Virginia Mayo

Virginia Mayo (November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American film actress.

Born Virginia Clara Jones in St. Louis, Missouri. Tutored by a series of dancing instructors engaged by her aunt, she appeared in the St. Louis Municipal Opera chorus and then appeared with six other girls at an act at the Jefferson Hotel. There she was recruited by vaudeville performer Andy Mayo to appear in his act (as ringmaster for two men in a horse suit), taking his surname as as her stage name. She appeared in vaudeville for three years in the act, appearing with Eddie Cantor on Broadway in 1941's Banjo Eyes.

In 1949's White Heat she took on the role of "Verna Jarrett," opposite James Cagney. Mayo later claimed in interviews that she was occasionally genuinely frightened by Cagney during the filming of the picture, because Cagney's acting was so realistic and natural.

White Heat (1949)

Filmography
The Man Next Door (1997) .... Lucia
Midnight Witness (1993) .... Kitty... aka Maximum Force 2 (video title)
Evil Spirits (1990) .... Janet Wilson
"Murder, She Wrote" .... Elinor (1 episode, 1984)
- Hooray for Homicide (1984) TV Episode .... Elinor
"Santa Barbara" .... Peaches DeLight (11 episodes, 1984)
- Episode #1.33 (1984) TV Episode .... Peaches DeLight
- Episode #1.30 (1984) TV Episode .... Peaches DeLight
- Episode #1.24 (1984) TV Episode .... Peaches DeLight
- Episode #1.23 (1984) TV Episode .... Peaches DeLight
- Episode #1.22 (1984) TV Episode .... Peaches DeLight
(6 more)
The Haunted (1979) .... Michelle... aka Haunted (USA: video title) ... aka The Glass Cage
"Lanigan's Rabbi" (1 episode, 1977)
- The Cadaver in the Clutter (1977) TV Episode
French Quarter (1977) .... Countess Willie Piazza/Ida
Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) .... Miss Batley... aka Won Ton Ton (USA: poster title)
"Police Story" .... Angie (1 episode, 1975)
- Face for a Shadow (1975) TV Episode .... Angie
Fugitive Lovers (1975) .... Liz Trent... aka The Runaways
"Night Gallery" .... Carrie Crane (1 episode, 1971)... aka Rod Serling's Night Gallery (USA)
- The Diary (1971) TV Episode .... Carrie Crane
"The Outsider" .... Jean Daniels (1 episode, 1969)
- Behind Gods Back (1969) TV Episode .... Jean Daniels
Fort Utah (1967) .... Linda Lee
"Daktari" .... Vera Potter (1 episode, 1967)
- Judy and the Gorilla (1967) TV Episode .... Vera Potter
Castle of Evil (1966) .... Mary Theresa 'Sable' Pulaski
"Burke's Law" .... Dr. Terry Foster (1 episode, 1965)... aka Amos Burke, Secret Agent (USA: new title)
- Who Killed the Man on the White Horse? (1965) TV Episode .... Dr. Terry Foster
Young Fury (1965) .... Sara McCoy
Rivolta dei mercenari, La (1961) .... Lady Patrizia, Duchessa di Rivalta... aka Mercenarios, Los (Spain) ... aka Revolt of the Mercenaries (USA)
McGarry and His Mouse (1960) (TV) .... Kitty McGarry
Jet Over the Atlantic (1959) .... Jean Gurney
"Lux Playhouse" .... Gloria Crawford (1 episode, 1959)
- Deathtrap (1959) TV Episode .... Gloria Crawford
Westbound (1959) .... Norma Putnam
"Letter to Loretta" .... Myrna Nelson (1 episode, 1958)... aka The Loretta Young Show (USA: new title) ... aka The Loretta Young Theatre (USA: rerun title)
- Operation Snowball (1958) TV Episode .... Myrna Nelson
"Wagon Train" .... Beauty Jamison (1 episode, 1958)... aka Major Adams, Trail Master
- The Beauty Jamison Story (1958) TV Episode .... Beauty Jamison
Fort Dobbs (1958) .... Celia Gray
The Tall Stranger (1957) .... Ellen
... aka Walk Tall (USA: alternative title)
The Story of Mankind (1957) .... Cleopatra
"Conflict" (1 episode, 1957)
- Execution Night (1957) TV Episode
The Big Land (1957) .... Helen Jagger... aka Stampeded (UK)
Congo Crossing (1956) .... Louise Whitman
The Proud Ones (1956) .... Sally, Cass' Woman/Hotel Owner
Great Day in the Morning (1956) .... Ann Merry Alaine
Pearl of the South Pacific (1955) .... Rita Delaine
The Silver Chalice (1954) .... Helena
King Richard and the Crusaders (1954) .... Lady Edith Plantagenet
Devil's Canyon (1953) .... Abby Nixon
South Sea Woman (1953) .... Ginger Martin
She's Back on Broadway (1953) .... Catherine Terris
The Iron Mistress (1952) .... Judalon de Bornay
She's Working Her Way Through College (1952) .... Angela Gardner/'Hot Garters Gertie'
Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951) .... Carol
Along the Great Divide (1951) .... Ann Keith... aka The Travelers (USA)
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951) .... Lady Barbara Wellesley... aka Captain Horatio Hornblower (USA)
The West Point Story (1950) .... Eve Dillon... aka Fine and Dandy (UK)
The Flame and the Arrow (1950) .... Anne de Hesse
Backfire (1950) .... Julie Benson
Always Leave Them Laughing (1949) .... Nancy Egan
Red Light (1949) .... Carla North
White Heat (1949) .... Verna Jarrett
The Girl from Jones Beach (1949) .... Ruth Wilson
Colorado Territory (1949) .... Colorado Carson... aka North of the Rio Grande (USA: alternative title)
Flaxy Martin (1949) .... Flaxy Martin
A Song Is Born (1948) .... Honey Swanson
Smart Girls Don't Talk (1948) .... Linda Vickers
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) .... Rosalind van Hoorn
Out of the Blue (1947) .... Deborah Tyler
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) .... Marie Derry... aka Samuel Goldwyn's The Best Years of Our Lives (USA: poster title)
The Kid from Brooklyn (1946) .... Polly Pringle
Wonder Man (1945) .... Ellen Shanley
The Princess and the Pirate (1944) .... Princess Margaret
Seven Days Ashore (1944) .... Carol Dean
Up in Arms (1944) (uncredited) .... Nurse Joanna
Jack London (1943) .... Mamie
Follies Girl (1943) (uncredited) .... Extra
Gals and Gallons (1939)