Whitley Heights 101

Esther Ralston

Cahuenga Boulevard is what divides Whitley Heights and the Hollywood Dell. Before Cahuenga Boulevard was widened in the early 1930s, it was hard to tell where the two neighborhoods split. As a result, many Hollywood reporters got it wrong and often disclosed a celebrity was living in Whitley Heights when they were actually residing in the Hollywood Dell. Case in point, actress Esther Ralston was a victim of the erroneous reporting in August of 1930.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Ralston was returning to her Whitley Heights home to rest after a lengthy vaudeville tour. However, records indicated that Ralston was actually living at 2212 Hollyridge Drive in the Hollywood Dell.

Born Esther Louise Worth in Bar Harbor, Maine in 1902, she began her career as a child actress in a family vaudeville act and appeared in a few small silent film roles, including a role alongside her brother in the 1920 film adaptation of Huckleberry Finn (see below). The following year, Ralston appeared as an extra in Charlie Chaplin’s film, “The Kid”. Ralston later gained attention as Mrs. Darling in the 1924 film version of Peter Pan.

In 1925, she married actor George Webb in New York City at the age of 23. Webb was considerably older than she; he was 38 years old at the time. The two were introduced to one another when Ralston starred opposite William Desmond in “The Phantom Fortune” which aired in 1923. Below from left to right: Lewis Sargent, Esther Ralston, George Webb, and William Desmond.

The Webb family purchased 2212 Hollyridge Drive at auction in 1927 and lived there for six years before they too put it on the auction block. It still stands. After they moved in, George built an elaborate 4 room bathhouse and a pool in the backyard that Esther paid for. Webb’s acting career had stalled as hers was in demand so he “managed” her career while she earned a majority of their income.

Esther wanted to have a family and Mary was born on August 10, 1931. Baby Mary was referred to as the “$100,000 Baby” because Ralston turned down a substantial film contract while she pregnant. Webb encouraged Esther to go back to work so they could continue to live George’s expensive lifestyle, but Esther wanted to take more time off to raise their daughter.

She did, however, open her own beauty salon called “Esthers” which was located at 1769 N. Cahuenga Boulevard. Ralston actually bought out the previous owner of the salon and opened it up as her own. The spa opened on February of 1932. Unfortunately, her beauty venture only lasted a few months.

Her hiatus from acting proved harmful to her career; during the 1930s, her roles were limited to small roles and as a result, the Webbs were forced to auction their dream house and all of its contents on February 27, 1933.

They moved to a smaller house in Westwood. They were bankrupt and Esther refused to travel vaudeville again. George went crazy. One day he went into the yard and put a gun to his head then came inside, went into the bathroom and swallowed a whole bottle of aspirin before throwing up. The next day, Esther left George and moved into the Chateau Marmont. Their divorce became final in 1934 and then George married actress Lee Kinney a year later. The two moved to an apartment located at 6814 Iris Circle in Whitley Heights until 1937 (the real Whitley Heights connection).

Ralston would end up marrying two more times as her career turned to radio before she retired. On January 14, 1994, Ralston died of a heart attack at age 91 in her home in Ventura, California. Ralston, however, did not leave this earth without a big “shake-up”. On the day of her funeral which was held in Ventura, An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7, hit Northridge, less than 60 miles from her resting spot.