Valeska Suratt (Surratt) Grave Marker

Valeska Suratt’s family moved to Terre Haute when she was six years old. 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 millinery at Block’s department store.
Suratt began her career as an actress on the
Chicago stage. Around 1900, she began
appearing in vaudeville. She soon paired with performer Billy Gould (whom she later
married) and the two created a successful act. In 1906, she made her Broadway debut in the musical The Belle of Mayfair.
By 1907, Suratt began a successful solo act
which featured her singing and dancing.
Suratt’s success in vaudeville continued and
she began billing herself as “Vaudeville’s
Greatest Star” and “The Biggest Drawing Card in New York.”
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. She was sometimes
called the “Empress of Fashions.” She was
possibly another model for the famous Gibson Girl sketchings. Vogue magazine later named her “one of the best dressed women on the
stage.”
In 1915, Suratt signed with Fox. Like fellow
Fox contract players, Suratt was marketed as a “vamp” and was cast as seductive and exotic
characters. Suratt made her film debut in The Soul of Broadway in 1915. She made a total of eleven silent films during her career.
By 1920, Suratt’s career had begun to wane as the popularity of vaudeville and silent films
fell out of a favor with audiences as did the
vamp image craze. 
By the end of the 1920s, Suratt disappeared
from the stage and screen.
Valeska stayed connected to Terre Haute
throughout her career, purchasing or renting a house at 1634 North 9th street, and in 1914
she opened a hat shop on North 7th. During
her visits she performed at several Terre
Haute theaters.
In the 1930s, she was discovered living in a
cheap hotel in New York City and was broke.
Suratt never revived her career on the stage
or in film and fell out of public view.
Valeska Suratt died in a nursing home in
Washington, D.C. on July 2, 1962. She was 80 years old.
Suratt as her sister Leah are interred in Highland Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute, Indiana
without a grave marker
to recognize her connection to Terre Haute,
her life and her contributions to
stage and film.
This fundraiser is to purchase and install a
black stone  grave marker etched with her
picture, brief biography and dates in Highland
Lawn Cemetery in Terre Haute, Indiana in
recognition of her place in Terre Haute’s
history and to honor her achievements. Additional information will be included about her younger sister Leah’s name and dates. 

The amount of money raised will dictate the
size and style of monument we will be able to
purchase. Once we have met our goal, additional money will be used for a larger or more
ornate grave marker.

Valeska Surratt has several online fan sites to
read about her career: 
https://valeskasuratt.com/valeskasuratt-com
and https://www.messynessychic.com/2017/12/28/americas-vampire-sweetheart-valeska-suratt/
and https://www.facebook.com/groups/1939147952993106/?ref=share
Valeska has a findagrave entry.