Virginia Bruce
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Virginia Bruce (September 29, 1910 – February 24, 1982) was an American actress and singer. Born Helen Virginia Briggs in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1928, she moved with her family to Los Angeles intending to enroll in the University of California, Los Angeles when a friendly wager sent her seeking film work. She got it as an extra in Why Bring That Up?. In 1930 she appeared on Broadway in the musical Smiles, followed by America's Sweetheart in 1931. She returned to Hollywood in 1932, where on August 10, 1932, she married John Gilbert, her co-star in the film Downstairs. She retired briefly after the birth of their daughter Susan Ann Gilbert. The couple divorced in 1934, and Virginia returned to a hectic schedule of film appearances. Gilbert died two years later in 1936. Bruce introduced the Cole Porter standard "I've Got You Under My Skin" in the film Born to Dance and co-starred in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musical The Great Ziegfeld. One of her final film appearances was in Strangers When We Meet. In 1949, Bruce starred in a daily 30-minute radio drama. Make Believe Town was an afternoon program on CBS. Bruce married her second husband, film director J. Walter Ruben, in 1937, making the Wallace Beery western The Bad Man of Brimstone with him that year. Together they had a son named Christopher (b. 1941), before Ruben's death in 1942. In 1946, Bruce married Ali Ipar. They divorced in 1951 in order for him to receive a commission in the Turkish Military (which forbade promotions of men married to foreigners), but remarried in 1952 before divorcing again in 1964. Bruce died of cancer on February 24, 1982, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California. She was 71.
Known For
Credits
- 2003 · Complicated Women as Self (archive footage)
- 1988 · James Stewart: A Wonderful Life as Self (archive footage)
- 1974 · That's Entertainment! as (archive footage)
- 1960 · Strangers When We Meet as Mrs. Wagner
- 1955 · Matinee Theater as
- 1955 · The Reluctant Bride as Laura Weeks
- 1954 · The Plague as Nurse
- 1953 · Letter to Loretta as Dee Norman
- 1953 · General Electric Theater as Adele
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Pauline Travis
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Mildred Pierce
- 1950 · Lux Video Theatre as Jo Cathcart Archer
- 1949 · State Department: File 649 as Marge
- 1948 · Night Has a Thousand Eyes as Jenny
- 1945 · Love, Honor and Goodbye as Roberta Baxter
- 1944 · Brazil as Nicky Henderson
- 1944 · Action in Arabia as Yvonne
- 1942 · Careful, Soft Shoulders as Connie Mathers
- 1942 · Pardon My Sarong as Joan Marshall
- 1942 · Butch Minds the Baby as Susie O'Neill
- 1941 · Adventure in Washington as Jane Scott
- 1940 · The Invisible Woman as Kitty Carroll
- 1940 · Hired Wife as Phyllis Walden
- 1940 · Cavalcade of the Academy Awards as Self
- 1940 · The Man Who Talked Too Much as Joan Reed
- 1940 · Flight Angels as Mary Norvell
- 1939 · Stronger Than Desire as Elizabeth Flagg
- 1939 · Land of Liberty as (archive footage)
- 1939 · Hollywood Hobbies as Self (uncredited)
- 1939 · Society Lawyer as Pat Abbott
- 1939 · Let Freedom Ring as Maggie Adams
- 1938 · There's That Woman Again as Sally Reardon
- 1938 · There Goes My Heart as Joan Butterfield
- 1938 · Hollywood Goes to Town as Self
- 1938 · Woman Against Woman as Maris Kent
- 1938 · Yellow Jack as Frances Blake
- 1938 · The First Hundred Years as Lynn Conway
- 1938 · Arsène Lupin Returns as Lorraine de Grissac
- 1937 · The Bad Man of Brimstone as Loretta Douglas
- 1937 · Wife, Doctor and Nurse as Nurse Stephens
- 1937 · Between Two Women as Patricia Sloan
- 1937 · When Love Is Young as Wanda Werner
- 1937 · Women of Glamour as Gloria Hudson
- 1936 · Born to Dance as Lucy James
- 1936 · The Great Ziegfeld as Audrey Dane
- 1936 · The Garden Murder Case as Zalia Graem
- 1935 · A Dream Comes True as Herself (uncredited)
- 1935 · Pirate Party on Catalina Isle as Virginia Bruce (uncredited)
- 1935 · Metropolitan as Anne Merrill
- 1935 · Here Comes the Band as Margaret
- 1935 · The Murder Man as Mary Shannon
- 1935 · Escapade as Gerta
- 1935 · Let 'em Have It as Eleanor Spencer
- 1935 · Times Square Lady as Toni Bradley
- 1935 · Shadow of Doubt as Trenna
- 1935 · Society Doctor as Madge
- 1934 · The Mighty Barnum as Jenny Lind
- 1934 · Dangerous Corner as Ann Beale
- 1934 · Jane Eyre as Jane Eyre
- 1932 · Kongo as Ann
- 1932 · Downstairs as Anna
- 1932 · Winner Take All as Joan Gibson
- 1932 · Sky Bride as Ruth Dunning
- 1932 · The Miracle Man as Margaret Thornton
- 1930 · Whoopee! as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
- 1930 · Follow Thru as Woman in Ladies' Locker Room (uncredited)
- 1930 · Let's Go Native as Wendell Sr.'s Secretary (uncredited)
- 1930 · Raffles as Gwen's Friend (uncredited)
- 1930 · The Social Lion as Society Girl
- 1930 · Safety in Numbers as Alma McGregor
- 1930 · Paramount on Parade as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- 1930 · Young Eagles as Florence Welford
- 1930 · Only the Brave as Elizabeth
- 1930 · Slightly Scarlet as Enid Corbett
- 1930 · The Love Parade as Lady-in-Waiting
- 1930 · Lilies of the Field as Doris
- 1929 · Pointed Heels as Chorus Girl (uncredited)
- 1929 · Woman Trap as Nurse
- 1929 · Hard to Get as Young Woman (uncredited)
- 1929 · River of Romance as Southern Belle
- 1929 · Fugitives as Extra (uncredited)