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Virginia O'Brien‌

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1919-04-18

Popularity

star4.8

Virginia O'Brien

Los Angeles, California, USA

Virginia O'Brien

Los Angeles, California, USA

Gender

Female

Birthday

calendar1919-04-18

Popularity

star4.8

Biography

​Known to classic film fans by various nicknames--including Miss Deadpan, Frozen Face, and Miss Ice Glacier--this statuesque, dark-haired singer/actress carved a unique niche for herself on stage and screen by the hilarious Sphinx-like way she delivered a song. The daughter of the captain of detectives of the Los Angeles Police Department, Virginia Lee O'Brien became interested in music and dance at an early age (it didn't hurt her career chances that her uncle was noted film director Lloyd Bacon). Her big show-business break came in 1939 after she secured a singing role in the L.A. production of the musical/comedy "Meet the People". On opening night, when time came for her solo number, Virginia became so paralyzed with fright that she sang her song with a wide-eyed motionless stare that sent the audience (which thought her performance a gag) into convulsions. Demoralized, Virginia left the stage only to soon find out that she was a sensation. Signed by MGM in 1940, she deadpanned her way to acclaim and immense popularity with appearances in some of the studio's most memorable musicals including Thousands Cheer (1943), The Harvey Girls (1946), Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), Ziegfeld Follies (1945), Panama Hattie (1942), Ship Ahoy (1942), Meet the People (1944) and Du Barry Was a Lady (1943), performing inimitable renditions of such classic songs as "The Wild Wild West" (from The Harvey Girls), "A Fine Romance" (from Till the Clouds Roll By (1946)), "It's a Great Big World" (from The Harvey Girls (1946)), "Poor You" (from Ship Ahoy (1942)), and "Say We're Sweethearts Again" (from Meet the People (1944)). Although too often relegated to featured songs and small supporting roles, she still managed to become an audience favorite by the sheer force of her personality, polished vocals and way with a comic quip. The latter ability is especially apparent in one of her last MGM films, Merton of the Movies (1947), in which she co-starred with Red Skelton. In 1948, after 17 memorable screen appearances for MGM, the studio unceremoniously dropped her from its roster. She returned to films only twice more after her termination from MGM, in Universal's Francis in the Navy (1955) and Disney's Gus (1976), preferring to focus her energies on television and the stage, where she delighted audiences for three more decades. In the 1980s the still youthful beauty toured the country in a one-woman show and recorded a live album at the famed Masquers Club entitled, "A Salute to the Great MGM Musicals". One of her last significant stage appearances came in 1984 as Parthy Ann in the Long Beach Civic Light Opera's production of "Showboat", with Alan Young. She remained in semi-retirement in a large home in Wrightwood, California, for most of her later years until her death at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills, 16 January, 2001, from a heart attack.

Movie Credits

Du Barry was a Lady

Du Barry was a Lady‌
star6.1
calendar 1943

Thousands Cheer

Thousands Cheer‌
star6.4
calendar 1943

Ship Ahoy

Ship Ahoy‌
star5.9
calendar 1942

Francis in the Navy

Francis in the Navy‌
star5.5
calendar 1955

Till the Clouds Roll By

Till the Clouds Roll By‌
star5.6
calendar 1946

Meet the People

Meet the People‌
star5.0
calendar 1944

Panama Hattie

Panama Hattie‌
star4.0
calendar 1942

Merton of the Movies

Merton of the Movies‌
star6.8
calendar 1947

Ringside Maisie

Ringside Maisie‌
star7.0
calendar 1941

Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1

Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1‌
star0.0
calendar 1941

Two Girls and a Sailor

Two Girls and a Sailor‌
star5.7
calendar 1944

The Harvey Girls

The Harvey Girls‌
star6.4
calendar 1946

The Big Store

The Big Store‌
star6.3
calendar 1941

Gus

Gus‌
star6.0
calendar 1976

Lady Be Good

Lady Be Good‌
star5.4
calendar 1941

The Show-Off

The Show-Off‌
star7.0
calendar 1946

Hullabaloo

Hullabaloo‌
star4.0
calendar 1940

Sky Murder

Sky Murder‌
star6.3
calendar 1940

The Great Morgan

The Great Morgan‌
star5.5
calendar 1945

Ziegfeld Follies

Ziegfeld Follies‌
star6.1
calendar 1945

Musical Merry-Go-Round #4

Musical Merry-Go-Round #4‌
star1.0
calendar 1948

Tv Credits