Virginia Walker

Virginia Walker
Walker in a 1945 publicity photo for A Royal Scandal
Born	Virginia May Walker (1908-07-31)July 31, 1908 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	December 23, 1946(1946-12-23) (aged 38) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Nationality	American
Other names	Virginia Walker Hawks
Occupation	Film actress
Years active	1938–1945
Known for	Alice Swallow in Bringing Up Baby
Spouse	William Hawks (1938-1942)

Virginia May Walker Hawks (July 31, 1908 – December 23, 1946) was an American model and film actress. Born in

Early life and education

Virginia May Walker^[1] was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 31, 1908.^[2] She was the only daughter of William Homer Walker (1869–1912), a local attorney, and Eva M. Walker (née Perry), originally from Paris.^[1][3] She had two older brothers.^[1]

Walker grew up in Boston and

Walker began modeling in national magazine advertisements for various companies, including a car manufacturer and a garment designer.[3]^[4] She performed in amateur stage productions in Brookline, including dramatic plays staged by the Harvard Dramatic Club and comedies produced by the Hasty Pudding Club.^[7] Additionally, she created a skin care product which she manufactured in her home kitchen.^[3][4]

Film career

In 1935, Walker responded to a call for "new faces" by Hollywood filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille, who sought a new actress for his production of Samson and Delilah. DeMille received 3,000 entries from around the country and chose Walker's picture together with five others for further consideration.^[3][4] She was ultimately not chosen for a screen test, but in June 1937, a Universal Pictures scout saw Walker's picture in a magazine advertisement for a soap product, signed her to a contract, and brought her to Hollywood.^[5]

Before the studio cast her in a film, however, Walker and a friend went to visit executives at RKO Pictures, including director Howard Hawks. Hawks recognized Walker from her magazine advertisements and wanted her to work for him. He negotiated Walker's release from Universal and signed her to a personal contract.^[5] She was one of the first actresses whom Hawks signed to a personal contract, and was loaned to RKO to appear in Hawks's 1938 film Bringing Up Baby.^[8] Walker made her film debut playing Alice Swallow, the fiancée of Cary Grant's character.^[8][9]

She put aside her screen career upon her marriage in 1938,

Walker married film producer William Hawks, brother of Howard Hawks, in June 1938 in Mexico.^[8][13] It was the second marriage for Hawks.^[13] The couple divorced in October 1942 in Reno, Nevada.^[14]

Walker died on December 23, 1946, after a months-long illness and a surgical procedure at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.^[11][15] A requiem mass was held for her at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills.^[16]

Filmography

Sources:^{[6][11][17][18]}

References