Actress Virginia Mayo dies ("White Heat," "The Best Years of Our Lives")

Los Angeles Times ^ | Jan. 17, 2005 | LA Times

[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.

[Mike Bates]

Virginia and me, more years ago than I care to recall. . .She was a down to earth and charming lady.

[Kerfuffle]

Yup... check out movies of the era, and the folks drink like fish, and smoke like forest fires to modern eyes. Well, the men wear hats, too.

[foolscap]

She was gorgeous

She sure was! I really loved her work.

[Kerfuffle]

"the cockpit of one of a thousand junked B29's."

B-17, I think. But that scene sure gives a shock today, seeing all those gorgeous old planes just lined up in the desert, waiting to be chopped to scrap.

[Oatka]

Best Years Of Our Lives has to be one of the greatest movies of all time. Tremendous performances all around

I second the motion. Two scenes compete for my best: One was in the 5 and dime store where Russell confronts a cynical civilian who says the guys died for nothing (implying because Russia won) and he grabs the guy with his hooks, saying "If I only had hands!".
The other was Andrews' flashback, only it was in the nose of a B-17. The individual shots of the stripped engines and the sounds of each one starting up and then the nose coming towards the screen as if in takeoff, complete with rousing music - gives me chills to this day.

The sight of all those B-17s, most with dozens of missions painted on their noses, destined for the scrap heap is another scene that brings a tear to my eye.

[Revolting cat!]

She was a distant relation.

Colonel Mustard?

[JellyJam]

Wow! What's the story behind that photo?

[lowbridge]

I remember her from a pirate movie, when I was a kid, but don't remember the name.

The Princess and The Pirate

Might have had Errol Flynn in it.

Bob Hope, Walter Brennan, Walter Slezak, Victor McLaglen

[Finny]

Haven't read the thread yet, so maybe someone has mentioned a FANTASTIC scene from White Heat: Cody (Cagney) the gangster is getting ready to go do a job, and he leans over to kiss Agnes (I think that was the name of Mayo's character in "White Heat") good-bye as she's sitting in the car behind the wheel, chewing gum. She was such a BABE!!!

Anyway, she turns her face up to him to get a kiss, but realizes she's chewing gum -- so, just to be sweet, she spits the gum out into the dirt and then kisses him properly. It's such a great scene, of somebody with low class trying to be classy by NOT kissing her husband goodbye with a mouthful of chewing gum. I always wanted to ask her if she ad-libbed that bit, and to tell her that it was genius. Guess I won't get the chance.

[Mears]

That was Harold Russell.

[Finny]

Verna! Her character's name was VERNA! And she shot Ma Garret in the back!

[Lancey Howard]

Thanks for that link. Harold Russell was phenomenal in the role of Homer.

[Lancey Howard]

See the link at post #38.

Regards,
LH

[Pharmboy]

Biography for
Virginia Mayo

Birth name
Virginia Clara Jones

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Nickname
Ginny

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Height
5' 5" (1.65 m)

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Mini biography
Virginia Clara Jones was born on November 30, 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of a newspaper reporter and his wife. The family had a rich heritage in the St. Louis area. Her great, great, great, grandfather served in the American Revolution and later founded the city of East Saint Louis, Illinois which is located right across the Mississippi River from it's namesake. Virginia was had been interested in show business from an early age. Her aunt operated a dance studio and Virginia began taking lessons at the age of six. After graduating from high school in 1937, she became a member of the St. Louis Municipal Opera before she was signed to a contract by Samuel Goldwyn after being spotted by an MGM talent scout during a Broadway revue. David O. Selznick gave Virginia a screen test, but decided she wouldn't fit into films. Goldwyn, however, discovered that her talent as an actress was there and cast her in a small role in 1943's Jack London (1943). She, later, had a walk-on part in Follies Girl (1943) that same year. Virginia's beauty readily apparent, producers thought it was time to give her bigger and better roles. In 1944, she was cast as Princess Margaret in The Princess and the Pirate (1944), with Bob Hope, and one year later appeared as Ellen Shavley in Wonder Man (1945). Her popularity increasing with every appearance, Virginia was cast in two more films in 1946, The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), with Danny Kaye, and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), with Dana Andrews. Virginia's roles may have been coming in slow, but which each one she improved upon her popularity. Finally in 1947, she struck pay dirt with a plum assignment in the well-received movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) as Rosalind van Hoorn. (That same year, Virginia married Michael O'Sheaand would remain with him until his death in 1973. The union produced a daughter, Mary Catherine, in 1953.) The striking beauty had still more plum roles in the 1950s. Parts in Backfire (1950), She's Working Her Way Through College (1952) and South Sea Woman (1953), all showed she was still a force to be reckoned with. By the end of that busy decade Virginia had begun to slow down with fewer parts on the silver screen. She had four roles in the 1960s and four more in the following decade. Her last role was as Janet Wilson in 1990's Evil Spirits (1990).

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IMDb mini-biography by
Denny Jackson

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Spouse
Michael O'Shea (1947 - 4 December 1973) (his death) 1 child

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Trivia
Virginia Mayo's vocals were always dubbed: by Louanne Hogan in The Princess and the Pirate (1944), by Betty Russell in The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), by Jeri Sullavan in A Song Is Born (1948) and by Bonnie Lou Williams in her 6 singing roles at WB from 1949 to 1957.

Was slightly cross-eyed and had to be carefully photographed.

Early on Virginia (using her real name of Virginia Jones) played a straight woman in vaudeville for four years to a performing horse act. The 'horse' was comprised of two men known as the Mayo Brothers; hence, Virginia's stage name.

Measurements: 34-24-34 (measured in 1953), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

One daughter with Michael O'Shea - Catherine Mary

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[Captain Peter Blood]

She really did not age well at all. I remember seeing Ginger Rogers before she died and she looked terrible to. Some of these babes just don't age well and it is real sad, must be even more sad for them when they see their old movies on TV.

[Captain Peter Blood]

He paid a pretty penny for those movies when he bought them and there was no gurantee that he was going to be able to market and make money to pay off the big purchase price. But he started TCM and then as video and later DVD became big he was also able to remarket those classics and made a ton of money of the them.

[ValerieUSA]

Maureen O'Hara is still very lovely.

I really enjoyed the Virginia Mayo / Danny Kaye movies - even the unbearably silly ones.

[ValerieUSA]

I remember a movie where she played a girl with the last name of Applegate. Some of it took place on a train. A lot of old movies had scenes in trains. I wish I could remember it -- I know it was good, but that's about all I recall.

[Lurker]

We just watched "The Best Years Of Our Lives" last night.

RIP Madame Mayo.

L

[It's me]

Whadda ya mean, don't age well? She was 85!

At least they are who they are. (Or were who they were.)They didn't have plastic surgery back then! (At least not like now, anyhow.)