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Virginia Mayo
1920-2005
Updated 9/8/2008.
biography
Born Virginia Jones in St. Louis, Missouri, in November 1920, lovely Virginia Mayo began dance training while still a young girl. She continued dancing after completing school, and by the time Mayo was 21 she landing film work in small roles and often as a dancer. She signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn in 1943, and the next year Goldwyn gave Mayo her big break in the Bob Hope comedy The Princess and the Pirate (1944). Goldwyn often cast the beautiful actress in comedies, such as the Danny Kaye vehicles Wonder Man (1945), The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947). Mayo married actor Michael O'Shea in 1947, and the following year she left Goldwyn for Warner Bros. At the new studio Mayo was cast in a number of film noir thrillers such as Flaxy Martin (1949) and White Heat (1949). Beginning in 1949 when she acted in the Joel McCrea western Colorado Territory, she enjoyed a long association with westerns films.
Virginia Mayo with her husband, actor Michael O'Shea, in the late 1940s
Throughout the 1950s, Mayo acted in many westerns, including The Proud Ones (1956; with Jeffrey Hunter), The Tall Stranger (1957; with Joel McCrea, and Fort Dobbs (1958; with Clint Walker). From the 1960s onward, Mayo accepted just a few film and television roles.
the films of virginia mayo
Up in Arms (1944)
From one of Mayo's earliest film appearances, in the Danny Kaye musical Up in Arms. Mayo went on to make four more films with Kaye
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947)
With Danny Kaye in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Out of the Blue (1947)
With Turhan Bey in the Eagle-Lion comedy Out of the Blue
Smart Girls Don't Talk (1948)
Images from the Warner Bros. film noir release Smart Girls Don't Talk. LEFT: With Bruce Bennett. RIGHT: With Robert Hutton
A Song is Born (1948)
From the Danny Kaye musical A Song is Born
White Heat (1949)
With James Cagney in the film noir thriller White Heat
She's Working Her Way Through College (1952)
From the Warner Bros. musical comedy She's Working Her Way Through College. LEFT: Mayo as burlesque queen Hot Garters Gertie. CENTER: With Gene Nelson. RIGHT: With Ronald Reagan
The Silver Chalice (1954)
With Jack Palance in the Warner Bros. costume drama The Silver Chalice
Congo Crossing (1956)
From the Universal-International adventure flick Congo Crossing
Great Day in the Morning (1956)
From the RKO release Great Day in the Morning
The Proud Ones (1956)
From the 20th Century Fox western The Proud Ones with Jeffrey Hunter and Robert Ryan
The Big Land (1957)
From the Alan Ladd western The Big Land
Fort Dobbs (1958)
Images from the Warner Bros. western Fort Dobbs. LEFT: With Clint Walker. RIGHT: With Brian Keith
later years
After the release of the Italian-made Revolt of the Mercenaries (1960), Virginia Mayo took a break from films and began working in theater. In the mid 1960s she acted in the westerns Young Fury (1965) and Fort Utah (1967) and a horror film, Castle of Evil (1966; with Scott Brady). Mayo did no more film work until after the death of her husband in 1973. Afterward, she appeared in several films and made additional television appearances. Her final film was the suspenser The Man Next Door (1997). Sadly, Virginia Mayo passed away on January 17, 2005, of heart failure at the age of 84. She is survived by her daughter.
Hey Folks, It's Intermission Time!, Vol. 2 [DVD] DVD
More memorable ads for movie theaters, including come-ons for Christmas, Halloween and Mother's Day shows, cartoon carnivals, Milkshake candy bars, a Spike Jones live performance and films like "Cinderfella." Also, see Rosemary Clooney's happy holiday greeting, Virginia Mayo promoting Christmas Seals, and an anti-Pay-TV announcement. 90 min.
Jack London (The Jack London Story) [DVD](1943) DVD
This biography of the famed adventure writer features Michael O'Shea in the title role and follows London from his travels in Canada, the Pacific and Japan to his success with such stories as "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang." Exciting real-life drama also stars Susan Hayward, Ralph Morgan, Virginia Mayo. AKA: "The Adventures of Jack London." 94 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English.
The Princess And The Pirate [DVD](1944) DVD
Slapstick swashbuckler stars Bob Hope as a vaudevillian who, after being banished from England, heads off to America aboard a ship where he must reluctantly defend beautiful princess Virginia Mayo from a dastardly pirate crew that includes Walter Brennan and Victor McLaglen. With Walter Slezak, Hugo Haas, Marc Lawrence. 94 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish.
Bob Hope: M-G-M Movie Legends Collection [DVD] DVD
When war correspondent Bob Hope is fired, he tries to win his job back by uncovering a Nazi spy ring. "They Got Me Covered" (1943) co-stars Dorothy Lamour, Otto Preminger. Eastern insurance salesman Hope inadvertently sells a policy to outlaw Jesse James, then heads out West, not knowing that his client has a plan to get Hope mistaken for him and shot. "Alias Jesse James" (1959) also stars Rhonda Fleming, Wendell Corey, with numerous movie cowboys in cameos. Hope and Lucille Ball star in the satirical "The Facts of Life" (1960), playing the participants in a would-be love affair that never gets started thanks to their families. Ruth Hussey, Louis Nye co-star. Real estate agent Hope tries to hide a runaway movie queen (Elke Sommer) while her film director boyfriend and the studio look for her. "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!" (1967) co-stars Phyllis Diller, Cesare Danova. Seven-disc set also includes "I'll Take Sweden," "The Princess and the Pirate," and "The Road to Hong Kong." 11 1/4 hrs. total. Standard/Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish.
The Best Years Of Our Lives [DVD](1946) DVD
Three WWII veterans returning home must fight their own personal battles for acceptance and adjustment in this Oscar-winning William Wyler drama. Fredric March, Dana Andrews and real-life amputee Harold Russell star, along with Hoagy Carmichael, Myrna Loy and Teresa Wright. 172 min. Standard; Soundtracks: English Dolby mono, Spanish mono; Subtitles: French, Spanish; theatrical trailer.
White Heat [DVD](1949) DVD
The quintessential gangster film features James Cagney in his most frightening role, that of Cody Jarrett, a psychotic, mother-obsessed gunman who plans to escape from prison with fellow inmate Vic Pardo (Edmond O'Brien) and reunite his old crew for an armored car job. But when Pardo turns out to be a federal agent sent to infiltrate the gang, Jarrett engages in a violent shoot-out with the cops that culminates in a fiery finale. Raoul Walsh's riveting crime-drama co-stars Virginia Mayo, and Margaret Wycherly as Ma Jarrett. 113 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, French, Spanish.
The West Point Story [DVD](1950) DVD
Brassy musical stars James Cagney as a down-on-his-luck stage director who is hired to put on a show at the title military academy. Frustrated by the production's complications, Cagney strikes a cadet and, in order to continue working, must become a cadet himself. Doris Day, Virginia Mayo and Gordon MacRae co-star; songs include "You Love Me," "Long Before I Knew You" and "Military Polka." 107 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English; newsreel footage; bonus shorts "His Bitter Half" (1950), "Granddad of Races" (1950); theatrical trailers.
James Cagney: The Signature Collection [DVD] DVD
Five-disc boxed set includes "The Fighting 69th," "Torrid Zone," "The Bride Came C.O.D.," "Captains of the Clouds," and "The West Point Story."
The Flame And The Arrow [DVD](1950) DVD
Rousing adventure saga set in medieval Italy stars a swashbuckling Burt Lancaster as the leader of a rebel army tangling with Hessian troops whose leader (Robert Douglas), has welcomed Lancaster's ex-wife (Lynne Baggett) into his arms. Things get really nasty when Lancaster kidnaps Douglas' niece (Virginia Mayo). With Nick Cravat, Norman Lloyd. 88 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH), French; bonus shorts "So You're Going to Have an Operation" (1950), "Strife with Father" (1950); theatrical trailers.
Captain Horatio Hornblower [DVD](1951) DVD
Thrilling adventure saga starring Gregory Peck as a British naval officer caught in the crossfire between the Spanish, the French and a Central American dictator during the Napoleonic Wars. Virginia Mayo also stars as the beautiful aristocrat who catches Peck's eye when she hitches a ride with him and his crew while trying to escape an outbreak of yellow fever. Lavish adaptation of C.S. Forester's novel also stars Robert Beatty, Moultrie Kelsall. 117 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Portuguese; theatrical trailer; bonus shorts "My Country 'Tis of Thee" (1950), "Captain Hareblower" (1954); radio broadcast with Peck, Mayo.
Literary Classics Collection [DVD] DVD
Five-disc set includes "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1937), "The Three Musketeers" (1948), "Captain Horatio Hornblower," "The Prisoner of Zenda" (1952), "Billy Budd," and "Madame Bovary" (1949).
Burt Lancaster: Signature Collection [DVD] DVD
Five-disc set includes "The Flame and the Arrow," "Jim Thorpe--All-American," "His Majesty O'Keefe," "South Sea Woman" (1953) with Virginia Mayo, and "Executive Action."
South Sea Woman [DVD](1953) DVD
"The Flame and the Arrow" co-stars Burt Lancaster and Virginia Mayo reunited for this spirited mix of adventure and comedy. Lancaster stars as a Marine gunnery sergeant on trial for desertion after the attack on Pearl Harbor who reluctantly relies on showgirl Mayo's testimony that he wasn't AWOL, but was actually helping the French resistance take out a Nazi supply ship. Chuck Connors also stars. 98 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English (SDH), French.
Pearl Of The South Pacific [DVD](1955) DVD
It's adventure, romance and mayhem in Paradise when comely con woman Virginia Mayo and her partners in crime, Dennis Morgan and David Farrar, try to rob some South Seas natives out of a fortune in rare black pearls. Trouble is, the gems are guarded in an undersea grotto by a giant octopus! 86 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital mono; theatrical trailers; scene access.
Classic Western Collection: The Outlaws [DVD] DVD
Four-disc set includes "Broken Lance," "The Proud Ones," "Forty Guns," and "The Culpepper Cattle Co."
The Proud Ones [DVD](1956) DVD
Robert Ryan stars in this dramatic oater as Marshal Silver, struggling to maintain law and order in a quiet Kansas town after the arrival of trail herds from Texas. Silver faces additional danger when Thad Anderson (Jeffrey Hunter), the son of a gunman killed by Silver, comes into town. Silver tries to take the young cowboy under his wing, but the thirst for revenge may prove too strong. 94 min. Standard and Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital Surround stereo, French Dolby Digital mono, Spanish Dolby Digital mono; Subtitles: English, Spanish.
French Quarter [DVD](1977) DVD
New Orleans is the backdrop for this underrated melodrama chronicling the experiences of a prostitute in the early 19th century and her reincarnation who also lives in the Big Easy nearly 100 years later. As both of the women and their co-workers have their fates intertwined by a voodoo curse that spans the ages, they try to make lives for themselves--despite what the future (or the past) has in store for them. Virginia Mayo, Bruce Davison, Alisha Fontaine star. 101 min. Soundtrack: English.
virginia mayo films available from amazon.com
filmography
FILM
The Man Next Door (1997) with Karen Carlson
Evil Spirits (1990) with Martine Beswick, Karen Black, Anthony Eisley, and Yvette Vickers
The Haunted (1979) with Aldo Ray
French Quarter (1977) with Bruce Davison
Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) featuring an all-star cast
Fugitive Lovers (1975) with John Russell
Fort Utah (1967) with John Ireland, Scott Brady, John Russell, and Richard Arlen
Castle of Evil (1966) with Scott Brady, Lisa Gaye, David Brian, and Hugh Marlowe
Young Fury (1965) with Rory Calhoun, John Agar, Lon Chaney Jr., Merry Anders, Jody McCrea, Richard Arlen, and William Welman Jr.
Revolt of the Mercenaries (1960)
Jet Over the Atlantic (1959) with Guy Madison, George Raft, Brett Halsey, and Ilona Massey
Westbound (1958) with Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, and Andrew Duggan
Fort Dobbs (1958) with Clint Walker and Brian Keith
The Tall Stranger (1957) with Joel McCrea and Whit Bissell
The Story of Mankind (1957) with Hedy Lamarr and Vincent Price
The Big Land (1957) with Alan Ladd and Edmond O'Brien
Congo Crossing (1956) with George Nader, Peter Lorre, and Raymond Bailey
The Proud Ones (1956) with Jeffrey Hunter, Robert Ryan, Ken Clark, and Whit Bissell
Great Day in the Morning (1956) with Ruth Roman, Raymond Burr, Robert Stack, and Alex Nicol
Pearl of the South Pacific (1955) with Dennis Morgan and Lance Fuller
The Silver Chalice (1954) with Jack Palance, Pier Angeli, and Paul Newman
King Richard and the Crusaders (1954) with Rex Harrison, George Sanders, and Paula Raymond
Devil's Canyon (1953) with Dale Robertson, Stephen McNally, and Whit Bissell
South Sea Woman (1953) with Burt Lancaster and Chuck Connors
She's Back on Broadway (1953) with Steve Cochran and Gene Nelson
She's Working Her Way Through College (1952) with Ronald Reagan, Don DeFore, and Phyllis Thaxter
The Iron Mistresse (1952) with Alan Ladd and Phyllis Kirk
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951) with Dennis Morgan, Gene Nelson, and Tom Conway
Captain Horatio Hornblower (1951) with Gregory Peck
Along the Great Divide (1951) with Kirk Douglas and John Agar
The West Point Story (1950) with James Cagney, Doris Day, Gene Nelson, and Gordon MacRae
The Flame and the Arrow (1950) with Burt Lancaster
Backfire (1950) with Gordon MacRae and Edmund O'Brien
Always Leave Them Laughing (1949) with Milton Berle, Ruth Roman, Bert Lahr, and Max Showalter
The Girl from Jones Beach (1949) with Ronald Reagan and Eddie Bracken
Red Light (1949) with George Raft and Raymond Burr
White Heat (1949) with James Cagney, Steve Cochran, and Edmund O'Brien
Colorado Territory (1949) with Joel McCrea and Dorothy Malone
Flaxy Martin (1949) with Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone, and Elisha Cook Jr.
Smart Girls Don't Talk (1948) with Bruce Bennett and Robert Hutton
A Song Is Born (1948) with Danny Kaye and Steve Cochran
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) with Danny Kaye, Boris Karloff, and Fay Bainter
Out of the Blue (1947) with George Brent, Turhan Bey, and Carole Landis
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) with Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Cathy O'Donnell, Dana Andrews, and Steve Cochran
The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) with Danny Kaye, Steve Cochran, Eve Arden, Vera-Ellen, and Fay Bainter
Wonder Man (1945) with Danny Kaye, Steve Cochran, and Vera-Ellen
The Princess and the Pirate (1944) with Bob Hope, Walter Slezak, and Walter Brennan
Seven Days Ashore (1944) with Wally Brown
Up in Arms (1944) with Danny Kaye, Dinah Shore, and Dana Andrews
Jack London (1943) with Michael O'Shea and Susan Hayward
TELEVISION SERIES
Santa Barbara, 1984-1993 NBC daytime TV series. Mayo portrayed Peaches DeLight during the 1984 season
virginia mayo links
The Virginia Mayo Official Web Site
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This page premiered April 25, 2003.
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