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In the mid-1940s, Mayo became a popular actress who personified the [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl|dream girl]] or [[girl-next-door]] image in a series of films. Mayo was paired several times with [[dancer]]-[[actor]] [[Danny Kaye]] in films, including ''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]'' (1945), ''[[The Kid from Brooklyn]]'' (1946), and ''[[The Secret Life of Walter Mitty]]'' (1947).
In the mid-1940s, Mayo became a popular actress who personified the [[Manic Pixie Dream Girl|dream girl]] or [[girl-next-door]] image in a series of films. Mayo was paired several times with [[dancer]]-[[actor]] [[Danny Kaye]] in films, including ''[[Wonder Man (film)|Wonder Man]]'' (1945), ''[[The Kid from Brooklyn]]'' (1946), and ''[[The Secret Life of Walter Mitty]]'' (1947).


Desperate to change her innocent image, Mayo accepted the role of Marie Derry, a unsympathetic gold-digger, in [[William Wyler]]'s drama ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'' (1946). In the film she was a part of an [[ensemble cast]] that included [[Myrna Loy]], [[Fredric March]], and [[Dana Andrews]]. While Mayo was not the star of the film, her performance drew favorable reviews from critics. The film became the highest-grossing film inside the [[United States]] since the release ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''.
Desperate to change her innocent image, Mayo accepted the role of Marie Derry, a unsympathetic gold-digger, in [[William Wyler]]'s drama ''[[The Best Years of Our Lives]]'' (1946). In the film she was a part of an [[ensemble cast]] that included [[Myrna Loy]], [[Fredric March]], [[Teresa Wright]], and [[Dana Andrews]]. While Mayo was not the star of the film, her performance drew favorable reviews from critics. The film became the highest-grossing film inside the [[United States]] since the release ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''.


At the zenith of her career, Mayo was seen as the quintessential voluptuous Hollywood beauty. It was said that she "looked like a pinup painting come to life". According to widely published reports from the late 1940s, the Sultan of Morocco declared her beauty to be proof of the existence of God.
At the zenith of her career, Mayo was seen as the quintessential voluptuous Hollywood beauty. It was said that she "looked like a pinup painting come to life". According to widely published reports from the late 1940s, the Sultan of Morocco declared her beauty to be proof of the existence of God.

Revision as of 22:41, 18 August 2013

Virginia Mayo
In the early 1950s
Born
Virginia Clara Jones

(1920-11-30)November 30, 1920
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
DiedJanuary 17, 2005(2005-01-17) (aged 84)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Years active1939–1997
Spouse(s)Michael O'Shea
(m. 1947–1973; his death); 1 child
ChildrenMary Catherine O'Shea (b. 1953)
Websitehttp://www.virginiamayo.com

Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American vaudeville performer and film actress.

Early life

Born in St. Louis, Missouri to Luke and Martha Henrietta (née Rautenstrauch) Jones, tutored by a series of dancing instructors engaged by her aunt, she appeared in the St. Louis Municipal Opera chorus and then appeared with six other girls at an act at the Jefferson Hotel, where she was recruited by vaudeville performer Andy Mayo to appear in his act (as ringmaster for two men in a horse suit), taking his surname as her stage name. She appeared in vaudeville for three years in the act, appearing with Eddie Cantor on Broadway in 1941's Banjo Eyes.[1]

Hollywood

Mayo continued her career as a dancer, then signed a contract with Samuel Goldwyn and appeared in several of Goldwyn's movies. One of her first films was Jack London (1943), which starred her future husband Michael O'Shea. After four films, Mayo starred in David Butler's The Princess and the Pirate (1944) with comedian Bob Hope, which was her first starring role.

In the mid-1940s, Mayo became a popular actress who personified the dream girl or girl-next-door image in a series of films. Mayo was paired several times with dancer-actor Danny Kaye in films, including Wonder Man (1945), The Kid from Brooklyn (1946), and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947).

Desperate to change her innocent image, Mayo accepted the role of Marie Derry, a unsympathetic gold-digger, in William Wyler's drama The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). In the film she was a part of an ensemble cast that included Myrna Loy, Fredric March, Teresa Wright, and Dana Andrews. While Mayo was not the star of the film, her performance drew favorable reviews from critics. The film became the highest-grossing film inside the United States since the release Gone with the Wind.

At the zenith of her career, Mayo was seen as the quintessential voluptuous Hollywood beauty. It was said that she "looked like a pinup painting come to life". According to widely published reports from the late 1940s, the Sultan of Morocco declared her beauty to be proof of the existence of God.

Mayo continued to break her glamorous image and began to detest playing innocent girls in her films. She played against her stereotype in 1948's Smart Girls Don't Talk, a crime film opposite Bruce Bennett. Mayo gave her best critically lauded performance in Richard L. Bare's Flaxy Martin (1949) with Zachary Scott and Dorothy Malone. She co-starred with Joel McCrea in the poorly received western Colorado Territory (1949).

Mayo in White Heat (1949) with James Cagney.

In 1949, she co-starred with future United States President Ronald Reagan in The Girl from Jones Beach, and with comedian Milton Berle in Always Leave Them Laughing. Mayo received rave reviews for her performance alongside James Cagney and Edmond O'Brien in White Heat. She received equally impressive reviews for her co-starring with George Raft in Roy Del Ruth's Red Light that same year.

At the begin of the 1950s, Mayo scored success with the adventure film The Flame and the Arrow (1950) with Burt Lancaster. She appeared in a few all-star musical films, including The West Point Story (1950) and Starlift (1951). She co-starred with Dennis Morgan in David Butler's Technicolor musical, Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951) that became a moderate success. While Mayo appeared in several musicals, her voice was always dubbed.

During the rest of the 1950s, Mayo continued to appear in films with varying genres. In 1953, she appeared in the comedy-drama-action film South Sea Woman with Burt Lancaster and Chuck Connors.

She played Helena in Victor Saville's The Silver Chalice (1954) opposite Pier Angeli and Paul Newman in his film debut. Mayo co-starred with Rex Harrison and George Sanders in King Richard and the Crusaders (1954). Mayo played Cleopatra in the 1957 fantasy film The Story of Mankind with Vincent Price, Hedy Lamarr, Cesar Romero, Agnes Moorehead, and the Marx Brothers. Her last film of the decaded was 1959's Jet Over the Atlantic with Guy Madison and George Raft.

By the 1960s, Mayo's film career had declined considerably. She continued to appear infrequently in films throughout the next several decades, with one of her last prominent roles being in Fort Utah (1967) with John Ireland. She was also one of the several stars to make a cameo appearance in the all-star box office bomb Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976). Her final film appearance was in the 1997 film The Man Next Door.

Mayo and her husband, actor Michael O'Shea co-starred in such stage productions as Tunnel of Love, Fiorello, and George Washington Slept Here. She appeared in her own right as well in stage and musical theater productions.

Mayo has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1751 Vine. In 1996 she received a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[2]

Personal life

Mayo wed O'Shea in 1947, and remained married to him until he died in 1973. They had one child, Mary Catherine O'Shea (born 1953). The family lived for several decades in Thousand Oaks, California. She converted to Roman Catholicism by way of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen. A lifelong Republican, she endorsed Richard Nixon in 1968 and 1972 and longtime friend Ronald Reagan in 1980.[3]

Death

Mayo died of congestive heart failure in Los Angeles, aged 84.

Filmography

Features

Short subjects

  • Gals and Gallons (1939)
  • So You Think You're Not Guilty (1950)
  • Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night Life (1952)
  • Screen Snapshots: Salute to Hollywood (1958)

References

  1. ^ http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=1150
  2. ^ St. Louis Walk of Fame. "St. Louis Walk of Fame Inductees". stlouiswalkoffame.org. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  3. ^ Mayo, Virginia. Virginia Mayo: The Best Years of My Life (2002), pp. 194–95.
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