Virginia Dale

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Wikipedia

Virginia Dale
Publicity photo, c.1939
Born
Virginia Paxton

1916 or 1917
North Carolina, U.S.
DiedOctober 3, 1994(1994-10-03) (aged 77)
Burbank, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, dancer
Years active1938–1958, 1982–1987

Virginia Dale (born Virginia Paxton; 1916 or 1917 – October 3, 1994) was an American actress and dancer.[1]

Biography

Dale was born in North Carolina.[2] She was the daughter of Lula Helms Paxton, and she graduated from Central High School in Charlotte.[3]

Dale began learning toe dancing when she was 9 years old. When she was an adult, she recalled, "I slaved and slaved at it, hating every minute. I tried everything I could think of to get out of it."[4] That exit occurred when blood poisoning in one of her feet required grafting lamb's skin over the top of the foot. The resulting reduction in the foot's ability to stretch ended her toe dancing.[4]

When Dale was a teenager, Earl Carroll selected her as the winner of a beauty contest in Charlotte. That introduction to Carroll helped Dale and her sister, Frances, who danced as a team, to perform in New York City. Their engagements there included an eight-month stint at the Hollywood Restaurant. They also performed in other cities in the eastern United States.[5] While they were in New York City, Dale was discovered by Darryl F. Zanuck who signed her to a contract with 20th Century Fox.[1]

She appeared in a number of movies in the late 1930s and 1940s, including Holiday Inn (1942), in which she dances and sings with Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby,[6] and she became particularly associated with musicals. In the 1950s, she worked mainly in television series such as The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951–1952), Highway Patrol (1957), and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1957–1958). She left the movie business in 1958, but returned to acting for a few films in the 1980s.

On Broadway, Dale performed in Him (1928) and The Final Balance (1928).[7]

Death

Dale died of complications of emphysema on October 3, 1994, in Burbank, California, aged 77.[8]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1938No Time to MarryEleanor Winthrop
Start CheeringMabel
1939Idiot's DelightLes Blondes - Francine
The Kid from Texas'Okay' Kinney
Death of a ChampionPatsy Doyle
All Women Have SecretsJennifer Warwick
1940Parole FixerEnid Casserly
Buck Benny Rides AgainVirginia
The QuarterbackKay Merrill
Dancing on a DimeDolly Stewart
Love Thy NeighborVirginia Astor
1941Las Vegas NightsPatsy Grant
The Singing HillJo Adams
Kiss the Boys GoodbyeGwendolyn Abbott
World PremiereLee Morrisson
1942Holiday InnLila Dixon
1943Headin' for God's CountryLaurie Lane
1947Fall GuyMarie
The HuckstersKimberly Receptionist
DragnetIrene Trilling
Louisiana
1948Docks of New OrleansRene Blanchette
Strike It RichMabel
1950Love That BruteMaidUncredited
1951Danger ZoneClaire Underwood(1st Episode)
1974That's Entertainment!HerselfDocumentary, Clip from 'Idiot's Delight', (archive footage)

References

  1. 1 2 "Virginia Dale, Dancer, 77". The New York Times. October 22, 1994. Archived from the original on November 29, 2012. Retrieved April 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Virginia Dale". BFI. Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Charlotte Actress Gets Important Role". The Charlotte Observer. December 27, 1938. p. 13. Retrieved October 30, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Lowrance, Dee (April 5, 1942). "They're Not Daffy - Just Dance-Dizzy". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. Sunday Magazine - 1. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ McAfee, Hoyt; Hardie, Nettie (May 19, 1940). "Close-Up Glimpses Of Virginia Dale". The Charlotte Observer. p. Section 3 - Page 13. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Willis, John; Monush, Barry (February 2000). Comprehensive Pictorial and Statistical Record of the 1994 Movie Season. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 275. ISBN 978-1-55783-233-7. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Virginia Dale". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Virginia Dale; Astaire Partner in 'Holiday Inn'". Los Angeles Times. October 21, 1944. p. A 34. Retrieved July 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.