Jobyna Ralston (born Jobyna Lancaster Raulston, November , â€"
January , ) was an American stage and film actress. She had a featured
role in the first Oscar-winning film, Wings in , but is perhaps best
remembered today for her on-screen chemistry with Harold Lloyd, with
whom she appeared in seven movies.Ralston was born in South Pittsburg,
Tennessee, on November , to Joseph Lancaster Raulston and Sarah E.
Kemp Raulston. She was named after famed entertainer of the time,
Jobyna Howland. She had a younger brother, Edward Angus (born ).
Ralston's mother, a portrait photographer, carefully groomed her
daughter for a show business career.At the age of nine she gave her
first stage performance as Cinderella during the grand opening of the
Wilson theatre/Opera House in . Around , Ralston attended acting
school in New York. She later danced chorus and sang in Broadway
productions, her first being Two Little Girls in Blue. This production
marked her Broadway debut, when she was . Comedian Max Linder saw her
on stage and persuaded her to go to Hollywood, where she appeared in a
number of his films. She also co-starred in Humor Risk (), the fabled
lost comedy short film that was to be the film debut of the Marx
Brothers. Soon director Hal Roach began to star the actress in
one-reel comedies. She abandoned the stage for the screen in when her
mother's health began to decline, and she needed to make more money to
help pay the medical bills.In , she was named by the film industry as
one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. This award was given every year to the
top up and coming female stars. This same year she starred with silent
comedian Harold Lloyd in Why Worry?, and for the next five years
appeared in six of Lloyd's feature films as his leading lady. It is
for these performances and her onscreen chemistry with Lloyd that she
is best remembered today. She would start the trend for romantic
comedies with Girl Shy ().
January , ) was an American stage and film actress. She had a featured
role in the first Oscar-winning film, Wings in , but is perhaps best
remembered today for her on-screen chemistry with Harold Lloyd, with
whom she appeared in seven movies.Ralston was born in South Pittsburg,
Tennessee, on November , to Joseph Lancaster Raulston and Sarah E.
Kemp Raulston. She was named after famed entertainer of the time,
Jobyna Howland. She had a younger brother, Edward Angus (born ).
Ralston's mother, a portrait photographer, carefully groomed her
daughter for a show business career.At the age of nine she gave her
first stage performance as Cinderella during the grand opening of the
Wilson theatre/Opera House in . Around , Ralston attended acting
school in New York. She later danced chorus and sang in Broadway
productions, her first being Two Little Girls in Blue. This production
marked her Broadway debut, when she was . Comedian Max Linder saw her
on stage and persuaded her to go to Hollywood, where she appeared in a
number of his films. She also co-starred in Humor Risk (), the fabled
lost comedy short film that was to be the film debut of the Marx
Brothers. Soon director Hal Roach began to star the actress in
one-reel comedies. She abandoned the stage for the screen in when her
mother's health began to decline, and she needed to make more money to
help pay the medical bills.In , she was named by the film industry as
one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars. This award was given every year to the
top up and coming female stars. This same year she starred with silent
comedian Harold Lloyd in Why Worry?, and for the next five years
appeared in six of Lloyd's feature films as his leading lady. It is
for these performances and her onscreen chemistry with Lloyd that she
is best remembered today. She would start the trend for romantic
comedies with Girl Shy ().
Share this

SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.