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