Virginia Payne

Noting the 25th anniversary of Ma Perkins, Time described Payne in 1957:

Like other daytime heroines, Ma neither drinks, smokes, takes snuff or has affairs with men. Unlike Ma, Cincinnati-born Virginia Payne, 47, has never been married, downs an occasional whisky sour and makes up to $50,000 a year—more than any other actress in daytime broadcasting. Her present writer (she has had ten) lived on the Riviera for two years, now counts his money on Cape Cod. A devout Roman Catholic with an M.A. in literature (University of Cincinnati), Virginia sheds Ma's vocabulary of "ain'ts," "folks" and "Land o' Goshens" with ease, but insists on making personal appearances in wig, makeup, frumpy clothes and spectacles, "though I often feel like a great imposter." She is an accomplished pianist, lives alone in a posh East Side Manhattan apartment decorated with Duveen-collected oil paintings, accumulates antiques, and grows roses (two varieties have been named for her).^[4]

Stage

While she attended the University of Cincinnati, she performed in student productions and was the vice president of the club.^[5] After the long run of Ma Perkins came to an end, Payne did theater. She appeared on Broadway in the

Payne was a graduate of the Schuster-Martin School of Drama in Cincinnati[9] and earned a master's degree from the University of Cincinnati.^[10]

Death

Payne died February 9, 1977, at her home in Cincinnati.^[11]

References