunch

1940

Star Dust
Movie

Aunt Martha Parker

1940

The Blue Bird
Movie

Fairy Berylune

1939

1938

1937

Double Wedding
Movie

Mrs. Kensington-Bly

1937

The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Movie

The Duchess of Ebley

1936

1936

After the Thin Man
Movie

Katherine Forrest

1936

San Francisco
Movie

Mrs. Maisie Burley

1936

The Unguarded Hour
Movie

Lady Agatha Hathaway

1935

1935

I Live My Life
Movie

Mrs. O.H.B. Gage, Kay's Grandmother

1935

Paris in Spring
Movie

Countess de Charelle

1935

Les Misérables
Movie

Madame Magloire

1935

Enchanted April
Movie

Mrs. Phoebe Fisher

1935

1934

1934

We Live Again
Movie

Matrona Pavlovna

1934

1934

1933

1933

Elmer, the Great
Movie

Sarah Crosby (uncredited)

Infos

Full Name
Jessie Ralph
Gender
Female
Date of Birth
11/4/1864
Date of Death
5/30/1944
Also Known As

Jessie Ralph Chambers

Jessie Rolph

Jessie Ralph Patton