Virginia Anna Adeleid Weidler (March 21, 1927 – July 1, 1968) was an American

child actress The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage, television, or in movies. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated te ...

, popular in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

films during the 1930s and 1940s.

Early life and career

Weidler was born on March 21, 1927, in the Eagle Rock area of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, the youngest of six children born to German parents,

Alfred Weidler Alfred Wilhelm Carl Weidler (27 May 1886, Georgsmarienhütte, Georgsmarienhütte, Germany – 16 June 1966, Los Angeles) was an architect who, after moving from Germany to Los Angeles in 1923, went on to become a prolific Scenic design, model buil ...

, an architect, and Margaret Weidler (born Margarete Therese Louise Radon, 1890–1987), a former opera singer. She was the second Weidler child born in the United States after the family emigrated from Germany in 1923. She made her first film appearance in 1931. Her first credited role was as Europena in ''

Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch ''Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch'' is a 1901 novel by American author Alice Hegan Rice, about a southern family humorously coping with poverty. It was highly popular on its release,Lowell Hayes Harrison, ''A New History of Kentucky'' (1997), p ...

'' (1934), a role she won at age seven after having been seen in the play '' Autumn Crocus''. Virginia made a big impression on audiences as the little girl who would "hold my breath 'til I am black in the face" to get her way. For the next several years, she appeared in many memorable films from George Stevens's '' Laddie'' (1935) to a pivotal supporting role in '' Souls at Sea'' (1937) starring

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

and

George Raft George Raft (né Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is remembe ...

. Despite being under contract to

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. **Paramount Picture ...

, many of her roles of the period took place while on loan to RKO-Radio Pictures. When Paramount did not extend her contract, she was signed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

in 1938. Her first film for MGM was with its leading male star

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

in '' Love Is a Headache'' (1938). The film was a success and Weidler was later cast in larger roles. She was one of the all-female cast of the

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

film '' The Women'', as the daughter of

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated women. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O'Neill, ...

's character. Philadelphia Story 7

Her next major success was '' The Philadelphia Story'' (1940) in which she played Dinah Lord, the witty younger sister of Tracy Lord (

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

) and performed the song " Lydia the Tattooed Lady". Her film career ended with the

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

film '' Best Foot Forward''. At her retirement from the screen at age 16, she had appeared in more than 40 films, and had acted with some of the biggest stars of the day, including

Clark Gable William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...

and

Myrna Loy Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. As a performer, she was known for her ability to adapt to her screen partner's acting style. Born in Helena, Monta ...

in '' Too Hot to Handle'',

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

in ''

All This and Heaven Too ''All This, and Heaven Too'' is a 1940 American drama film released by Warner Bros.-First National Pictures, produced and directed by Anatole Litvak with Hal B. Wallis as executive producer. The screenplay was adapted by Casey Robinson from the ...

'', and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

in '' Babes on Broadway''.

Family

Virginia had three brothers and two sisters. Her brothers Warner (born Werner), Walter (born Wolfgang), and George were successful musicians after some child-acting work, eventually owning their own recording studio. George was married to singer-actress

Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, "Sentimental Journey ...

from 1946–1949 (his first marriage, her second). Her sisters, Sylvia (born Waltraud) and Renee (born Verena), also were involved in show business prior to their marriages. Her father turned his architectural skills into a career building miniature sets for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

Marriage

On March 27, 1947, aged 20, Weidler married Lionel Krisel. They had two sons. Krisel's U.S. Navy career began during WWII; he spent two years in Korea in the early 1950s, and--with his wife and children--was stationed for some time in Cuba in the late 1950s.

Death

After her retirement, Weidler gave no interviews for the remainder of her life. She was married to Krisel until her death at age 41 at her

home on July 1, 1968. She had suffered from a heart ailment for many years and died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

Legacy

While not the box-office draw of Fox's

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

Jane Withers Jane Withers (April 12, 1926 – August 7, 2021) was an American actress and children's radio show hostess. She became one of the most popular child stars in Hollywood in the 1930s and early 1940s, with her films ranking in the top ten list fo ...

, Weidler still has a loyal following to this day. In 2012, the Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society was created to honor her life and career. In late 2016, the Los Angeles City Council honored Weidler by proclaiming March 21, 2017, which would have been her 90th birthday, as A Celebration of Virginia Weidler.Carroll County Times, January 22, 2017. Accessed on February 17, 2017.

Partial filmography

Radio appearances

References

Bibliography

* Best, Marc. ''Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen''. South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971, pp. 260–264. * Parish, James Robert. ''Great Child Stars''. New York: Ace Books, 1976. * Willson, Dixie. ''Little Hollywood Stars''. Akron, OH, e New York: Saalfield Pub. Co., 1935.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Weidler, Virginia 1927 births 1968 deaths American child actresses American film actresses American people of German descent Actresses from Los Angeles Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players 20th-century American actresses