Virginia Gilmore
Encyclopedia
Virginia Gilmore was an American
film
, stage
, and television actress.
. Her father was a retired officer of the British Army. Gilmore began her stage career in San Francisco at the age of 15, but moved to Los Angeles in 1939 to pursue work in films. When her movie career was not progressing, Gilmore mustered the nerve to approach Samuel Goldwyn
at his home. As a result of their meeting, he promised her a screen test. She did soon land some small movie roles. Her better known film appearances both occurred in 1941: Western Union
, directed by Fritz Lang
, and Swamp Water
directed by Jean Renoir
.
When her movie role options began to dwindle, Gilmore left Los Angeles for New York City and started working on Broadway. In 1943, Gilmore played in "Those Endearing Young Charms" and “The World’s Full of Girls”. In 1944, she played the title role in “Dear Ruth”, which was directed by Moss Hart
. Starting in the late 1940s, Gilmore had many television roles. In 1949, she and Brynner were featured on “We’re On”, a TV series on NBC. Between 1966 and 1968, Gilmore taught drama at Yale University
. In her later years, Gilmore was a leader in Alcoholics Anonymous
.
. The couple had one son, Yul Brynner II (born December 23, 1946), nicknamed "Rock" when he was six by his father in honor of boxer Rocky Graziano
, who won the middleweight title in 1947. They divorced in 1960.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, and television actress.
Biography
Virginia Gilmore was born as Sherman Virginia Poole in El Monte, CaliforniaEl Monte, California
El Monte is a residential, industrial, and commercial city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte," and historically is known as "The End of the Santa Fe Trail." As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 113,475,...
. Her father was a retired officer of the British Army. Gilmore began her stage career in San Francisco at the age of 15, but moved to Los Angeles in 1939 to pursue work in films. When her movie career was not progressing, Gilmore mustered the nerve to approach Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
at his home. As a result of their meeting, he promised her a screen test. She did soon land some small movie roles. Her better known film appearances both occurred in 1941: Western Union
Western Union (film)
Western Union is a 1941 western feature film directed by Fritz Lang. Filmed in Technicolor on location in Arizona and Utah, Western Union tells the story of a reformed outlaw named Vance Shaw who tries to make good by joining the team wiring the Great Plains for telegraph service in 1861...
, directed by Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...
, and Swamp Water
Swamp Water
Swamp Water is a 1941 film directed by Jean Renoir, starring Walter Brennan, produced at 20th Century Fox, and based on the novel by Vereen Bell. The drama was shot on location at Okefenokee Swamp, Waycross, Georgia, USA. This was Renoir's first American film...
directed by Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
.
When her movie role options began to dwindle, Gilmore left Los Angeles for New York City and started working on Broadway. In 1943, Gilmore played in "Those Endearing Young Charms" and “The World’s Full of Girls”. In 1944, she played the title role in “Dear Ruth”, which was directed by Moss Hart
Moss Hart
Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...
. Starting in the late 1940s, Gilmore had many television roles. In 1949, she and Brynner were featured on “We’re On”, a TV series on NBC. Between 1966 and 1968, Gilmore taught drama at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
. In her later years, Gilmore was a leader in Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous is an international mutual aid movement which says its "primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety." Now claiming more than 2 million members, AA was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio...
.
Personal life
In 1944 she married Yul BrynnerYul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
. The couple had one son, Yul Brynner II (born December 23, 1946), nicknamed "Rock" when he was six by his father in honor of boxer Rocky Graziano
Rocky Graziano
Rocky Graziano, born Thomas Rocco Barbella in New York City , was an Italian American boxer. Graziano was considered one of the greatest knockout artists in boxing history, often displaying the capacity to take his opponent out with a single punch...
, who won the middleweight title in 1947. They divorced in 1960.
Selected films
- Winter Carnival (1939)
- Laddie (1940)
- Manhattan Heartbeat (1940)
- Jennie (1940)
- Tall, Dark and Handsome (1941)
- Western UnionWestern Union (film)Western Union is a 1941 western feature film directed by Fritz Lang. Filmed in Technicolor on location in Arizona and Utah, Western Union tells the story of a reformed outlaw named Vance Shaw who tries to make good by joining the team wiring the Great Plains for telegraph service in 1861...
(1941) - Swamp WaterSwamp WaterSwamp Water is a 1941 film directed by Jean Renoir, starring Walter Brennan, produced at 20th Century Fox, and based on the novel by Vereen Bell. The drama was shot on location at Okefenokee Swamp, Waycross, Georgia, USA. This was Renoir's first American film...
(1941) - That Other Woman (1942)
- The Pride of the YankeesThe Pride of the YankeesThe Pride of the Yankees is a 1942 American film directed by Sam Wood and starring Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Walter Brennan. The film is a tribute to the legendary New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig, who died only one year before the film's release, at age 37, from amyotrophic lateral...
(1942) - Berlin Correspondent (1942)
- The Loves of Edgar Allan Poe (1942)
- Orchestra WivesOrchestra WivesOrchestra Wives is a 1942 American musical film by 20th Century Fox starring Ann Rutherford, George Montgomery, and Glenn Miller. The film was the second and last film to feature The Glenn Miller Orchestra, and is notable among the many swing era musicals because its plot is more serious and...
(1942) - Chetniks! The Fighting GuerrillasChetniks! The Fighting GuerrillasChetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas was a major war film made by Twentieth Century Fox in 1943. The film starred Philip Dorn, Anna Sten, and Martin Kosleck. The movie, originally titled The Seventh Column, was directed by Louis King based on a story by Jack Andrews, who also co-wrote the screenplay....
(1943) - Wonder ManWonder Man (film)Wonder Man is a 1945 film starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo. It is based on a short story by Arthur Sheekman, adapted for the screen by a staff of writers led by Jack Jevne and Eddie Moran, produced by Samuel Goldwyn, and directed by H. Bruce Humberstone...
(1945) - Close-Up (1948)
Stage performances
- Those Endearing Young Charms (1943)
- The World's Full of Girls (1943)
- Dear Ruth (1944)
- Truckline Cafe (with Marlon BrandoMarlon BrandoMarlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
) (1946) - The Grey-Eyed People (1952)
- Critic's ChoiceCritic's Choice (play)Critic's Choice is a play written by Ira Levin.It opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 14, 1960 and ran for 189 performances, closing on May 27, 1961. Levin's inspiration was then-New York Herald Tribune drama critic Walter Kerr and his playwright wife Jean. Otto Preminger directed...
(with Henry FondaHenry FondaHenry Jaynes Fonda was an American film and stage actor.Fonda made his mark early as a Broadway actor. He also appeared in 1938 in plays performed in White Plains, New York, with Joan Tompkins...
) (1960)