Virginia Verrill(1916-1999)
- Actress
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
The American vocalist and actress Virginia Verrill is remembered
chiefly for her singing "That Old Feeling" in the musical
Vogues of 1938 (1937). From a
musical family, Virginia entered the stage in her mother's vaudeville
act as a toddler. By the age of three, she performed with the orchestra
of Paul Whiteman, warbling "I
Never Knew I Could Love Anybody". As a seasoned fifteen-year old big
band vocalist, she won an audition (over 300 fellow applicants) for an
off-screen rendition of the title song in
Barbara Stanwyck's
Ten Cents a Dance (1931). From
then on, her strong contralto voice and precise phrasing guaranteed her
steady employment as a dubbing voice for Hollywood stars like
Jean Harlow (who could neither sing
nor dance) or Andrea Leeds. The
up-and-coming Leeds ended up replacing Virginia as the nominal lead in
The Goldwyn Follies (1938),
even though she had already completed recording the entire soundtrack
(including "Love Walked In", which later became one of her biggest hit
recordings). In the final analysis, Virginia's perceived facial
resemblance to established MGM star Myrna Loy
prevented her from attaining any form of stardom in her own right.
Hollywood's 'unsung heroine' continued to have more success performing in such radio sitcoms as "Uncle Walter's Doghouse" and in swank Broadway night clubs. She also recorded for some time with the orchestra of Isham Jones in the mid-1930's. In 1942, she left the entertainment industry altogether, married a doctor and concentrated on raising a family.
Hollywood's 'unsung heroine' continued to have more success performing in such radio sitcoms as "Uncle Walter's Doghouse" and in swank Broadway night clubs. She also recorded for some time with the orchestra of Isham Jones in the mid-1930's. In 1942, she left the entertainment industry altogether, married a doctor and concentrated on raising a family.
