Vera Ralston
Vera Ralston | |
---|---|
![]() John Wayne and Vera Ralston in Dakota (1945) | |
Full name | Vera Ralston |
Other names | Vera Hrubá Ralston |
Born | Věra Helena Hrubá July 12, 1919 (other sources cite 1920, 1921, and 1923) Prague, Czechoslovakia (present-day Czech Republic) |
Died | February 9, 2003 Santa Barbara, California, U.S. |
Figure skating career | |
Country | ![]() |
Vera Ralston (born Věra Helena Hrubá; July 12, 1919[1][2] or 1920[3][4] or 1921[5] – February 9, 2003) was a Czech figure skater and actress. She later became a naturalized American citizen. She worked as an actress during the 1940s and 1950s.
Early life
Ralston was born Věra Helena Hrubá in Prague to a Catholic family with a home on the Berounka River. Her father, Rudolf Hrubá, was a jeweler. Her year of birth has been given as 1919, 1920, 1921, and 1923.[4][6] Her brother, Rudy Ralston, later became a film producer in the United States.
Skating career
As a figure skater, she represented Czechoslovakia in competition under her birth name Věra Hrubá.[citation needed] She competed at the 1936 European Figure Skating Championships and placed 15th. Later that season, she competed at the 1936 Winter Olympics, where she placed 17th. During the games, she personally met and reportedly insulted Adolf Hitler.[4] Hitler asked her if she would like to "skate for the swastika." As she later boasted, "I looked him right in the eye, and said that I'd rather skate on the swastika. The Führer was furious."[7]
Hrubá competed at the 1937 European Figure Skating Championships and placed 7th. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a naturalized citizen in 1946.[citation needed]
Results
Event | 1936 | 1937 |
---|---|---|
Winter Olympics | 17th | |
European Championships | 15th | 7th |
Acting career
She moved to Hollywood with her mother and signed a contract in 1943 with Republic Pictures. During her career she was known as Vera Hrubá Ralston and Vera Hruba Ralston, and, later, simply as Vera Ralston. She normally played an immigrant girl, because of her limited English skills. Among the 26 films Ralston starred in were Storm Over Lisbon with Erich von Stroheim (1944), Dakota (1945) with John Wayne, I, Jane Doe (1948) with John Carroll and Ruth Hussey, The Fighting Kentuckian, also with Wayne (1949), A Perilous Journey with David Brian and Scott Brady (1953), and Fair Wind to Java with Fred MacMurray (1953). She retired from films in 1958. Reportedly only 2 of her 20 films made money.[8]
In 1952, Ralston married Republic studio head Herbert Yates. Yates was nearly 40 years her senior, and reportedly left his wife and children to be with Ralston.[9] Yates used his position to obtain roles for Ralston, and at one point was sued by studio shareholders for using company assets to promote his wife. Yates died in 1966, leaving his $8 million estate to Ralston.[10] She suffered a nervous breakdown shortly thereafter, then remarried and lived quietly in southern California. She died on February 9, 2003, in Santa Barbara, California, after a long battle with cancer. For her work in films, Ralston has a star in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Legacy
The authors of the book The Golden Turkey Awards nominated her for the dubious honor of "The Worst Actress of All Time", along with Candice Bergen and Mamie Van Doren. They all lost to Raquel Welch.[11]
A registered Republican, she supported Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.[12]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1941 | Ice-Capades | Ice-Capades Skater | |
1942 | Ice-Capades Revue | Ice-Capades Skater | |
1944 | The Lady and the Monster | Janice Farrell | |
1944 | Storm Over Lisbon | Maria Mazarek, aka Maritza | |
1944 | Lake Placid Serenade | Vera Haschek | |
1945 | Dakota | Sandy | |
1946 | Murder in the Music Hall | Lila Laughton | |
1946 | Plainsman and the Lady | Ann Arnesen | |
1947 | Wyoming | Karen Alderson | |
1947 | Týden v tichém dome | Sieglová | |
1947 | The Flame | Carlotta Duval | |
1948 | I, Jane Doe | Annette Dubois / Jane Doe | |
1948 | Angel on the Amazon | Christine Ridgeway | |
1949 | The Fighting Kentuckian | Fleurette De Marchand | |
1950 | Surrender | Violet Barton | |
1951 | Belle Le Grand | Daisy Henshaw / Belle Le Grand | |
1951 | Thunder Across the Pacific | Lt. Helen Landers | |
1952 | Hoodlum Empire | Marte Dufour | |
1953 | Fair Wind to Java | Kim Kim | |
1953 | A Perilous Journey | Francie Landreaux | |
1954 | Jubilee Trail | Florinda Grove, aka Julie Latour | |
1955 | Timberjack | Lynne Tilton | |
1956 | Accused of Murder | Ilona Vance | |
1957 | Spoilers of the Forest | Joan Milna | |
1957 | Gunfire at Indian Gap | Cheel Palmer | |
1958 | The Notorious Mr. Monks | Angela Monks | |
1958 | The Man Who Died Twice | Lynn Brennon |
References
- ^ "Republic's Leading Lady, Vera Ralston". Chris Enss. July 31, 2019.
- ^ "Vera Ralston". Video Detective.
- ^ Vera Hruba. "Olympic.org".
- ^ a b c Biography of Vera Ralston; retrieved June 5, 2006.
- ^ "Obituary: Vera Hruba Ralston". the Guardian. February 28, 2003.
- ^ Lamparski, Richard (1982). Whatever Became Of ...? Eighth Series. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 0-517-54855-0.
- ^ ""Obituary – Vera Ralston"". Archived from the original on July 26, 2003. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Irish Independent Online. March 2, 2003; accessed June 5, 2006. - ^ "Yates Flayed as Head of Republic Pictures: Starred Wife, Vera Ralston, in 18 Flops, Runs Firm for Own Gain, Stockholder Says". Los Angeles Times. August 20, 1958. p. A10.
- ^ "HERBERT YATES TO WED VERA RALSTON: Republic Studio President Gives Age as 72, Blond Film Star 31, in License Application". Los Angeles Times. March 15, 1952. p. A1.
- ^ "HERBERT J. YATES, 85 MOVIEMAKER, IS DEAD". New York Times. February 4, 1966. p. 31.
- ^ Hal Erikson. "Vera Ralston, Actor: July 12, 1923 – Prague, Czechoslovakia". The New York Times from AllMovie. Retrieved June 2, 2007.
- ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 2003 deaths
- American film actresses
- American female single skaters
- Czech female single skaters
- Czechoslovak female single skaters
- Czechoslovak emigrants to the United States
- Olympic figure skaters of Czechoslovakia
- Figure skaters at the 1936 Winter Olympics
- American people of Bohemian descent
- Sportspeople from Prague
- Deaths from cancer in California
- Actresses from Prague
- 20th-century American actresses
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- California Republicans
- Burials at Santa Barbara Cemetery