VERA H. RALSTON - AUTOGRAPHED INSCRIBED 8x10 Dated 8-30-99 W/COA

Inscribed photograph signed: "To my friends/sincere best wishes/ Vera Raslston. B/w, 8x10. Actress Vera Ralston (1919-2003), born Vera Hruba in Prague Czechoslovakia, first gained attention as an ice-skater, prompting Herbert J. Yates, the head of Republic Pictures, to bring her to the U.S. to become "the next Sonja Henie". Credited as Vera Hruba in her 1941 film debut in Ice-Capades, the actress, who took the name "Ralston" from the name of a breakfast cereal company, would go on to appear in 26 films for Republic Pictures - and would marry Yates (they were married from March 1952 until his death on February 3, 1966). She retired from the screen in 1958 - the year that Yates was deposed as the head of the studio. On June 16, 1973, seven years after her first husband's death, Ralston married Charles de Alva. The couple lived in Santa Barbara, California, where Ralston died on February 9, 2003.