Jobyna Ralston

Jobyna Ralston (born Jobyna Lancaster Raulston, November 21, 1899 – January 22, 1967) was an American stage and film actress. She had a featured role in Wings in 1927, and is remembered for her on-screen chemistry with Harold Lloyd, with whom she appeared in seven films. Early life and career Ralston was born in South Pittsburg, Tennessee, on November 21, 1899 to Joseph Lancaster Raulston and Sarah E. Kemp Raulston. She was named after Jobyna Howland. She had a younger brother, Edward Angus (born 1905). Ralston's mother, a portrait photographer, carefully groomed her daughter for a show business career. At the age of 9, she gave her first stage performance as Cinderella during the grand opening of the Wilson theatre/Opera House in 1909. Around 1915, 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 21. 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 (1921), the fabled lost comedy short film that was to be the film debut of the Marx Brothers. Soon director Hal Roach began to feature her in one-reel comedies. She abandoned the stage for the screen in 1922 when her mother's health began to decline, and she needed to make more money to help pay the medical bills. Starring with Harold Lloyd