Virginia Cherrill (April 12, 1908 – November 14, 1996) was an American actress best known for her role as the blind flower girl in

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is conside ...

's ''

City Lights ''City Lights'' is a 1931 American silent romantic comedy film written, produced, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. The story follows the misadventures of Chaplin's Tramp as he falls in love with a blind girl (Virginia Cherrill) and ...

'' (1931).

Early life

Virginia Cherrill was born on a farm in rural Carthage, Illinois to James E. and Blanche (née Wilcox) Cherrill.Louvish, Simon
"Bright Spark on the Silver Screen."
''The Guardian,'' May 9, 2009. Retrieved: December 17, 2011. She attended schools in Chicago and Kenosha, Wisconsin. She initially did not plan on a film career, but her friendship with

Sue Carol Sue Carol (born Evelyn Jean Lederer, October 30, 1906 – February 4, 1982) was an American actress and talent agent. Carol's film career lasted from the late 1920s into the 1930s; when it ended, she became a talent agent. The last of her f ...

(who later married

Alan Ladd Alan Walbridge Ladd (September 3, 1913 – January 29, 1964) was an American actor and film producer. Ladd found success in film in the 1940s and early 1950s, particularly in films noir and Westerns. He was often paired with Veronica Lake ...

) eventually drew her to Hollywood. She had been voted "Queen of the Artists Ball" in Chicago in 1925 and was invited to perform on the variety stage by

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

, an offer she declined. She found her first marriage unsatisfying, and through her friendship with Sue Carol, decamped to California where she met

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

, went to Hollywood for a visit and met

when he sat next to her at a boxing match; however, Chaplin wrote in his autobiography that she approached him on the beach wanting him to cast her in his film while acknowledging that he had met her before.

Career

Chaplin soon cast Cherrill in ''City Lights''. Although the film and her performance were well-received, her working relationship with Chaplin on the film was often strained. As indicated in the documentary ''

Unknown Chaplin ''Unknown Chaplin'' is a three-part 1983 British documentary series about the career and methods of the silent film luminary Charlie Chaplin, using previously unseen film for illustration. The series consist of three episodes, with title ''My H ...

'', Cherrill was fired from the film for leaving the set for a hairdressing appointment at one point and Chaplin planned to re-film all her scenes with

Georgia Hale Georgia Theodora Hale (June 25, 1900 — June 17, 1985) was an actress of the silent movie era. Career Hale was Miss Chicago 1922 and competed in the Miss America Pageant. She began acting in the early 1920s, and achieved one of her most not ...

, but ultimately realized too much money had already been spent on the film. Cherrill recalls in the documentary that she followed close friend

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

's advice to hold out for more money when Chaplin asked her to return to the film. Even before ''City Lights'' was released, 20th Century Fox signed Cherrill to a contract. Following the success of ''City Lights'', the studio put her to work in early sound films of the 1930s, such as '' Girls Demand Excitement'' (1931), one of

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

's early films as a star. Big-name directors cast her in their films, such as

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

in '' The Brat'' (1931) and

Tod Browning Tod Browning (born Charles Albert Browning Jr.; July 12, 1880 – October 6, 1962) was an American film director, film actor, screenwriter, vaudeville performer, and carnival sideshow and circus entertainer. He directed a number of films of vari ...

in '' Fast Workers'' (1933). She also appeared in the 1931 Gershwin musical '' Delicious'' with

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American film, stage, and television actress. Gaynor began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (late ...

. She then went to Britain where she starred in two of James Mason's earlier films, including '' Troubled Waters,'' which turned out to be her last film. None of these later films were hits, and she gave up her film career, claiming that she was "no great shakes as an actress."Pace, Eric
"Virginia Cherrill, 88, Actress in 30's Films, Including 'City Lights'."
''The New York Times,'' November 18, 1996. Retrieved: June 16, 2012.

Personal life

Cherrill married four times. She had no children. Her first husband, Irving Adler, was a rich Chicago lawyer (not the famed scientist

Irving Adler Irving Adler (April 27, 1913 – September 22, 2012) was an American author, mathematician, scientist, political activist, and educator. He was the author of 57 books (some under the pen name Robert Irving) about mathematics, science, and ...

). They were married in 1925 and divorced in 1928. Considerable publicity attended an engagement to the wealthy William Rhinelander Stewart Jr. (1888-1945) that was announced in July 1932. The two sailed from Hawaii on Vincent Astor's yacht, on which the ceremony was planned, but returned thereafter, having broken off the wedding by mutual consent. Cherrill married actor

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one of ...

on February 9, 1934, in London. She received a divorce on March 26, 1935, in Los Angeles after alleging that Grant was abusive toward her. Her third husband was George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey, from 1937 to 1946. She changed her legal name to Virginia Child-Villiers, countess of Jersey. Cherrill finally settled down with Florian Martini, a Polish airman whose squadron she had looked after during World War II. He found a job working for

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

in Santa Barbara, California, where they lived from 1948 until her death in 1996 at age 88.

Recognition

Cherrill has a star on the

Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a historic landmark which consists of more than 2,700 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, Calif ...

at 1545 Vine Street."Virginia Cherrill: Hollywood Star Walk."
''Los Angeles Times.'' Retrieved: December 17, 2011.

Filmography

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Eagan, Daniel. ''America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide To The Landmark Movies In The National Film Registry.'' London: Continuum Publishing Group, 2010. . * Seymour, Miranda. ''Chaplin's Girl: The Life and Loves of Virginia Cherrill''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. .

External links

* *
Virginia Cherrill
at Virtual History {{DEFAULTSORT:Cherrill, Virginia 20th-century American actresses American film actresses

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

Actresses from Illinois Actresses from Santa Barbara, California People from Carthage, Illinois 1908 births 1996 deaths Burials at Santa Barbara Cemetery 20th-century English nobility