Virginia Bruce

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Virginia Bruce
Publicity photo of Virginia Bruce for Argentinean Magazine
Born
Helen Virginia Briggs

(1910-09-29)September 29, 1910[1]
DiedFebruary 24, 1982(1982-02-24) (aged 71)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1929–1981
Spouses
(m. 1932; div. 1934)
(m. 1937; died 1942)
(m. 1946; div. 1964)
[2]
Children2

Virginia Bruce (born Helen Virginia Briggs;[3] September 29, 1910 – February 24, 1982) was an American actress and singer.

Early life[edit]

Bruce was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As an infant she moved with her parents, Earil and Margaret Briggs, to Fargo, North Dakota. The city directory of Fargo documents that the Briggs family lived there at 421 14th Street South. After Bruce graduated from Fargo Central High School in 1928,[4][5] she moved with her family to Los Angeles intending to enroll at the University of California, Los Angeles when a friendly wager sent her seeking film work.[citation needed]

Career[edit]

Bruce's first screen work was in 1929 as an extra for Paramount in Why Bring That Up? In 1930, she appeared on Broadway in the musical Smiles at the Ziegfeld Theatre, followed by the Broadway production America's Sweetheart in 1931.[6]

Bruce returned to Hollywood in 1932, where she began work in early August at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on the film Kongo starring Walter Huston. During production on that project, on August 10, she married John Gilbert (her first, his fourth) with whom she recently costarred in Downstairs.[7][8] The Film Daily reported that the couple's "quick" wedding was held in Gilbert's dressing room on the studio lot. Among the people attending the small ceremony were the head of MGM production Irving Thalberg, who served as the groom's best man; screenwriter Donald Ogden Stewart, whose wife Beatrice acted as matron of honor; MGM art director and set designer Cedric Gibbons; and his wife, actress Dolores del Río.[8]

Bruce retired briefly from acting after the birth of their daughter Susan Ann, although she returned to film appearances after her divorce from Gilbert (caused by his alcoholism) in May 1934.[9] Gilbert died of a heart attack in 1936.

Trailer for The Great Ziegfeld (1936)

Bruce is credited with introducing the Cole Porter standard "I've Got You Under My Skin" in the 1936 film Born to Dance. The same year, she costarred in the MGM musical The Great Ziegfeld. She also performed periodically on radio. In 1949, for example, Bruce starred in Make Believe Town, a 30-minute afternoon drama broadcast daily on CBS Radio.[10]

In the early 1960s, she retired from films.

Personal life[edit]

Virginia Bruce in 1934

Bruce married American film director J. Walter Ruben in 1937.[11]

Bruce was a Democrat who supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election.[12]

Bruce died of cancer at age 71 on February 24, 1982, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital[3] in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California.

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1929 Fugitives Bit Part Uncredited
Blue Skies Party guest Uncredited
River of Romance Southern Belle Uncredited
Fashions in Love Uncredited
Hard to Get Young woman Uncredited
Illusion Party Guest Uncredited
Woman Trap Nurse
Why Bring That Up? Chorus Girl Uncredited
The Love Parade Lady-in-Waiting Uncredited
Pointed Heels Chorus Girl Uncredited
1930 Lilies of the Field Doris
Slightly Scarlet Enid Corbett
Only the Brave Elizabeth
Young Eagles Florence Welford
Paramount on Parade Chorus Girl Uncredited
Safety in Numbers Alma McGregor
The Social Lion Society Girl Uncredited
Raffles Gwen's Friend Uncredited
Let's Go Native Wendell Sr.'s Secretary Uncreidted
Follow Thru Bit in Ladies Locker Room Uncredited
Whoopee! Goldwyn Girl Uncredited
1931 Hell Divers Girl (scenes deleted)
1932 The Miracle Man Margaret Thornton
Sky Bride Ruth Dunning
Winner Take All Joan Gibson
Downstairs Anna
Kongo Ann Whitehall
1934 Jane Eyre Jane Eyre
Dangerous Corner Ann Peel
The Mighty Barnum Jenny Lind
1935 Society Doctor Madge
Shadow of Doubt Trenna Plaice
Times Square Lady Toni Bradley
Let 'Em Have It Eleanor Spencer
Escapade Gerta
The Murder Man Mary Shannon
Here Comes the Band Margaret Jones
Metropolitan Anne Merrill
1936 The Garden Murder Case Zalia Graem
The Great Ziegfeld Audrey Dane
Born to Dance Lucy James
1937 Women of Glamour Gloria Hudson
When Love Is Young Wanda Werner
Between Two Women Patricia Sloan
Wife, Doctor and Nurse Steve aka Miss Stephens
The Bad Man of Brimstone Loretta Douglas
1938 Arsène Lupin Returns Lorraine de Grissac
The First Hundred Years Lynn Conway
Yellow Jack Frances Blake
Woman Against Woman Maris Kent
There Goes My Heart Joan Butterfield
There's That Woman Again Sally Reardon
1939 Let Freedom Ring Maggie Adams
Society Lawyer Pat Abbott
Stronger Than Desire Elizabeth Flagg
1940 Flight Angels Mary Norvell
The Man Who Talked Too Much Joan Reed
Hired Wife Phyllis Walden
The Invisible Woman Kitty Carroll
1941 Adventure in Washington Jane Scott Alternative title: Female Correspondent
1942 Butch Minds the Baby Susie O'Neill
Pardon My Sarong Joan Marshall
Careful, Soft Shoulder Connie Mathers
1944 Action in Arabia Yvonne Danesco
Brazil Nicky Henderson Alternative title: Stars and Guitars
1945 Love, Honor and Goodbye Roberta Baxter
1948 Night Has a Thousand Eyes Jenny Courtland
1949 State Department: File 649 Margaret "Marge" Weldon Alternative title: Assignment in China
1954 Salgin Nurse Alternative titles: Epidemic
Istanbul
1955 Reluctant Bride Laura Weeks Alternative title: Two Grooms for a Bride
1960 Strangers When We Meet Mrs. Wagner

Partial TV credits[edit]

Year Title Role Episode(s)
1953 General Electric Theater Adele 1 episode
1955 Letter to Loretta Dee Norman 1 episode
Science Fiction Theatre Dr. Myrna Griffin
Jean Gordon
2 episodes
1957 The Ford Television Theatre Ruth Crest 1 episode

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Virgnina Bruce, 72, Actress Portrayed Ziegfeld Showgirl". The New York Times. New York, New York City. United Press International. February 26, 1982. Archived from the original on 11 July 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Virginia Bruce is divorced". The New York Times. Istanbul, Turkey. January 19, 1964. Archived from the original on 2024-03-11. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Film Actress Virginia Bruce dies at 71 after long illness". The San Bernardino County Sun. California, San Bernardino. The San Bernardino County Sun. February 25, 1982. p. 10. Retrieved January 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ "Fargoan had long career in films".
  5. ^ "VIRGINIA BRUCE, 72, ACTRESS PORTRAYED ZIEGFELD SHOWGIRL". The New York Times. 26 February 1982.
  6. ^ Virginia Bruce at the Internet Broadway Database
  7. ^ "Here's Proof John Gilbert Is Screen's Great Lover". New York, Syracuse. Syracuse Herald. August 11, 1932. p. 12. Retrieved January 7, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ a b "GILBERT'S QUICK MARRIAGE", news item, The Film Daily [New York, N.Y. (West Coast Bureau)], August 12, 1932, page 4. Internet Archive, San Francisco, California. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  9. ^ "Fourth Divorce for John Gilbert of Films". The Southeast Missourian. May 26, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved August 19, 2018.
  10. ^ "Ethel Merman, Virginia Bruce In Radio Dramas". Freeport Journal-Standard. Freeport Journal-Standard. July 30, 1949. p. 3. Retrieved May 3, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ "Virginia Bruce: Biography", Turner Classic Movies (TCM), Turner Broadcasting System, a subsidiary of Time Warner, Inc., New York, N.Y. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  12. ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
  • Virginia Bruce: Under My Skin, 2008. (Biography by Scott O'Brien)

External links[edit]