Virginia Bruce
Known for: 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.
Filmography
Series
Matinee Theater
1955
Lux Video Theatre
Pauline Travis
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Mildred Pierce
1950
Lux Video Theatre
Jo Cathcart Archer
1950
Series
Letter to Loretta
Dee Norman
1953
Film
The Great Ziegfeld
Audrey Dane
1936
Film
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
Film
There's That Woman Again
Sally Reardon
1938
Series
General Electric Theater
Adele
1953
Film
The Invisible Woman
Kitty Carroll
1940
Film
Society Doctor
Madge
1935
Film
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
2003
Film
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Self (archive footage)
1987
Film
Careful, Soft Shoulders
Connie Mathers
1942
Film
Night Has a Thousand Eyes
Jenny
1948
Film
Born to Dance
Lucy James
1936
Film
Land of Liberty
(archive footage)
1939
Film
The Murder Man
Mary Shannon
1935
Film
Downstairs
Anna
1932
Film
Strangers When We Meet
Mrs. Wagner
1960
Film
The Love Parade
Lady-in-Waiting
1929
Film
Action in Arabia
Yvonne
1944
Film
Pardon My Sarong
Joan Marshall
1942
Film
The Bad Man of Brimstone
Loretta Douglas
1937
Film
Pointed Heels
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1929
Film
Paramount on Parade
Chorus Girl (uncredited)
1930
Film
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Self
1940
Film
Times Square Lady
Toni Bradley
1935
Film
The Plague
Nurse
1954
Film
The River of Romance
Southern Belle
1929
Film
Jane Eyre
Jane Eyre
1934
Film
The Man Who Talked Too Much
Joan Reed
1940
Film
There Goes My Heart
Joan Butterfield
1938
Film
Hollywood Goes to Town
Self
1938
Film
Stronger Than Desire
Elizabeth Flagg
1939
Film
Let Freedom Ring
Maggie Adams
1939
Film
Love, Honor and Goodbye
Roberta Baxter
1945
Film
A Dream Comes True
Herself (uncredited)
1935
Film
Whoopee!
Goldwyn Girl (uncredited)
1930
Film
Follow Thru
Woman in Ladies' Locker Room (uncredited)
1930
Film
Women of Glamour
Gloria Hudson
1937
Film
Sky Bride
Ruth Dunning
1932
Film
Brazil
Nicky Henderson
1944
Film
Lilies of the Field
Doris
1930
Film
Butch Minds the Baby
Susie O'Neill
1942
Film
Arsène Lupin Returns
Lorraine de Grissac
1938
Film
Hollywood Hobbies
Self (uncredited)
1939
Film
Between Two Women
Patricia Sloan
1937
Film
Hired Wife
Phyllis Walden
1940
Film
Pirate Party on Catalina Isle
Virginia Bruce (uncredited)
1935
Film
Yellow Jack
Frances Blake
1938
Film
The First Hundred Years
Lynn Conway
1938
Film
Wife, Doctor and Nurse
Nurse Stephens
1937
Film
The Garden Murder Case
Zalia Graem
1936
Film
The Miracle Man
Margaret Thornton
1932
Film
Safety in Numbers
Alma McGregor
1930
Film
The Mighty Barnum
Jenny Lind
1934
Film
Winner Take All
Joan Gibson
1932
Film
Society Lawyer
Pat Abbott
1939
Film
State Department: File 649
Marge
1949
Film
Dangerous Corner
Ann Beale
1934
Film
Flight Angels
Mary Norvell
1940
Film
Shadow of Doubt
Trenna
1935
Film
Here Comes the Band
Margaret
1935
Film
Let 'em Have It
Eleanor Spencer
1935
Film
Metropolitan
Anne Merrill
1935
Film
Young Eagles
Florence Welford
1930
Film
Slightly Scarlet
Enid Corbett
1930
Film
Adventure in Washington
Jane Scott
1941
Film
When Love Is Young
Wanda Werner
1937
Film
Woman Against Woman
Maris Kent
1938
Film
Kongo
Ann
1932
Film
The Reluctant Bride
Laura Weeks
1955
Film
Raffles
Gwen's Friend (uncredited)
1930
Film
Let's Go Native
Wendell Sr.'s Secretary (uncredited)
1930
Film
Woman Trap
Nurse
1929
Film
The Social Lion
Society Girl
1930
Film
Fugitives
Extra (uncredited)
1929
Film
Escapade
Gerta
1935
Film
Only the Brave
Elizabeth
1930
Film
Hard to Get
Young Woman (uncredited)
1929