Virginia Gibson

Of Polish and Irish lineage,[2] Gibson was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John S. Gorski, Gibson graduated from St. Alphonsus Parochial School.[3]

Gibson, who was signed by Warner Bros. in 1950[4] and made her film debut in Tea for Two (1950),[5] started her career in musicals in her hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1937, she was one of 35 girls chosen for ballet in St. Louis Opera Company productions.[6] She danced in the chorus of a production of The Student Prince there in 1940,[7] and in 1943 she was part of the dancing chorus of the summer season of the Muny Opera.[8] In the fall of 1943, she was one of three dancers from that group to sign contracts to perform in Roll Up Your Sleeves on Broadway.[9] She used her birth name on Broadway through 1949.[10] In 1947, she returned to perform at Muny Opera, this time as the star of No, No, Nanette.[3]

Billed as a starlet, she was part of the group of Hollywood actors who traveled across the country in 1951-1952 promoting the 50th Anniversary of movie theaters. With Roscoe Ates and Charles Starrett she toured eastern Oklahoma greeting the public. In Hollywood she played supporting or leading roles in a number of Warner Brothers musicals. Her most famous film role was Liza in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954).[11] Reflecting on Warners' non-renewal of her option, Gibson said, "There are just so many musicals, and they had Doris Day. And who can shine in comparison to her vivacity?"[4]

Vincent Gardenia, Gibson, and Val Avery in "Sound of Violence", a 1959 episode of the anthology series Armstrong Circle Theatre

On television, Gibson was a regular on Captain Billy's Showboat (1948).[12] She also starred in So This Is Hollywood (1955).[12]^:987 She was a regular performer on The Johnny Carson Show (1955–56),[12]^:540 an earlier Carson series, not to be confused with The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In 1956 she returned to Broadway to play Ethel Merman's daughter in the musical Happy Hunting. She then became one of the stars of Your Hit Parade,[12]^:1209 one of the most popular TV shows of the 1950s, for one season. She had a three-month stint as a jazz singer on the TV version of Young Doctor Malone. From 1962 to 1971 she co-hosted, with Frank Buxton[2] (and later, Bill Owen), the ABC-TV children's documentary program Discovery.[2]

Gibson also appeared in commercials for a cake mix, cameras, a candy bar, a detergent, a hair spray, paper towels, and a soap.[13]

When her performing career ended, she taught at the HB Studio in New York.[10]

On April 25, 2013, Gibson died in Newtown, Pennsylvania,[14] at the age of 88. She is buried at Calvary Cemetery and Mausoleum in Saint Louis, Missouri.[15]

In 1957 she was nominated for a Tony Award Best Featured Actress in a Musical, for her portrayal of Beth Livingstone in Happy Hunting.[16]

Gibson never married nor had any children. She adhered to Roman Catholicism[17] and she was a lifelong Republican who supported Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election.[18]

• A Connecticut Yankee (Dancing Girl), 1943–44, Martin Beck Theater, New York
• Laffing Room Only (Dancer). 1944-45, Winter Garden Theater, New York
• Billion Dollar Baby (Chorine, Dancer), 1945–46, Alvin Theater, New York
• No, No, Nanette (Nanette), 1947, St. Louis Municipal Opera
• Babes in Toyland (Jill), 1947, St. Louis Municipal Opera
• High Button Shoes (corps de ballet), 1947, New Century Theatre, New York
• Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (Snow White), 1948, Adelphi Theatre, New York
• Along Fifth Avenue (Singer, dancer), 1949, Broadhurst Theatre, New York
• Bitter Sweet (Dolly), 1949, St. Louis Municipal Opera
• Bloomer Girl (Daisy), 1949, St. Louis Municipal Opera
• Irene (Helen), 1949, St. Louis Municipal Opera
• The Vagabond King (Lady Mary), 1949, St. Louis Municipal Opera
• The New Moon (Julie), 1949, St. Louis Municipal Opera
• Whoopee! (Harriet Underwood), 1950, St. Louis Municipal Opera
• The Great Waltz (lead dancer) 1953, Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and San Francisco Light Opera
• Happy Hunting (Beth Livingstone), 1956–57, Majestic Theatre, New York

• Tea for Two Warner Brothers, 1950
• Painting the Clouds With Sunshine Warner Brothers, 1951
• Goodbye, My Fancy Warner Brothers, 1951
• About Face Warner Brothers, 1952
• Stop, You're Killing Me Warner Brothers, 1952
• She's Back on Broadway Warner Brothers, 1953
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers MGM, 1954
• Athena MGM, 1954
• So This Is Hollywood (TV sitcom) 1955
• I Killed Wild Bill Hickok The Wheeler Company, 1956
• Once Upon a Honeymoon Jerry Fairbanks Productions, 1956
• Funny Face Paramount Pictures, 1957

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Virginia Gibson.

• Virginia Gibson at IMDb
• Virginia Gibson at the Internet Broadway Database
• Virginia Gibson at Find a Grave