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215:, to Ralph and Anna (Matthews) Suratt. Her paternal grandparents were French immigrants and her maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States from England. She had one stepsister, one older brother and a younger sister. When she was six, her family moved to Terre Haute, Indiana. She dropped out of school in 1899 and worked at a photographer's studio. Suratt later moved to Indianapolis where she worked as an assistant in a
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learned of Suratt's situation, she organized a benefit for her which raised around $ 2,000. Suratt disappeared for a few weeks after receiving the money and later returned to her hotel room penniless having squandered the money gambling. In an attempt to revive her career, Suratt tried to sell her
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the following year. By 1908, Suratt and Gould had parted ways and Suratt began a successful solo act which featured her singing and dancing while wearing glamorous costumes and gowns. Suratt's success in vaudeville continued and she began billing herself as "Vaudeville's
Greatest Star" and "The
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During her years on the stage, Valeska was noted for the high fashion clothes she wore on stage and her name became synonymous with lavish gowns worldwide. Among the items which were most commented about was an $ 11,000 Cinderella cloak. She was sometimes called the "Empress of
Fashions". She
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claimed that the show was "salacious" and had it shut down because of its sexually suggestive themes. In
December 1910, she teamed up with Fletcher Norton (who became her second husband) in a play titled
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roles. She reportedly married him around 1904. After their divorce in 1911, she married actor
Fletcher Norton. After eight weeks of marriage, Fletcher Norton was granted a divorce on July 16, 1911.
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from them. The case went to trial in
February 1930 but eventually was settled without publicity. Suratt, who had left films in 1917, appeared to be unofficially blacklisted after the suit.
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By 1920, Suratt's career had begun to wane as vaudeville fell out of a favor with audiences, as did the craze for the vamp image. In 1928, Suratt and scholar
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Suratt married twice and had no children. Her first husband was
William J. Flannery (1869–1950), known as Billy Gould, a vaudeville comedian known for his
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By the end of the 1920s, Suratt disappeared. In the 1930s, she was discovered living in a cheap hotel in New York City and was broke. After novelist
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magazine later named her "one of the best dressed women on the stage" and routinely wrote about the gowns she wore in her stage shows in detail.
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Valeska Suratt died in a nursing home in
Washington, D.C., on July 2, 1962. She was 80 years old. Suratt is interred in
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in 1915. She reportedly wore more than 150 gowns in the film which cost $ 25,000 each. The same year, she made
344:(1917). She performed in a total of 11 silent films during her career, all of which are now considered lost.
271:. She became noted for appearing in playlets where she played a variety of roles in comedies and melodramas.
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actress. Over the course of her career, Suratt appeared in 11 silent films, all of which are now
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Suratt began her career as an actress on the
Chicago stage. Around 1900, she began appearing in
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849:"HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE: Looking at the twists and turns in the life of Valeska Suratt"
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International Museum of
Photography at George Eastman House; Pratt, George C. (1982).
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Hairpins and Dead Ends: The
Perilous Journeys of 25 Actresses Through Early Hollywood
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and the mother of God. Suratt never revived her career on the stage or in films.
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and was cast as seductive and exotic characters. Suratt made her film debut in
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Waterbury, Ruth; Vaux Bacon, George (1915). "Valeska Suratt of Terre Haute".
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Blue Vaudeville: Sex, Morals and the Mass Marketing of Amusement, 1895–1915
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performed by Suratt. In 1906, she made her Broadway debut in the musical
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878:. Vol. 9. Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company. pp. 89–91.
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Biggest Drawing Card in New York". In 1910, she appeared in the show
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1916 portrait of Valeska Suratt by Benjamin Strauss and Homer Peyton
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1120:"Startling Secrets of the World's Most Famous Self-Made Beauty."
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Photoplay: The Aristocrat of Motion Picture Magazines, Volume 9
978:
Fox Film Corporation, 1915–1935: A History and Filmography
191:(June 28, 1882 – July 2, 1962) was an American stage and
1267:(ValeskaSuratt.com - reconstructions of her lost films)
1106:. New York: New History Foundation. pp. 152–153.
1087:"Boston Post Newspaper Archives, Jul 17, 1911, p. 7"
816:
Women Vaudeville Stars: Eighty Biographical Profiles
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Fort Lee: Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry
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1243:Suratt's stage portraits & silent film stills
231:Publicity photograph by Gerald Carpenter, c. 1916
1134:"A Journey Through Queen of Night's Apartment."
896:. Univ. Press of Mississippi. pp. 484–485.
951:Front Cover Fort Lee Film Commission (2006).
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1103:From Gaslight to Dawn: an autobiography
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178: 1911; died 1941)
1248:Passport photo of Valeska Suratt, 1919
16:American stage and silent film actress
1312:20th Century Studios contract players
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1037:(Helena, Montana), February 25, 1928
1274:, Suratt's second husband (and its
1005:. George Eastman House. p. 3.
1003:Faces and Fabrics/Feathers and Furs
290:. Like fellow Fox contract players
1332:American people of English descent
955:. Arcadia Publishing. p. 76.
847:McCormick, Mike (March 14, 2009).
575:Grace Leonard, a.k.a. La Valencia
468:December 3, 1906 – March 30, 1907
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1337:American people of French descent
239:. She soon paired with performer
1357:Actors from Terre Haute, Indiana
1151:"Star in the Soul of Broadway."
502:The Girl with the Whooping Cough
259:The Girl with the Whooping Cough
152:
1302:20th-century American actresses
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1362:American vaudeville performers
1342:American silent film actresses
894:The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville
851:. tribstar.com. Archived from
483:October 10 – December 7, 1907
360:for stealing the scenario for
1:
1233:Valeska Suratt Genealogy Page
1148:. February 5, 1913, Page 10.
286:In 1915, Suratt signed with
1127:"Valeska Suratt Thursday."
528:July 6 – September 9, 1922
298:, Suratt was marketed as a
1378:
1214:Internet Broadway Database
980:. McFarland. p. 230.
921:. McFarland. p. 118.
917:Erdman, Andrew L. (2004).
523:Costume and scenic design
430:The Belle of the Boulevard
1255:(Univ. of South Carolina)
1138:. April 5, 1914, Page 10.
1131:. July 29, 1917, Page 37.
1124:. June 16, 1912, Page 13.
1052:website (March 14, 2009)"
416:in Terre Haute, Indiana.
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1347:American stage actresses
1050:Terre Haute Tribune Star
976:Solomon, Aubrey (2011).
512:June 2 – September 1911
400:She was a member of the
251:, followed by a role in
1327:American film actresses
1122:Cedar Rapids Republican
892:Slide, Anthony (2012).
813:Fields, Armond (2006).
376:William Randolph Hearst
374:life's story to one of
219:at a department store.
1317:Actresses from Indiana
1100:Julie Chanler (1956).
1076:Slide 2012 pp. 485–486
1035:The Helena Independent
782:A Rich Man's Plaything
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444:Valeska Suratt's 1917
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414:Highland Lawn Cemetery
262:. New York City mayor
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88:Highland Lawn Cemetery
703:Ayesha, a.k.a. "She"
491:Mrs. Vera Shapeleigh
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230:
1307:20th-century Bahá'ís
677:The New York Peacock
570:The Soul of Broadway
498:April 25 – May 1910
472:The Belle of Mayfair
446:The New York Peacock
335:The New York Peacock
305:The Soul of Broadway
249:The Belle of Mayfair
199:, mainly due to the
151: 1904;
1170:Michael G. Ankerich
213:Owensville, Indiana
211:Suratt was born in
201:1937 Fox vault fire
57:Owensville, Indiana
1352:Burials in Indiana
1141:"The Kiss-Waltz."
1129:Fort Wayne Journal
1058:on January 4, 2013
855:on January 4, 2013
476:Duchess of Dunmow
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354:Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
264:William Jay Gaynor
233:
1183:978-1-62933-201-7
1025:Slide 2012 pp.485
987:978-0-7864-8610-6
941:Erdman 2004 p.117
903:978-1-61703-250-9
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487:Hip! Hip! Hooray!
363:The King of Kings
253:Hip! Hip! Hooray!
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118:Years active
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1322:American Bahá'ís
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1089:. July 17, 1911.
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1054:. Archived from
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358:Cecil B. DeMille
317:The Straight Way
296:Virginia Pearson
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102:Other names
76:Washington, D.C.
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84:Resting place
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53:June 28, 1882
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1198:May de Sousa
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1146:Journal-News
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1060:. Retrieved
1056:the original
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1021:
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857:. Retrieved
853:the original
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640:Anne Baxter
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516:The Red Rose
515:
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402:Baháʼí Faith
399:
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371:Fannie Hurst
368:
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339:
338:(1916), and
333:
327:
321:
315:
314:followed by
309:
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280:
279:sketchings.
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257:
252:
248:
245:Apache dance
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188:
187:
70:(1962-07-02)
68:July 2, 1962
18:
1297:1962 deaths
1292:1882 births
1270:postcard of
1156:Daily Times
766:Emma Rolfe
544:Filmography
457:Production
380:Virgin Mary
277:Gibson Girl
241:Billy Gould
193:silent film
137:Billy Gould
94:Nationality
1286:Categories
1158:. Page 16.
1062:January 4,
800:References
656:The Victim
428:Suratt in
329:The Victim
292:Theda Bara
237:vaudeville
207:Early life
110:Occupation
49:1882-06-28
1276:flip side
740:The Siren
724:Caroline
719:The Slave
392:blackface
217:millinery
121:1906–1922
1261:(Kinotv)
1192:See also
1172:(2017).
859:March 4,
635:Jealousy
395:minstrel
332:(1916),
326:(1916),
323:Jealousy
320:(1916),
97:American
1212:at the
1115:Sources
348:Decline
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126:Spouses
113:Actress
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1144:Racine
1009:
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900:
823:
598:Masha
560:Notes
554:Title
463:Notes
436:, 1910
223:Career
78:, U.S.
59:, U.S.
793:film
777:1917
772:film
756:1917
751:film
735:1917
730:film
714:1917
709:film
693:1917
688:film
682:Zena
672:1917
667:film
651:1916
646:film
630:1916
625:film
609:1916
604:film
588:1915
565:1915
557:Role
551:Year
520:Lola
460:Role
454:Date
408:Death
356:sued
281:Vogue
174:(
170:
147:(
143:
1228:IMDb
1178:ISBN
1064:2013
1007:ISBN
982:ISBN
957:ISBN
923:ISBN
898:ISBN
861:2013
821:ISBN
791:Lost
770:Lost
749:Lost
728:Lost
707:Lost
686:Lost
665:Lost
644:Lost
623:Lost
602:Lost
582:film
580:Lost
300:vamp
294:and
197:lost
153:div.
65:Died
43:Born
1226:at
698:She
432:by
341:She
288:Fox
1288::
884:^
835:^
404:.
203:.
176:m.
149:m.
1278:)
1186:.
1066:.
1048:"
1015:.
990:.
965:.
931:.
906:.
863:.
829:.
51:)
47:(
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