Esther Louise Worth (1902-94) was the youngest child in a family vaudeville act before starting her film career while a teenager. She was only 22 when she played Mrs Darling in the Betty Bronson version of Peter Pan (1924).
Ralston starred in dozens of films during the 1920s and made a successful transition to sound. But her career faltered, and in her autobiography, published in 1985, she asserted this was the work of Louis B Mayer, whose advances she had resisted. In a familiar story, he ensured she was greylisted at the major studios.
Ralston’s final leading role was in Henry Hathaway’s To the Last Man (1933), though she continued acting, mostly on the stage and in television, until the 1960s.
Ralston was very good as the female lead, opposite Lawrence Tibbett, in MGM’s The Prodigal.
