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Virginia Bruce
Born: 29th Sep 1910 Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - Died 24th Feb 1982
Dept: Acting
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.
[ToDo] Show list of extra photos here.
Film and Tv Credits
Total number of credits listed: 79
Film: 75 (95%)
Television: 4 (5%)
Remaining genres not in graph: History, Family, Western, TV Movie, Science Fiction
Filmography
2003
Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound era, until 1934 when the Hays Code virtually neutered fi ... view
Character:
Self (archive footage)
1987
Documentary about James Stewart's long career as an actor and positive personal life. ... view
Character:
Self (archive footage)
1974
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history. ... view
Character:
(archive footage)
1960
A suburban architect loves his wife but is bored with his marriage and with his work, so he takes up with the neglected, married beauty who lives down ... view
Character:
Mrs. Wagner
Oct 1955 (first aired)
Matinee Theater is an American anthology series that aired on NBC during the Golden Age of Television, from 1955 to 1958. The series, which ran daily ... view
Character:
Unknown/various (1 ep.)
1955
A money-to-burn and girl-chasing Texas oilman, and a sensitive, dignified entomologist find themselves in charge of a brood of wild kids whose parent ... view
Character:
Laura Weeks
Original title: Salgin
1954
A nurse in the Red Crescent (the Turkish equivalent of the Red Cross) fights to save the populace during a plague. ... view
Character:
Nurse
Sep 1953 (first aired)
Letter to Loretta is an American anthology drama series telecast on NBC from September 1953 to June 1961 for a total of 165 episodes. The filmed show ... view
Character:
Dee Norman (1 ep.)
Feb 1953 (first aired)
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponso ... view
Character:
Adele (1 ep.)
Oct 1950 (first aired)
Lux Video Theatre is an American anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1959. The series presented both comedy and drama in original telep ... view
Character:
Pauline Travis (1 ep.)
Mildred Pierce (1 ep.)
Jo Cathcart Archer (1 ep.)
1949
Kenneth Seeley, member of the U. S. State Department's Foreign Service Bureau, and Marge Weldon, a morale worker with the bureau, are assigned to an a ... view
Character:
Marge
1948
When heiress Jean Courtland attempts suicide, her fiancée Elliott Carson probes her relationship with John Triton. In flashback, we see how stage men ... view
Character:
Jenny
1945
A lawyer's wife walks out on him, then poses as a French nurse to spy on him. ... view
Character:
Roberta Baxter
1944
Brazil is perhaps the best of the handful of US films made by singing sensation Tito Guizar. In typical screwball-comedy fashion, the plot is set in m ... view
Character:
Nicky Henderson
1944
Reporter Michael Gordon uncovers intrigue in Damascus, where the Allies and Nazis struggle for control of Arab sympathies. ... view
Character:
Yvonne
1942
In this espionage movie, set in Washington during WW II, the daughter of an ex-senator has become a dress model. She is approached by an American coun ... view
Character:
Connie Mathers
1942
A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat t ... view
Character:
Joan Marshall
1942
Aloysius 'Butch' Grogan leads a life of criminal activities motivated to provide for a widow and her child. He's on lookout for a gang of safe cracker ... view
Character:
Susie O'Neill
1941
A troubled youth is offered the opportunity to serve as a Senate page in Washington, DC. ... view
Character:
Jane Scott
1940
Kitty Carroll, an attractive store model, volunteers to become a test subject for a machine that will make her invisible so that she can use her invis ... view
Character:
Kitty Carroll
1940
Ad man Stephen Dexter asks his secretary Kendall to marry him as a loophole in order to protect his finances during an important business deal. Once t ... view
Character:
Phyllis Walden
1940
This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeche ... view
Character:
Self
1940
A young law graduate joins his older brother's legal practice, only to discover the firm's clients are mostly mobsters. ... view
Character:
Joan Reed
1940
Federal Airlines ace pilot Chick Faber is grounded by Flight Superintendent Bill Graves when a doctor says his eyesight is failing. Aided by Mary Norv ... view
Character:
Mary Norvell
1939
An attorney handling a murder case is unaware his own wife played a crucial role in the killing. ... view
Character:
Elizabeth Flagg
1939
This film tells the history of the United States from pre-Revolution through 1939. ... view
Character:
(archive footage)
1939
In this short film, two starstruck movie fans hire a tour guide and see a plethora of Hollywood stars. ... view
Character:
Self (uncredited)
1939
Society lawyer Christopher Durant agrees to defend his friend Phil Siddall who was arrested for the murder of an ex-girlfriend. With the help of night ... view
Character:
Pat Abbott
1939
A Harvard man fights a railroad baron with a disguise and the power of the press. ... view
Character:
Maggie Adams
1938
Bill Reardon, a private detective, is working on a case involving stolen items from a local jewelry store. The case takes a different turn when Bill's ... view
Character:
Sally Reardon
1938
An heiress takes a job as a department store clerk. ... view
Character:
Joan Butterfield
1938
This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The film celebrated here is Marie Antoinette (1938), which h ... view
Character:
Self
1938
A newlywed unhappily discovers that her husband's scheming ex-wife still has a controlling influence in his life and home. ... view
Character:
Maris Kent
1938
A fairly accurate historical account of Walter Reed's search for the cause of "Yellow Jack" or Yellow Fever and those who risked their lives in the pu ... view
Character:
Frances Blake
1938
David and Lynn are a happily married couple. When David gets his dream job in another state, Lynn, a high-powered executive, doesn't want to leave NYC ... view
Character:
Lynn Conway
1938
A woman and a man vying for a woman's affection: the usual love trio? Not quite so since the belle in question is Lorraine de Grissac, a very wealthy ... view
Character:
Lorraine de Grissac
1937
A ruthless outlaw becomes very protective of a prizefighter when he learns the young man is his own son. ... view
Character:
Loretta Douglas
1937
Social butterfly marries Park Avenue doctor and learns that his nurse is in love with him. ... view
Character:
Nurse Stephens
1937
Hospital intern Allen Meighan assures himself residency when he saves the life of a man trapped in an explosion. Allen is in love with student nurse C ... view
Character:
Patricia Sloan
1937
In this drama, a girl from a small town in Pennsylvania dreams of being a star while she goes to school. The trouble is, no one notices her. Later a m ... view
Character:
Wanda Werner
1937
A girl with a reputation falls for a wealthy playboy. ... view
Character:
Gloria Hudson
1936
On leave, a sailor falls in love with a young lady aspiring to become a Broadway dancer, but their relationship is jeopardized by an established Broad ... view
Character:
Lucy James
1936
At the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, sideshow barker Florenz Ziegfeld turns the tables on his more-successful neighbor Billings, and also steals his girl ... view
Character:
Audrey Dane
1936
Two people with ties to rich murdered socialite Lowe Hammle die from unusual suicides—but Vance suspects foul play. ... view
Character:
Zalia Graem
1935
A promotional short to hype the production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935). ... view
Character:
Herself (uncredited)
1935
Various Hollywood performers put on a pirate-themed variety show on Catalina Island, with a number of amiable stars in the audience. ... view
Character:
Virginia Bruce (uncredited)
1935
Opera prima donna leaves the Metropolitan to form her own company with Tibbett as leading man. She leaves this company too which means Tibbett and com ... view
Character:
Anne Merrill
1935
In this musical, a songwriter goes to court to claim the rights to his song that was stolen by an unscrupulous music publisher. He brings his girlfrie ... view
Character:
Margaret
1935
Steve Grey, reporter for the Daily Star, has a habit of scooping all the other papers in town. When Henry Mander is investigated for the murder of his ... view
Character:
Mary Shannon
1935
A romantic comedy-drama-musical of mistaken identity, infidelity and farce, set in Vienna at the turn of the 20th century. ... view
Character:
Gerta
1935
Let 'Em Have It is a 1935 gangster film. It was also known as The Legion of Valour and False Faces. An FBI agent tracks down a gang leader. ... view
Character:
Eleanor Spencer
1935
A young Iowa woman inherits her late estranged father's New York business, but the dead man's crooked associates think they can outwit the naive heir ... view
Character:
Toni Bradley
1935
When a Hollywood producer is murdered, the most likely suspect is a man who is smitten with the victim's fiancee. ... view
Character:
Trenna
1935
Two surgeons in love with a nurse end their rivalry in the operating room. ... view
Character:
Madge
1934
20th Century Fox's highly fabricated film biography of circus showman P. T. Barnum stars Wallace Beery (as Barnum), Virginia Bruce (as Jenny Lind), Ja ... view
Character:
Jenny Lind
1934
Friends uncover a dark secret when they compare notes about a theft and suicide. ... view
Character:
Ann Beale
1934
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she mee ... view
Character:
Jane Eyre
1932
The ruthless Flint, a disabled man, rules an isolated region of Kongo like an omnipotent god, through superstition and sadism, living only for the day ... view
Character:
Ann
1932
In the Austrian manor of Baron and Baroness von Burgen, the relationship between the upstairs aristocracy and the downstairs staff is quite positive. ... view
Character:
Anna
1932
Overworked boxer Jim goes to a health ranch in New Mexico to recover where he falls in love with Peggy and her sickly son. Once recovered, Jim leaves ... view
Character:
Joan Gibson
1932
Barnstorming pilots Speed Condon, Bill Adams, and Eddie Smith travel the country with their manager, Alec Dugan, performing at fairs and air shows and ... view
Character:
Ruth Dunning
1932
A gang of crooks evade the police by moving their operations to a small town. There the gang's leader, John Madison, encounters a faith healer and use ... view
Character:
Margaret Thornton
1930
Western sheriff Bob Wells is preparing to marry Sally Morgan; she loves part-Indian Wanenis, whose race is an obstacle. Sally flees the wedding with h ... view
Character:
Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
1930
Lora Moore, the club champion, loses a golf match to a woman from another golf club. Then Jerry Downs, a handsome golf pro, and his goofy friend, Jack ... view
Character:
Woman in Ladies' Locker Room (uncredited)
1930
The company of a musical comedy gets shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by a "king" from Brooklyn and his coterie of wild native girls. ... view
Character:
Wendell Sr.'s Secretary (uncredited)
1930
A distinguished English gentleman has a secret life--he is the notorious jewel thief the press has dubbed "The Amateur Cracksman". When he meets a wom ... view
Character:
Gwen's Friend (uncredited)
1930
Marco Perkins is a garage mechanic and a would-be-prizefighter who gets a place on the ritzy country club's polo team because he is the town's most pr ... view
Character:
Society Girl
1930
Before handing over a large inheritance, a guardian hires three chorus girls to educate his charge about the "underside" of big-city life. ... view
Character:
Alma McGregor
1930
This 1930 film, a collection of songs and sketches showcasing Paramount Studios' contract stars, credits 11 directors ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1930
Lieut. Robert Banks, an American aviator on leave in Paris, meets Mary Gordon, a young American who lives abroad, but their romance is cut short by hi ... view
Character:
Florence Welford
1930
Cooper is a Union Army officer who after being jilted by girlfriend, Virginia Bruce, volunteers on what could be a suicide mission. He volunteers to g ... view
Character:
Elizabeth
1930
Passing herself off as a countess, glamorous Lucy Stavrin hobnobs with the rich and famous along the French Riviera. Aware that Lucy is a phony, jewel ... view
Character:
Enid Corbett
1930
Mildred Harker loses custody of her child in a messy divorce settlement. Leaving her hometown in disgrace, Mildred heads to New York, where after a cr ... view
Character:
Doris
1929
Fay Wray plays a beautiful showgirl who falls for a rich Park Avenue guy played by Phillips Holmes. William Powell is a producer in love with Miss Wr ... view
Character:
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1929
The queen of mythical Sylvania marries a courtier, who finds his new life unsatisfying. ... view
Character:
Lady-in-Waiting
1929
The younger brother of a police captain is a wanted fugitive, so when the captain railroads his brother's former criminal partner, the partner's siste ... view
Character:
Nurse
Character:
Young Woman (uncredited)
1929
Mississippi, 1830's. Tom Rumsford comes back to Magnolia Landing, his parents'estate. Having been brought up in the North by Quaker relatives, he just ... view
Character:
Southern Belle
1929
Nightclub singer Alice Carroll is found in the office of club owner Al Barrow, who is lying dead on the floor. Alice has been overheard threatening to ... view
Character:
Extra (uncredited)