Valeska Suratt
actress
- Born:
- 1882-06-28, Terre Haute, Indiana, USA
- Died:
- 1962-07-02, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Professions:
- actress
Biography
"Hailing from Owensville, Indiana, Valeska Suratt entered the world on June 28, 1882, a descendant of French heritage. Her early life saw a shift from Terre Haute to Indianapolis, where by 1899 she found herself working in a department store. The irresistible lure of the stage, however, drew her to Chicago in 1900 to chase an acting dream. Her talents first graced the vaudeville circuit before she made a dazzling Broadway debut in 1906 with the musical The Belle of Mayfair. A year later, she commanded the stage in Hip! Hip! Hooray! Suratt quickly carved out a reputation for her sensuous stage presence and an unparalleled wardrobe of lavish, glamorous costumes and gowns, with some ensembles reportedly reaching an astonishing $25,000. Her sartorial splendor and commanding allure led contemporary magazines to crown her \"the most elegant woman on stage.\" Her third Broadway venture, The Girl with the Whooping Cough, faced a swift and controversial end in 1910. Shortly after its premiere, New York City Mayor William Jay Gaynor personally ordered its cancellation, citing its \"too sexually suggestive\" nature. Between 1915 and 1917, Suratt transitioned to the burgeoning world of cinema, starring in 11 feature films – a tragic collection now entirely lost to time. As the 1920s drew to a close, her star began to fade, and Valeska Suratt receded from public sight as abruptly as she had appeared, never to reclaim the spotlight. She passed away quietly in a Washington D.C. nursing home on July 2, 1962, at the age of 80. Her personal life included two marriages but no children. In 1904, she wed William J. Flannery (1869-1950), more widely recognized by his stage moniker, Billy Gould. Gould, an early collaborator from her Chicago days, partnered with her to create a captivating act featuring Valeska's exotic dance repertoire, notably an Apache dance. Their marriage concluded in divorce in 1911, the same year Suratt exchanged vows with Fletcher Norton. This second union endured until Norton's passing in 1941."
