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Virginia Weidler | |
|---|---|
 with Toto in a studio promotional photograph to celebrate Christmas 1939 | |
| Born | Virginia Anna Adeleide Weidler March 21, 1927 |
| Died | July 1, 1968 (aged 41) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Heart attack |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1931–1943 |
| Spouse(s) |
Lionel Krisel (m. 1947–1968) |
| Children | Ron Krisel Gary Krisel |
Virginia Anna Adeleide Weidler (March 21, 1927[1][2] – July 1, 1968) was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s.[3]
For the next several years, she would appear in many memorable films from the George Stevens directed Laddie (1935) to a pivotal supporting role in Souls at Sea (1938) starring Gary Cooper and George Raft.[4] Despite being under contract to Paramount, just as many of her roles of the period took place while on loan to RKO-Radio Pictures.[5] Her biggest role at Paramount was a starring role in the film Girl of the Ozarks, a story of a desperately poor mountain girl in a rural community.[6]
Her first film for MGM was on loan from Paramount; she worked with their leading male star Mickey Rooney in Love Is a Headache (1938). The film was a success and, when Paramount did not extend her contract, she was signed by MGM later that year. Virginia was then cast as rough ridin' and ropin' gal with an eye for Andy, Jake Holt, in Out West with the Hardys. Virginia's reviews for this second effort with Rooney were good and she began to receive larger roles.[7]
Like Paramount, MGM also made use of the practice of loaning Virginia out to other studios for projects. As a result, she appeared in nine films at four different studios in 1939.[8] Her major role for the year was as one of the all-female cast of the film The Women, as Norma Shearer's character's daughter, Little Mary.[8] Before the year was out, MGM gave Virginia her first starring role at the studio in Bad Little Angel. She played a young orphan who follows the Bible and flees into Egypt...New Jersey. The film shows how she uses her faith and changes hearts and minds in the small town.[9]
1940 found Virginia having the biggest success of her career with The Philadelphia Story (1940) in which she played Dinah Lord, the witty younger sister of Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn). Her performance led Hepburn to later say, "[W]e got lucky again with the girl, this time little Virginia Weidler, who had me in stitches. She was so terrifyingly funny I truly had a difficult time doing scenes with her."[10]
The success of The Philadelphia Story combined with her popular performances in Young Tom Edison, All This, and Heaven Too, Gold Rush Maisie and Keeping Company led to Virginia being named the Juvenile Performer of the year in a poll of movie exhibitors.
Her film career ended with the 1943 film Best Foot Forward.[8]
At her retirement from the screen at age 16, she had appeared in more than forty films, and had acted with some of the biggest stars of the day, including Clark Gable and Myrna Loy in Too Hot to Handle, Bette Davis in All This and Heaven Too, and Judy Garland in Babes on Broadway.[8]
Family[edit]
In addition to her parents, Virginia had three brothers and two sisters. Her brothers Warner (born Werner), Walter (born Wolfgang), and George were successful musicians after some child acting work, eventually owning their own recording studio.[11] Her sisters, Sylvia (Waltraud) and Renee (Verena), also were involved in in show business prior to their marriages.[12]
Her father turned his architectural skills into a career building miniature sets for 20th Century Fox.[13]
Marriage[edit]
On March 27, 1947, aged 20, Weidler married Lionel Krisel. They had two sons, Ron and Gary.[14]
Death[edit]
Weidler refused to be interviewed for the remainder of her life, living in private. She remained married to Krisel until her death at age 41 in Los Angeles from a lifelong heart ailment on July 1, 1968.[15]
Legacy[edit]
While not the box office success of 20th Century Fox's Shirley Temple or Jane Withers, Virginia Weidler still has a loyal following to this day. In 2012, the Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society was created to honor her life and career.[16]
In late 2016, the Los Angeles City Council honored Virginia by proclaiming March 21, 2017, which would have been her 90th birthday, as A Celebration of Virginia Weidler.[17]
Filmography[edit]
Radio appearances[edit]
| Year | Program | Episode/source |
|---|---|---|
| 1939 | The Gulf Screen Guild Theater | Never In This World with Leslie Howard and Kay Francis, Episode 012 |
| 1941 | The Chase and Sanborn Program with Bergen and McCarthy | Guest Star with Abbott and Costello, Ray Noble and his Orchestra [18] |
| 1942 | The Kraft Music Hall with Bing Crosby | Guest Star with Carole Landis [19] |
| 1942 | Victory Theater | The Philadelphia Story with Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Lt. James Stewart and Ruth Hussey [20] |
| 1943 | Screen Guild Theater | The Youngest Profession with Edward Arnold and Jean Porter [21] |
| 1944 | Dupont's Cavalcade of America | Junior Nurse with Jane Darwell [22] |
| 1945 | Dupont's Cavalcade of America | Weapon 4-H with Skip Homeier [22] |
| 1946 | Reader's Digest-Radio Edition | Do You Remember?[23] |
References[edit]
- ^ "Virginia Anna Adeleide Krisel (Weidler) (1927 - 1968) - Genealogy". Geni.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Class Act Featured Actress: Virginia Weidler". www.classicmoviemusicals.com. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
- ^ Variety, December 31, 1936. Accessed on February 20, 2017.
- ^ "Virginia Weidler". imdb.com. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Washington Post, June 7, 1936, page PY 6. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ Washington Post, December 28, 1938, page X10. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ a b c d Howie14w/sandbox at IMDb
- ^ The Christian Science Monitor, December 16, 1939, page 21. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ A. Scott Berg, Kate Remembered (Simon and Schuster, 2003), 158.
- ^ "The Wilder Brothers's Biography". Last.fm. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ^ "Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society: The Weidler family ad in the Standard Casting book..." virginiaweidler.net. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
- ^ "(photo caption)". Life. August 12, 1946. p. 78. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
- ^ Who's Who in Advertising, First edition, 1990–1991, Wilmette, Illinois: Marquis Who's Who, 1989 OCLC 21990384
- ^ "Virginia Weidler (1927 - 1968) - Find A Grave Memorial". Findagrave.com. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ^ "Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society: The Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society!". Virginiaweidler.net. 2014-01-25. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ^ Carroll County Times, January 22, 2017. Accessed on February 17, 2017.
- ^ "Encore - [Chase and Sanborn program. 1941-09-28] [sound recording]". Laurel.lso.missouri.edu:2083. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- ^ "Copyright 2016, J. David Goldin".
- ^ [2] [dead link]
- ^ Classic Images Magazine 2003
- ^ a b American University, John R. Hickman Collection
- ^ "Virginia Weidler Stars In "Radio Digest" Play Thurs. 10 P.M., WHP". Harrisburg Telegraph. December 7, 1946. p. 19. Retrieved September 12, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
Bibliography[edit]
- Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen. South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971, pp. 260–264.
- Parish, James Robert. Great Child Stars. New York: Ace Books, 1976.
- Willson, Dixie. Little Hollywood Stars. Akron, OH, e New York: Saalfield Pub. Co., 1935.
External links[edit]
- {{IBDB name}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
Category:1927 births
Category:1968 deaths
Category:American child actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American people of German descent
Category:Actresses from Los Angeles
Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
Category:20th-century American actresses