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Virginia Grey was a popular actress in Hollywood.

Updated Mar 25, 2024
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Virginia Grey was a popular actress in Hollywood.
She also did stage work.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Virginia Grey
Virginia Grey - Biography Born March 22, 1917 in Los Angeles, California, USA Died July 31, 2004 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (heart failure) Height 5' 5" (1.65 m) Born into a show-business family--her father was a director and her mother was a film cutter--Virginia Grey made her film debut at age 10 as Eva in Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927). After a few more films as a child actress, she left the business to finish her schooling. Returning to films as an adult in the 1930s, she started out getting extra work and bit parts, but soon graduated to speaking roles and was eventually signed to a contract by MGM. The studio gave her leading parts in "B" pictures and supporting roles in "A" pictures. She left MGM in 1942 and went out on her own, working at almost every studio in Hollywood. She worked steadily in both films and TV, and retired from the business in 1970. Won a screen test after being discovered on the Universal lot at age 9. Frequent hostess of the Hollywood Canteen during WWII and sold war bonds. One of her earliest babysitters was Gloria Swanson. Was a lifelong friend of producer Ross Hunter and appeared in almost all of his major films. "Notice I wasn't in Lost Horizon (1973), however," she once said, referring to the notorious 1973 remake of the James Hilton story. A colossal critical and commercial failure, it essentially marked the end of Hunter's career as a major Hollywood player. During her participation in WWII bond drives, she developed a close relationship with John Basilone, US Marine Medal of Honor recipient, who was later killed on Iwo Jima. She had an on-again/off-again relationship with Clark Gable in the 1940s. After his wife Carole Lombard died and he returned from military service, Clark and Virginia were often seen at restaurants and nightclubs together. Many, including Virginia herself, expected him to marry her. The tabloids were all expecting the wedding announcement. It was a great surprise when he hastily married Lady Sylvia Ashley in 1949. Virginia was heartbroken. Ashley and Gable divorced in 1952, but much to Virginia's dismay their brief romance was never rekindled. Her friends say that her hoping and waiting for Clark was the reason she never married. Was close friends with Lana Turner and the two actresses appeared in a total of six films together -Rich Man, Poor Girl (1938), Dramatic School (1938), Portrait in Black (1960), Bachelor in Paradise (1962), Love Has Many Faces (1965) and Madame X (1966). Portrayed by actress Anna Torv in the HBO series The Pacific. Voluptuous figure. Personal Quotes (3) I consider myself a professional who acts--not to express my soul or elevate the cinema--but to entertain and get paid for it. [on Barbara Stanwyck and Crime of Passion (1956)] We filmed in 1956. This was five years after I dated Bob [Robert Taylor] and she filed for divorce. I accidentally put my coat on her chair and she tore into me with a vengeance in front of everyone. She never mentioned Bob, but she resented me for going out with him. She had no other reason for hating me. Hollywood men are a lot of phony balonies.
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For fifty years I have been a Document Examiner and that is how I earn my living. For over 50 years I have also been a publicist for actors, singers, writers, composers, artists, comedians, and many progressive non-profit organizations. I am a Librettist-Composer of a Broadway musical called, "Nellie Bly" and I am in the process of making small changes to it. In addition, I have written over 100 songs that would be considered "popular music" in the genre of THE AMERICAN SONGBOOK.
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