Virginia Field (born Margaret St. John Field (sometimes mis-transcribed Margaret Cynthia Field);[1] 4 November 1917[citation needed] – 2 January 1992) was a British-born film actress.[2]
She was educated in Paris, Vienna, and the South of France,[3] and then returned to England, where she studied for the stage. In Vienna, she acted for Max Reinhardt, and on returning to Britain, she was given her first film role whilst in her teens in The Lady is Willing, followed by a Hollywood contract.[citation needed]
Film
Field went to the US to appear in David O. Selznick's Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936). In the late 1930s, she appeared in various parts in 20th Century Fox's Mr. Moto film series. Field played Kitty, a ballerina with Vivien Leigh in the 1940 film, Waterloo Bridge. In 1941, Field played Nell Gwyn in Hudson's Bay. Vincent Price was cast as King Charles II, and he wrote about the experience in his book The Book of Joe. "...I came up against my first animals, a whole litter of King Charles spaniels... But my competition was not the spaniels, who were indeed adorable, but the enormous bosoms of the young lady who played Nell Gwyn. They were of such robust and luscious proportions and her dress so low cut that in our big scene, in which we fondled the puppies on a great bed, she leaned over them so far that the censors cut the scene out of the picture."[8]
Television
During the Perry Mason series on CBS from 1957–1966, Field made six guest appearances. She played Irene Collaro in the 1958 episode "The Case of the Prodigal Parent". In both the 1960 episode, "The Case of the Provocative Protege", and the 1962 episode, "The Case of the Polka Dot Pony", she played the murderess. In the 1964 episode, "The Case of the Simple Simon", Field played the role of Mason's client and defendant Ramona Carver. She also appeared as Lotta Langley in an episode of the ABC series The Rebel, starring Nick Adams.
Field was a regular participant on Pantomime Quiz,[9]: 808 and had the role of Josephine Dunning in the pilot for Meet the Girls, a comedy aired on CBS in August 1960.[9]
Recognition
Field has a star at 1751 Vine Street, Los Angeles on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, dedicated 8 February 1960.[10]
Marriages
Field married three times. Her spouses included actors Paul Douglas and Willard Parker. Douglas and she had a daughter, Margaret Field Douglas.[11] In 1947, she married Howard Grode, a composer and musician.[12]
Death
Field died of cancer on 2 January 1992.[13] She was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.[14]
^Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (Fifth ed.). Jefferson and London: McFarland and Company. 2010. p. 175-6. ISBN978-0-7864-4373-4.
^"Actress' Father Dies". Albuquerque Journal. New Mexico, Albuquerque. Associated Press. 12 December 1949. p. 9. Retrieved 10 May 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
