Jimmy Bean.....
Jimmy Bean(Howard Ralston) was excellent. He was my favorite actor in the film. May he rest in peace.
shareI absolutely agree with you. I love everything about this wonderful old movie (which is impeccably cast and acted), but particularly enjoy the parts that feature the Polyanna and Jimmy characters interacting together. They are magical as a pair, and always feel like the completely real deal - not like we're watching actors performing. I completely "buy" the unique and special bond the two loveable characters share. Mary Pickford and Howard Ralston are equally the heart of this movie.
I can't imagine any other actor who I could enjoy more in the Jimmy Bean role than Howard Ralston. I wish I could learn more about him online, though what I've been able to find is limited to his birth and death dates and places, and the short list of movies he performed in, but nothing about his subsequent life, or where he is buried. I'd be very interested in knowing in what cemetery Mr. Ralston is buried, so I can create a memorial for him on Find A Grave, that I and others can leave accolades for him at. If anyone knows where he is interred, please let me know.
Howard Ralston is wonderful in this film! I'm surprised to learn he was 15 at the time of filming, I would have thought he was 12 or 13. He and Mary have wonderful chemistry together. What a shame he made so few films but then there were probably very few roles in the silent era for boys his age. Was he ever interviewed anywhere? He lived into the 1990's and would have been a wonderful resource for information about the silent era, being old enough at the time to be observant re film production and remember it.
shareAfter posting a couple genealogical message board queries on RootsWeb/Ancestry.com in Spring 2009, some interesting additional details about Mr. Ralston came my way.
A person with the RootsWeb/Ancestry user name of Deckedout505 responded, on 5/1/09:
"I grew up in Ventura, Ca. I knew him when he directed plays at our church. At this time he also owned a small engine repair shop in Santa Paula, CA with his son. This was years back. I remember that his son went by the name 'Skip'. His [Howard's] sister [silent screen actress] Esther [1902-1994] died years earler. [Actually, she survived him.] He may be buried at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church [Cemetery] in Ventura, Ca."
Incidentally, per the California Vital Records Index, Mr. Ralston died in the city and county of Ventura, age 87.