1. Valeska Suratt was an American stage and silent film actress.
17 Facts About Valeska Suratt
1. 2.
Valeska Suratt was born in Owensville, Indiana, to Ralph and Anna Valeska Suratt.
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Valeska Suratt had one stepsister, one older brother and a younger sister.
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Valeska Suratt dropped out of school in 1899 and worked at a photographer's studio.
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Valeska Suratt later moved to Indianapolis where she worked as an assistant in a millinery at a department store.
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Valeska Suratt began her career as an actress on the Chicago stage.
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Valeska Suratt soon paired with performer Billy Gould and the two created a successful act that included a so-called Apache dance performed by Suratt.
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Valeska Suratt became noted for appearing in playlets where she played a variety of roles in comedies and melodramas.
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Valeska Suratt possibly was another model for the famous Gibson Girl sketchings.
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Valeska Suratt made her film debut in The Soul of Broadway in 1915.
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Valeska Suratt reportedly wore more than 150 gowns in the film which cost $25,000 each.
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Valeska Suratt performed in a total of 11 silent films during her career, all of which are now considered lost.
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Valeska Suratt, who had left films in 1917, appeared to be unofficially blacklisted after the suit.
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Valeska Suratt disappeared for a few weeks after receiving the money and later returned to her hotel room penniless having squandered the money gambling.
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Valeska Suratt never revived her career on the stage or in films.
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Valeska Suratt died in a nursing home in Washington, DC, on July 2,1962.
17.
Valeska Suratt is interred in Highland Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute, Indiana.