Jessie Ralph

Biography

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.

Known For

MGM Parade

Captain Blood

Camille

San Francisco

David Copperfield

The Affairs of Cellini

Les Misérables

Drums Along the Mohawk

All Movies (54)

• They Met in Bombay1941 · as Duchess of Beltravers
• The Lady from Cheyenne1941 · as Mrs. McGuinness
• The Bank Dick1940 · as Mrs. Hermisillo Brunch
• I Want a Divorce1940 · as Grandma Brokaw
• The Girl from Avenue A1940 · as Mrs. Van Dyne
• I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby1940 · as Mama McGann
• Star Dust1940 · as Aunt Martha Parker
• The Blue Bird1940 · as Fairy Berylune
• Drums Along the Mohawk1939 · as Mrs. Weaver
• Mickey the Kid1939 · as Veronica Hudson
• The Kid From Texas1939 · as Aunt Minetta
• Cafe Society1939 · as Mrs. De Witt
• St. Louis Blues1939 · as Aunt Tibbie
• Four Girls in White1939 · as Miss Tobias
• Port of Seven Seas1938 · as Honorine
• Hold That Kiss1938 · as Aunt Lucy
• Love Is a Headache1938 · as Sheriff Janet Winfield
• Double Wedding1937 · as Mrs. Kensington-Bly
• The Romance of Celluloid1937 · as Self
• The Good Earth1937 · as Cuckoo
• The Last of Mrs. Cheyney1937 · as The Duchess of Ebley
• Camille1936 · as Nanine
• After the Thin Man1936 · as Katherine Forrest
• Walking on Air1936 · as Evelyn Bennett
• Bunker Bean1936 · as Grandmother
• San Francisco1936 · as Mrs. Maisie Burley
• The Unguarded Hour1936 · as Lady Agatha Hathaway
• Yellow Dust1936 · as Mrs. Brian
• Little Lord Fauntleroy1936 · as Applewoman
• The Garden Murder Case1936 · as Mrs. Hammle
• Captain Blood1935 · as Mrs. Barlow
• I Found Stella Parish1935 · as Nana
• Metropolitan1935 · as Charwoman
• I Live My Life1935 · as Mrs. O.H.B. Gage, Kay's Grandmother
• Jalna1935 · as Gran Whiteoaks
• Paris in Spring1935 · as Countess de Charelle
• Mark of the Vampire1935 · as Midwife
• Les Misérables1935 · as Madame Magloire
• Vanessa: Her Love Story1935 · as Lady Mullion
• Enchanted April1935 · as Mrs. Phoebe Fisher
• David Copperfield1935 · as Clara Peggotty
• Evelyn Prentice1934 · as Mrs. Blake
• We Live Again1934 · as Matrona Pavlovna
• The Affairs of Cellini1934 · as Beatrice
• One Night of Love1934 · as Angelina
• Murder at the Vanities1934 · as Mrs. Helene Smith
• Coming Out Party1934 · as Nora
• Nana1934 · as Zoe
• Cocktail Hour1933 · as Princess
• Ann Carver's Profession1933 · as Terry
• Elmer, the Great1933 · as Sarah Crosby (uncredited)
• Child of Manhattan1933 · as Aunt Minnie
• Such a Little Queen1921 · as Mary
• The Madonna of the Slums1919

All TV Shows (1)

• MGM Parade1955 · as self