(Virginia Clara Jones, born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 192...)
Virginia Clara Jones, born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1920, never wanted to play the usual childhood games with her chums; she only wanted to "play show." And indeed as a child, she did appear in many shows in and around St. Louis. As Virginia grew into her teen years, she began to dream of dancing and singing at the "Muny Opera" in St. Louis, and eventually she achieved that. From there, the beautiful teenager joined a Vaudeville troupe in a very successful act called "Pansy the Horse," and it was then that Virginia Jones became Virginia Mayo. Virginia went from the Muny, to Vaudeville, to films and the stage, but it was in films where the world saw and learned to love her the most. Equally talented in all acting genres, Virginia's musicals are her most memorable and were the ones she loved, and loved to perform in, above all others. Her talent and beauty were so dazzling, the Sultan of Morocco was prompted to send a letter to the studio heads of Warner Brothers saying "Virginia Mayo is tangible proof of the existence of God." "I just put my head down and did the work. All I ever wanted in my life was to do the work." This became her show business credo. Virginia Mayo "played show," did the work and did it well. Numerous photos.
Virginia Mayo was an American actress and dancer. She was known for her dramatic portrayals of an unfaithful wife of a World War II veteran in the film "The Best Years of Our Lives" and of James Cagney’s gun-moll wife in the film "White Heat".
Background
Mayo was born on November 30, 1920 in Saint Louis, Missouri, United States; the daughter of Luke Jones and Martha Henrietta (Rautenstrauch) Jones. Her great-great-great grandfather Captain James Piggott founded East St. Louis, Illinois in 1797.
Mayo began her career as an actress and dancer at the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre in 1937 and in an act with six other girls at the Hotel Jefferson. Then she appeared in her brother-in-law`s vaudeville dance and comedy "Morton and Mayo". She toured the American vaudeville circuit for three years, serving as ringmaster and comedic foil for "Pansy the Horse", as Mayo and his partner, Nonnie Morton, performed in a horse suit. In addition, Virginia had a role on Broadway in the musical "Banjo Eyes", 1941.
She made her debut in the bio-drama "Jack London", 1943. Her first starring role came in 1944 opposite comedian Bob Hope in "The Princess and the Pirate". Also Mayo starred with dancer-actor Danny Kaye in such films as "Wonder Man", 1945, "The Kid from Brooklyn", 1946 and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", 1947. She was disturbingly convincing as Dana Andrews' faithless wife in the film "The Best Years of Our Lives", 1946 and as James Cagney's sluttish gun moll in "White Heat", 1949. In 1949, Virginia appeared in films, including, "Flaxy Martin", "Colorado Territory", "The Girl from Jones Beach", in which she co-starred with future United States President Ronald Reagan, "Always Leave Them Laughing", "White Heat" and "Red Light".
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Mayo was one of the most popular female stars at Warner Bros., appearing in musicals, melodramas and westerns. She starred in "The Flame and the Arrow", 1950, "Starlift", 1951, "Painting the Clouds with Sunshine", 1951, "The West Point Story", 1950, "Captain Horatio Hornblower", 1951, "South Sea Woman", 1953, "The Story of Mankind", 1957 and others.
Mayo's film career had tapered off considerably by the 1960s, but she continued to appear in films throughout the next several decades, with one of her last prominent roles being in "Fort Utah", 1967 with John Ireland. She made a cameo appearance in the film "Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood", 1976. Her final film appearance was in the film "The Man Next Door", 1997.
Later, Mayo appeared in stage and musical theater productions, often with her husband, Michael O'Shea. Virginia was also famous in the 1970s and 1980s as a television guest star in the hit shows "The Love Boat", "Remington Steele", "Murder, She Wrote" and a dozen episodes of the soap opera "Santa Barbara".