Vera Ralston
Czech postcard by Ceskoslovenské filmové naklatefstvi (CSFN), Praha, no. 69. Photo: Republic Pictures.
After achieving modest fame as an ice skater in her native Czechoslovakia, Vera Hruba (1923-2003) was brought to America by Republic Pictures head Herbert J. Yates, who hoped to turn her into the next Sonja Henie. After featuring her in several Ice Capades movies, he added "Ralston" to her name and tried to pass her off as a leading lady.
Věra Helena Hrubá was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) in 1923. Her father was a wealthy jeweler and her brother later became a film producer in the United States under the name of Rudy Ralston. As a figure skater, she represented Czechoslovakia in competition under her birth name Věra Hrubá. 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. Hrubá competed at the 1937 European Figure Skating Championships and placed 7th. She emigrated to the United States in the early 1940s and became a naturalized citizen in 1946.
Vera Hruba 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 later 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 (1944) with Erich von Stroheim, Dakota (1945) with John Wayne, I, Jane Doe (1948) with Ruth Hussey and John Carrol, and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949), also with John Wayne. In 1952 Ralston married Republic studio head Herbert Yates. Yates was nearly 40 years her senior, and had left his wife and children to be with Ralston. Yates used his position to obtain roles for Ralston, such as in A Perilous Journey (1953) with David Brian, and Fair Wind to Java (1953) with Fred MacMurray. At one point, he was sued by studio shareholders for using company assets to promote his wife. She retired from films in 1958. Reportedly only 2 of her 20 films made money. Yates died in 1966, leaving his $8 million estate to Ralston. She suffered a nervous breakdown shortly thereafter, then remarried and lived quietly in southern California. Vera Ralston died in 2003, in Santa Barbara, California, after a long battle with cancer. The authors of the book The Golden Turkey Awards nominated her for the dubious honour of "The Worst Actress of All Time," along with Candice Bergen and Mamie Van Doren. They all lost to Raquel Welch.
Sources: Ray Hamel (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.
Vera Ralston
Czech postcard by Ceskoslovenské filmové naklatefstvi (CSFN), Praha, no. 69. Photo: Republic Pictures.
After achieving modest fame as an ice skater in her native Czechoslovakia, Vera Hruba (1923-2003) was brought to America by Republic Pictures head Herbert J. Yates, who hoped to turn her into the next Sonja Henie. After featuring her in several Ice Capades movies, he added "Ralston" to her name and tried to pass her off as a leading lady.
Věra Helena Hrubá was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (now Czech Republic) in 1923. Her father was a wealthy jeweler and her brother later became a film producer in the United States under the name of Rudy Ralston. As a figure skater, she represented Czechoslovakia in competition under her birth name Věra Hrubá. 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. Hrubá competed at the 1937 European Figure Skating Championships and placed 7th. She emigrated to the United States in the early 1940s and became a naturalized citizen in 1946.
Vera Hruba 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 later 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 (1944) with Erich von Stroheim, Dakota (1945) with John Wayne, I, Jane Doe (1948) with Ruth Hussey and John Carrol, and The Fighting Kentuckian (1949), also with John Wayne. In 1952 Ralston married Republic studio head Herbert Yates. Yates was nearly 40 years her senior, and had left his wife and children to be with Ralston. Yates used his position to obtain roles for Ralston, such as in A Perilous Journey (1953) with David Brian, and Fair Wind to Java (1953) with Fred MacMurray. At one point, he was sued by studio shareholders for using company assets to promote his wife. She retired from films in 1958. Reportedly only 2 of her 20 films made money. Yates died in 1966, leaving his $8 million estate to Ralston. She suffered a nervous breakdown shortly thereafter, then remarried and lived quietly in southern California. Vera Ralston died in 2003, in Santa Barbara, California, after a long battle with cancer. The authors of the book The Golden Turkey Awards nominated her for the dubious honour of "The Worst Actress of All Time," along with Candice Bergen and Mamie Van Doren. They all lost to Raquel Welch.
Sources: Ray Hamel (IMDb), Wikipedia and IMDb.