Virginia Field

Virginia Field (born Margaret Cynthia Field, 4 November 1917 – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress.[1]

Virginia Field
Born
Margaret Cynthia Field

(1917-11-04)4 November 1917
London, UK
Died2 January 1992(1992-01-02) (aged 74)
Palm Desert, California, U.S.
Years active1922–1965
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1942; div. 1946)​

Howard Grode
​
​
(m. 1947; div. 1948)​

​
​
(m. 1951)​
Children2

Early years

An only child,[2] born in London,[3] her father was Sir John Field.[4] He was the judge of Leicester County Court Circuit.[5] Her mother was a cousin of Confederate General Robert E. Lee and her aunt was British stage actress and director Auriol Lee.[6]

She was educated in Paris, Vienna, and the South of France,[2] and then returned to England where she studied for the stage. In Vienna, she acted for Max Reinhardt and on returning to Britain she was given her first film role at age 16 or 17 in The Lady is Willing followed by a Hollywood contract.

Film

Field went to the U.S. to appear in David O. Selznick's Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936). In the late 1930s she appeared in various parts in 20th Century Fox's Mr. Moto film series. Field played Kitty,a ballerina with Vivien Leigh in the 1940 film, Waterloo Bridge.In 1941, Field played Nell Gwyn in Hudson's Bay. Vincent Price was cast as King Charles II, and he wrote about the experience in his book The Book of Joe. "...I came up against my first animals, a whole litter of King Charles spaniels... But my competition was not the spaniels, who were indeed adorable, but the enormous bosoms of the young lady who played Nell Gwyn. They were of such robust and luscious proportions and her dress so low cut that in our big scene, in which we fondled the puppies on a great bed, she leaned over them so far that the censors cut the scene out of the picture." [7]

Television

During the Perry Mason series on CBS between 1957–1966, Field made six guest appearances. She played Irene Collaro in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Prodigal Parent". In both the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Provocative Protege", and the 1962 episode, "The Case of the Polka Dot Pony", she played the murderess. In the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Simple Simon", Field played the role of Mason's client and defendant Ramona Carver. She also appeared as Lotta Langley in an episode of the ABC series The Rebel, starring Nick Adams.

Field was a regular participant on Pantomime Quiz,[8]:808 and had the role of Josephine Dunning in the pilot for Meet the Girls, a comedy aired on CBS in August 1960.[8]

Recognition

Field has a star at 1751 Vine Street, Los Angeles on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, dedicated February 8, 1960.[9]

Marriages

Field married three times. Her spouses included actors Paul Douglas and Willard Parker. She and Douglas had a daughter, Margaret Field Douglas (born 1945).[10] In 1947, she married Howard Grode, a composer and musician.[11]

Death

Field died of cancer January 2, 1992.[12] She was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.[13]

Filmography

References
  1. Virginia Field (1917–1992) profile, Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages. Gale (2007); retrieved 13 December 2015 via HighBeam Research.
  2. Woolpert, Kelly (2 September 1936). "Bits of Gossip About Hollywood's Film Folk". The Vidette-Messenger. Indiana, Valparaiso. United Press. p. 4. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Hollywood Round-Up". The News-Herald. Franklin, Pennsylvania. United Press. 26 August 1938. p. 7. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "the Hollywood Roundup". The Times. Indiana, Hammond. United Press. 9 November 1936. p. 14. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Actress' Father Dies". Albuquerque Journal. New Mexico, Albuquerque. Associated Press. 12 December 1949. p. 9. Retrieved 10 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Virginia Field - The Private Life and Times of Virginia Field. Virginia Field Pictures". Glamourgirlsofthesilverscreen.com. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  7. Price, Vincent. The Book of Joe. Doubleday & Company, Inc.: Garden City, NY, 1961.
  8. Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010. McFarland & Company, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7. p. 678.
  9. "Virginia Field". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  10. "Divorced Actress Wins Court Suit". The Salt Lake Tribune. Utah, Salt Lake City. Associated Press. 29 November 1960. p. 22. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Virginia Field Weds". The Monroe News-Star. Louisiana, Monroe. Associated Press. 7 April 1947. p. 6. Retrieved 9 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Virginia Field, Actress In Films, Is Dead at 74". The New York Times. 9 January 1992. Retrieved 10 May 2016.
  13. Wilson, Scott (16 September 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed. McFarland. ISBN 9781476625997 – via Google Books.
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