Virginia O'Brien
Virginia O'Brien | |
---|---|
Woodland Hills, California, U.S. | |
Resting place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
Years active | 1940–2001 |
Known for | Roles in MGM musicals |
Spouses | Vern Evans
(m. 1958; div. 1966)Harry B. White
(m. 1968; died 1996) |
Children | 4 |
Virginia Lee O'Brien (April 18, 1919 – January 16, 2001) was an American actress, singer, and radio personality known for her comedic singing roles in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals of the 1940s.
Life and career
O'Brien primarily performed in comedic roles during the height of her formal film career. This was in part due to her intentionally humorous singing style, which involved her singing in a deadpan manner, with no facial expressions and very little movement– reportedly she stumbled upon this "gimmick" by accident during a stage show when she became virtually paralyzed with
Among the films she appeared in at MGM were
She made two film appearances after this:
She continued to perform well into the 1990s with both her one-woman show and a production of Show Boat, co-starring Alan Young, and also headlined The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies.
She died aged 81 in Woodland Hills, California, from natural causes.[1] She is buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.[1]
O'Brien was a registered
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1940 | Hullabaloo | Virginia Ferris | |
Sky Murder | Lucille LaVonne (uncredited) | ||
1941 | The Big Store | Kitty | |
Lady Be Good | Lull | ||
Ringside Maisie | Herself | Specialty Singer | |
1942 | Panama Hattie | Flo Foster | |
Ship Ahoy | Fran Evans | ||
1943 | Thousands Cheer | Herself | Specialty Singer |
Du Barry Was a Lady | Ginny | ||
1944 | Two Girls and a Sailor | Herself | Specialty Singer |
Meet the People | "Woodpecker" Peg | ||
1946 | The Show-Off | Hortense | |
Till the Clouds Roll By | Ellie Mae | in Show Boat/Specialty Singer | |
Ziegfeld Follies | Specialty Singer | ||
The Harvey Girls | Alma from Ohio | ||
1947 | Merton of the Movies | Phyllis Montague | |
1948 | Musical Merry-Go-Round | Herself | Specialty Singer |
1955 | Francis in the Navy | Nurse Kittredge | |
1976 | Gus | Reporter |
References
- ^ ISBN 9780786479924– via Google Books.
- ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
- ^ Morning News, January 10, 1948, Who Was Who in America (Vol. 2).
Sources
- Van Neste, Dan (January 1999). "Virginia O'Brien, The Diva of Deadpan". Classic Images. Archived from the original on August 13, 2004.
Further reading
- Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Virginia O'Brien". The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age (softcover) (First ed.). Great Britain: Independently published. pp. 188–191. ISBN 978-1-7200-3837-5.
External links
- Virginia O'Brien at BearManor Media VIRGINIA O'BRIEN: MGM'S DEADPAN DIVA (SOFTCOVER EDITION) by Robert Strom
- Virginia O'Brien at IMDb
- Virginia O'Brien at the TCM Movie Database
- Virginia O'Brien at Find a Grave
- Virginia O'Brien at AllMovie
- Virginia O'Brien – Salutes the Great MGM Musicals at ArtistDirect.com