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 cinemagoers of the time Her bestknown roles are as Greta Garbos maid in Camille as WC Fields battleaxe of a motherinlaw in The Bank Dick as Myrna Loys 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
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