Virginia Cherrill
Encyclopedia
Virginia Cherrill was an American
actress best known for her role as the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin
's City Lights
(1931). She was Cary Grant
's first wife and also married an English earl in the 1940s, according her the alternate name Virginia Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey.
Virginia Cherrill was born on a farm in rural Carthage
, Illinois
, to James E. and Blanche (née Wilcox) Cherrill. She was a Chicago society girl with no thoughts of a film career when she went to Hollywood for a visit and met Charlie Chaplin
when he sat next to her at a boxing match. He had failed to find the girl he wanted for his film but decided she would do and cast her in City Lights in which she gave the performance for which she is remembered, although her working relationship with Chaplin on the film was often strained. As indicated in the documentary Unknown Chaplin
, Cherrill was in fact fired from the film at one point and Chaplin planned to refilm all her scenes with Georgia Hale
, but ultimately realized too much money had already been spent on the picture; as Cherrill recalls in the documentary, close friend Marion Davies
suggested Cherrill hold out for more money when Chaplin asked her to return to the film, and she did.
She appeared in a few other films subsequently, including the 1931 Gershwin musical Delicious
with Janet Gaynor
, but gave up her movie career in 1936 after Troubled Waters.
Cherrill married four times; her second husband was actor Cary Grant
(from 1934 to 1935), and her third was George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey
(from 1937 to 1946).
Her longest marriage was to Florian Martini, with whom she lived in Santa Barbara
, California
from 1948 until her death at age 88; she had no children.
She is a part of stars of Hollywood Walk of Fame
in 1545 Vine Street.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress best known for her role as the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
's City Lights
City Lights
City Lights is a 1931 American silent film and romantic comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It also has the leads Virginia Cherrill and Harry Myers. Although "talking" pictures were on the rise since 1928, City Lights was immediately popular. Today, it is thought of...
(1931). She was Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
's first wife and also married an English earl in the 1940s, according her the alternate name Virginia Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey.
Virginia Cherrill was born on a farm in rural Carthage
Carthage, Illinois
Carthage is a city in Hancock County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,725 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Hancock County. Carthage is most famous for being the site of the murder of Joseph Smith in 1844.- History :...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, to James E. and Blanche (née Wilcox) Cherrill. She was a Chicago society girl with no thoughts of a film career when she went to Hollywood for a visit and met Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
when he sat next to her at a boxing match. He had failed to find the girl he wanted for his film but decided she would do and cast her in City Lights in which she gave the performance for which she is remembered, although her working relationship with Chaplin on the film was often strained. As indicated in the documentary Unknown Chaplin
Unknown Chaplin
Unknown Chaplin is an acclaimed three-part 1983 British television documentary about the career and the methods of the film luminary Charles Chaplin using previously unseen film for illustration....
, Cherrill was in fact fired from the film at one point and Chaplin planned to refilm all her scenes with Georgia Hale
Georgia Hale
Georgia Hale was an actress of the silent movie era.-Career:Georgia Theodora Hale was Miss Chicago 1922 and competed in the Miss America Pageant...
, but ultimately realized too much money had already been spent on the picture; as Cherrill recalls in the documentary, close friend Marion Davies
Marion Davies
Marion Davies was an American film actress. Davies is best remembered for her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, as her high-profile social life often obscured her professional career....
suggested Cherrill hold out for more money when Chaplin asked her to return to the film, and she did.
She appeared in a few other films subsequently, including the 1931 Gershwin musical Delicious
Delicious (1931 film)
Delicious is a Gershwin musical romantic comedy film starring Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell, directed by David Butler, with color sequences in Multicolor . The film featured music by George and Ira Gershwin, including the introduction of "New York Rhapsody" ; an imaginative and elaborate set...
with Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor
Janet Gaynor was an American actress and painter.One of the most popular actresses of the silent film era, in 1928 Gaynor became the first winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in three films: Seventh Heaven , Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Street Angel...
, but gave up her movie career in 1936 after Troubled Waters.
Cherrill married four times; her second husband was actor Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
(from 1934 to 1935), and her third was George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey
George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey
George Francis Child Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey , was an English peer, the son of George Child Villiers, 8th Earl of Jersey. He gave one of the family seats, Osterley Park, to the British nation in the late 1940s....
(from 1937 to 1946).
Her longest marriage was to Florian Martini, with whom she lived in Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
from 1948 until her death at age 88; she had no children.
She is a part of stars of Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
in 1545 Vine Street.
Selected filmography
- City LightsCity LightsCity Lights is a 1931 American silent film and romantic comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It also has the leads Virginia Cherrill and Harry Myers. Although "talking" pictures were on the rise since 1928, City Lights was immediately popular. Today, it is thought of...
(1931) - Money MadMoney Mad (1934 film)Money Mad is a British drama film directed by Frank Richardson and starring Virginia Cherrill, Garry Marsh, and Peter Gawthorne.-Cast:* Virginia Cherrill - Linda* Garry Marsh - Rutherford* D. A. Clarke-Smith - Phillips...
(1934)