The Movie Star on Orchid Road

A mega movie star used to live at 103 Orchid Road. Her daughter Judy Lloyd was in Division Avenue High School's class of 1960.

Mrs. Lloyd, as I knew her, was considerably older than most of the mothers of my school friends. She was also the most striking. Judy was voted "Best Looking" in our class and co-wrote the school alma mater with Lillian Smith, class of 1962.

Judy and her mother moved to Levittown sometime in the middle of her high school years, perhaps late 1957. I remember, vividly, the first day that Judy was a student at our school, a few weeks after classes had begun. It was late in the day and as I hurried to my locker, some guy comes up to me and says, "Have you seen the new girl? She is absolutely gorgeous." He had her homeroom number and suggested we walk there to take a peek through the door.

I do not exaggerate. By the time we arrived, there must have been a couple of dozen boys fighting for access to the door. And we were not disappointed. Judy looked like someone out of a movie magazine. How vivid was the image? Well, I still remember that she was wearing a skirt that looked like a kilt.

After a while I got to know Judy and even spent some time at her Orchid Road home. She was a musician who had written a few songs and I still have a 45-rmp record that she co-wrote and performed on. Almost no one would remember "This is My Love." I can't imagine that many copies were pressed, much less survived.

How famous was Judy's mother? She was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It can be found at 6664 Hollywood Boulevard.

Here are some of the particulars concerning Esther Ralston's stunning career:

Esther Ralston

Actress

Born Sept. 17, 1902 in Bar Harbor, ME

Died Jan. 14, 1994 in Ventura, CA

Esther Ralston was the beautiful blonde "American Venus" of silent films.

She made her screen debut in 1916 in "Phantom Fortunes" and took several small roles until she was picked to play Mrs. Darling in the 1925 version of "Peter Pan."

Miss Ralston soon became one of the highest-paid actresses in silent films. She was publicized as the "American Venus," the title of a film she made in 1926. She also earned the appellation of "Paramount Clotheshorse," known for her extravagant lifestyle, which included riding about in a Rolls-Royce with a chauffeur uniformed in whatever color matched her dress.

Her credits included "Huckleberry Finn," "Oliver Twist," "Beggar on Horseback," "A Kiss for Cinderella" and "Children of Divorce."

Unlike many silent actresses, Miss Ralston moved easily into "talkies" and continued her film career until the early 1940s.

Later, she acted occasionally in radio soap operas. But after three failed marriages and the loss of her film fortune, she also supported herself working in a department store, a talent agency and an Upstate New York utility company.

— Myrna Oliver in the Los Angeles Times Jan. 21, 1994

For more from Frank Barning visit his blog, "Early Levittown and Beyond": http://theworldaccordingtofrankbarning.blogspot.com/