Posted on 01/17/2005 4:12:25 PM PST by JellyJam
Virginia Mayo, the beautiful blond who rose to movie stardom in the 1940s in comedies opposite Bob Hope and Danny Kaye and had memorable dramatic turns with James Cagney in "White Heat" and Dana Andrews in "The Best Years of Our Lives," died today. She was 84.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
There are not many movies better then "The Best Years of Our Lives"
I doubt that Laz is an 84 year old woman
We try to keep it a secret, but now you know.
For those that don't know the movie Virginia Mayo played an absolutely shallow two timing floozsie who you just had to hate. Great performance but when somebody plays such a baddie you kind of forget the actress and just hate them in the movie.
Interesting to note: Harold Russell, an actual veteran who lost his hands, is the only actor in history to win two Oscars for the same role.
In the 1949 "White Heat" movie, she was great. As Verna Jarrett she played off beautifully the maniac Cody Jarrett (Cagney), his equally loony mom (Margaret Wycherly), and Big Ed Somers (Steve Cochran), her lover and Cagny's gang rival. She could act!
MUCH better, thank you :)
You know, it's got me thinking, someone smart should start up an old movie channel, like AMC used to be, before they got greedy and went with TBS fare, commercials included.
I know there's Turner Classic Movies, but that's a pay channel and I can't be bothered. Just a nice, simple, quiet channel that shows the oldies... the cheapies, the obscure, the forgotten.
It seems that Hollywood has market-researched themselves up their own a$$ (NO B&W MOVIES... IT SCARES AWAY THE 18-34 DEMOGRAPHIC), to the point where you NEVER see this kind of fare anymore, even over 150 channels. But there's lots of us out there who really do want this stuff, and someone sharp should see that.
Things you never see anymore on TV: Old 50's horror flicks. Classic silent films. Ingmar Bergman. Classic Universal horror from the 30's. Little Rascals. 60's biker flicks. MGM musicals. And on and on.
When I grew older, I actually fell desperately in love with a girl who was every bit as gorgeous as Virginia--no, even more gorgeous--and every bit as...unreliable...as the character she played in Best Years. I was so ga-ga over this girl that I would have done anything! Unfortunately, she got pregnant--not me--and married another boy--but for years, every time I'd see her I'd go crazy all over again. I knew she couldn't be trusted, but I didn't care!
Once at a party, as I was dancing with an eldery lady, I told her that I had been in love with this girl.
"Aren't you glad you didn't marry her!" she snapped. (The girl's reputation was not exactly...unreproachable.)
I didn't know what to say, but I was thinking..."Hmmmmmmmmm. Maybe. Maybe not."
My mother--a stern puritan--who understood how crazy I was about this girl, once remarked, with a kind and understanding laugh, that she was afraid this girl might have a little trouble getting past the Pearly Gates. I was thinking she'd be like Phryne. All she had to do was drop her cloak, and St. Peter would understand--just as the Athenian judges did.
Fortunately I married someone truthful, trustworthy, and wonderful...and above reproach.
The girl's no longer married. She's now on the loose...
TCM just aired "The Best Years of Our Lives" last week.
I'll bet you and your wife have a wonderful marriage. You see her as you did on your first date, and she undoubtedly sees you the same way. That makes for a long happy marriage.:)
And she had been fooling around (not Virginia--the character she played), but, as she pointed out, and Dana didn't deny, he had been playing around too.
The other guy you had to hate was his boss who worked for him before the war. Nickname was stinky IIRC, must have been 4F, he whined that all the servicemen were going to come back and take away all the jobs.
You're a lucky man.
First to have known someone as beautiful as Virginia Mayo - and second, NOT to have married her.
Interesting career of George Nader.
1) He starred in "Robot Monster", the classic with the guy in the gorilla suit and diving helmet, one of THE worst movies of all time.
2) He was Rock Hudson's boyfriend.
I could have done without the last one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.