Esther Ralston

Early life and career

Retirement and later years

To the Last Man was almost a model of its kind, an exceptionally strong story of feuding families in the post-Civil War era, with a cast worthy of an "A" feature, excellent direction by Henry Hathaway, and an unusual climactic fight between the villain and the heroine.

Marriages

• On December 25, 1925, Ralston married her manager, actor George Webb Frey in Manhattan, New York. He was credited in films as George Webb. They had a daughter, Mary Esther, who, at birth was known as the "$100,000 Baby" because her mother turned down a substantial film contract while pregnant. George and Esther divorced in 1934. George filed for bankruptcy in Los Angeles in March 1934.
• On June 16, 1935, Ralston married actor Will Morgan, then a former New York stage actor and singer. They divorced in 1938. Morgan led the saxophone section for eight years for Fred Waring.
• On August 6, 1939, Ralston married radio announcer and columnist Ted Lloyd in Greenwich, Connecticut. Music publisher Jack Robbins was Lloyd's best man. The couple had two children, Judy and Ted, Jr. Ted and Esther divorced in 1954. Before marrying Ralston, Lloyd had worked for newspapers and Radio News. In 1942, Lloyd became director of radio for 20th Century Fox. In 1946, with Hal Horne and Armand Deutsch, Lloyd formed Ted Lloyd, Inc. to manage personalities and to produce radio programs. He produced several radio dramas, including My True Story for the NBC Red Network, Adventures of the Abbotts on NBC Red Network, Whispering Streets for CBS Radio, and Escape for CBS-TV.

Death

Filmography