Virginia Mayo

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Birthday:

30 November 1920, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Birth Name:

Virginia Clara Jones

Height:

165 cm

Virginia Clara Jones was born on November 30, 1920 in St. Louis, Missouri, 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, located right across the Mississippi River from its namesake. Virginia was 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 her a screen test, but decided she wouldn't fit into films. Goldwyn, however, believed 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. Believing there was more to her than her obvious ravishing beauty, 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 a 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, and received good notices as Andrews' avaricious, unfaithful wife. Her roles may have been coming in slow, but with each one her popularity with audiences rose. She finally struck paydirt in 1947 with a plum assignment in the well-received The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) as Rosalind van Hoorn. That same year she married Michael O'Shea and would remain with him until his death in 1973 (the union produced a daughter, Mary Catherine, in 1953). She got some of the best reviews of her career in James Cagney's return to the gangster genre, White Heat (1949), as Verna, the scheming, cheating wife of homicidal killer Cody Jarrett (Cagney). 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. As the decade ended, Virginia's career began to slow down. 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). She died on January 17, 2005. Show less «

I must say Jack Palance was a drag. We were together in The Silver Chalice (1954). The way he did his work was strange. He was a weird actor...Show more »

I must say Jack Palance was a drag. We were together in The Silver Chalice (1954). The way he did his work was strange. He was a weird actor and I didn't like working with him at all. Show less «

[on Doris Day] I loved working with her. We used to call her Miss Sparkle Plenty because she was so vivacious.

James Cagney was the most dynamic man who ever appeared on the screen. He should have won five Oscars, he was so fabulous. He stimulated me ...Show more »

James Cagney was the most dynamic man who ever appeared on the screen. He should have won five Oscars, he was so fabulous. He stimulated me to such an extent. I must say that I didn't have to act very much; I just had to react to him because he was so powerful. Show less «

[on Alan Ladd] And I worked with Alan Ladd who, along with Gregory Peck, was my favorite leading man. He was a beautiful man, charming and g...Show more »

[on Alan Ladd] And I worked with Alan Ladd who, along with Gregory Peck, was my favorite leading man. He was a beautiful man, charming and gentle, and I think, of all my leading men, he worked best with me. Show less «

[on how she met her husband, Michael O'Shea] He just sat there watching me, and then he walked right up and kissed me.

I was a better actress than I was given credit for. I know that for a fact. But you get stamped . . . categorized as pretty, a beauty, shape...Show more »

I was a better actress than I was given credit for. I know that for a fact. But you get stamped . . . categorized as pretty, a beauty, shapely . . . and you're just stamped for life. Show less «

Working with comedians like [Bob Hope] and [Danny Kaye] taught me timing, pace and fine points of acting I never would have learned otherwis...Show more »

Working with comedians like [Bob Hope] and [Danny Kaye] taught me timing, pace and fine points of acting I never would have learned otherwise. Show less «

The blacklisting that took place in Hollywood was slightly different than how you hear of it today. There was a genuine Communist threat in ...Show more »

The blacklisting that took place in Hollywood was slightly different than how you hear of it today. There was a genuine Communist threat in this country and there were Communistic actors, directors, screenwriters and producers in Hollywood trying to grab control of the industry and use it for their own end, which was to spread Communist propaganda throughout the country and the world. The system used to get rid of the Communists was bad. Joseph McCarthy and his methods were a little cruel and drastic. But the Communist danger was there. And it has grown. Show less «

[on Clint Walker] He was the biggest man I ever saw! Like Burt Lancaster, he exercised a lot. Brian Keith was in the film [Fort Dobbs (1958)...Show more »

[on Clint Walker] He was the biggest man I ever saw! Like Burt Lancaster, he exercised a lot. Brian Keith was in the film [Fort Dobbs (1958)] with us, and Brian was always relaxing and drinking beer. Clint would be over lifting logs or doing other physical things while Brian was lying around taking it easy. They were so different. Clint didn't drink, smoke or swear. He was a nice, shy, clean-living individual. I don't think he was meant for show business; he seemed too stiff, but I like him. Show less «

[when asked if her short leading men James Cagney and Alan Ladd were sensitive about their sizes] Jimmy surely wasn't. Alan was very short a...Show more »

[when asked if her short leading men James Cagney and Alan Ladd were sensitive about their sizes] Jimmy surely wasn't. Alan was very short and he was very sensitive about it. Alan was a nice person but very shy. Facially, Alan was perhaps the best actor I worked with. He seemed to be such a troubled person. He left us so tragically. Show less «

[on Burt Lancaster] He was very intense, but much more likable then Kirk Douglas. He's very intelligent and reads a lot. He used to keep in ...Show more »

[on Burt Lancaster] He was very intense, but much more likable then Kirk Douglas. He's very intelligent and reads a lot. He used to keep in great shape. He was an acrobat and did his own trapeze work in one of his films [The Flame and the Arrow (1950)]. He had a love scene and he was supposed to be angry at me. He grabbed and kissed me so violently that I thought I'd lost my teeth. My arms turned black and blue. I surely didn't want to kiss him again. Show less «

Making films outdoors is far more difficult than making them inside. You always have to worry about the weather and something interfering wi...Show more »

Making films outdoors is far more difficult than making them inside. You always have to worry about the weather and something interfering with the sound. Show less «

[on Joel McCrea] Wonderful, friendly, funny...great to work with. He loved to tell jokes, and his riding was like watching a symphony. He ro...Show more »

[on Joel McCrea] Wonderful, friendly, funny...great to work with. He loved to tell jokes, and his riding was like watching a symphony. He rode so beautifully. Show less «

[on Kirk Douglas] He was too intense for me. He was okay, just too intense.

[on her famous leading men] I did four movies with Danny Kaye. Danny was hilarious, always cutting up and doing funny things. I worked with ...Show more »

[on her famous leading men] I did four movies with Danny Kaye. Danny was hilarious, always cutting up and doing funny things. I worked with James Cagney in some films including White Heat (1949). Jimmy should have won an Oscar for that film, but for some reason they thought gangster movies shouldn't win Oscars. It's a shame because Jimmy gave a magnificent performance. I also worked with Bob Hope, Alan Ladd, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Joel McCrea, Gregory Peck, Steve Cochran, Gene Nelson, Clint Walker, and Ronald Reagan. I guess I should call Ronnie "Mr. President". There's still a picture around of me leapfrogging over him at the beach. Playing leap-frog with the President, that's pretty funny! Show less «

[on Randolph Scott] I hardly knew the man! I was supposed to be the leading lady in Westbound (1959), but my part was tiny. The director [Bu...Show more »

[on Randolph Scott] I hardly knew the man! I was supposed to be the leading lady in Westbound (1959), but my part was tiny. The director [Budd Boetticher] gave his girlfriend [Karen Steele] the big part, and I didn't like that at all. Show less «

[asked what her favorite movie is] She's Working Her Way Through College (1952). I enjoyed doing musicals best because I got to dance.

[on Raoul Walsh] He liked me and I liked him. He was a funny man and nice to work for.

I did a movie in early 1990. It was a horror film [Evil Spirits (1990)] - and it probably will be horrible.

[on Gregory Peck] Oh, now there's a man! He's so fantastic, wonderful, and charming. He and [Ronald Reagan] were equal in charm. Greg was a ...Show more »

[on Gregory Peck] Oh, now there's a man! He's so fantastic, wonderful, and charming. He and [Ronald Reagan] were equal in charm. Greg was a better actor because he took it more seriously than Ronnie. Greg was great in love scenes. He was tender, sensitive, and a good kisser. Love scenes with him were enjoyable. Show less «

[on Ronald Reagan] He was great fun to be with. He was always friendly, gracious, charming and very professional. Everyone enjoyed being wit...Show more »

[on Ronald Reagan] He was great fun to be with. He was always friendly, gracious, charming and very professional. Everyone enjoyed being with him. Show less «

[on modern Hollywood] It's very different now. I think the old days were better when there was the studio star system; it was more glamorous...Show more »

[on modern Hollywood] It's very different now. I think the old days were better when there was the studio star system; it was more glamorous. I don't go to the movies much anymore. I don't like the way women are treated today. I would like to see them get better roles. Show less «

[on Steve Cochran] He was like [Marlon Brando]; he did what he wanted to do and when he wanted to do it. Steve was one of my best friends, a...Show more »

[on Steve Cochran] He was like [Marlon Brando]; he did what he wanted to do and when he wanted to do it. Steve was one of my best friends, and he always confided in me. He used to take girls out on his boat. I think they thought he was going to get them into the movies. He had a heart attack and died on one of those trips, and no one aboard knew how to get the boat back to the dock. Show less «

My real name was Virginia Jones. I took Mayo from a vaudeville act that I used to do. It was really pretty funny back then, but people are s...Show more »

My real name was Virginia Jones. I took Mayo from a vaudeville act that I used to do. It was really pretty funny back then, but people are so sophisticated today they probably wouldn't find it very funny now. It was a "horse act". Two brothers named Mayo would dress up like a horse, and I would introduce them and be their spokesperson during the act. We did all kinds of crazy things. Show less «

I always wanted to be in show business, even as a little girl. It was something that was ingrained in me. My aunt had a dramatic school and ...Show more »

I always wanted to be in show business, even as a little girl. It was something that was ingrained in me. My aunt had a dramatic school and I started training when I was about seven. She taught me many things, including dancing. I danced with the St. Louis Opera when I was in my teens. Show less «