Virginia Oglesby Zanuck ( Fox; April 19, 1899 or 1902 or 1903 or 1906 – October 14, 1982) was an American actress who starred in many

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

s of the 1910s and 1920s.

Life and career

Fox was born as Virginia Oglesby Fox in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

(though her grave erroneously lists Charleston, West Virginia, as her place of birth), the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née Oglesby) and Frederick Fox. While on vacation from boarding school, Fox traveled to visit a friend in Los Angeles. The two made a casual stop by the studio of

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

, where she was hired on the spot and made a bathing beauty in the studio's films. She went on to star as leading lady in many of the early films of Buster Keaton, including 1920's highly regarded ''Neighbors''. On January 12, 1924, she married film producer

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...

, with whom she had three children, Darrylin, Susan Marie, and Richard Darryl. Fox retired from acting but was known as a behind-the-scenes influence on her husband's business decisions. The couple separated in 1956 over the studio mogul's affairs with other women, although they never legally divorced. According to Zanuck biographers, she cared for him at their home from the time he became mentally incapacitated in the early 1970s until his death in 1979. Despite some Internet accounts to the contrary, Virginia Fox was not related to William Fox, whose name is preserved in the 20th Century Fox film studio, which Darryl Zanuck created and led for decades. William Fox founded Fox Studios but had lost control of it by the time Zanuck acquired it and merged it into his own empire.

Death

On October 14, 1982, Fox died of a lung infection complicated by emphysema at her home in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...

after having been sick for about a year. She was buried near Darryl Zanuck at the

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park & Mortuary is a cemetery and mortuary located in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood, with an entrance from Glendon Avenue. The cemetery was ...

Westwood, Los Angeles Westwood is a commercial and residential neighborhood in the northern central portion of the Westside region of Los Angeles, California. It is the home of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Bordering the campus on the south ...

Filmography

References

External links

* Year of birth uncertain 1982 deaths American film actresses Actresses from West Virginia American silent film actresses Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Deaths from emphysema Deaths from thrombosis Actors from Wheeling, West Virginia 20th-century American actresses Age controversies {{US-film-actor-stub