Virginia Cherrill (April 12, 1908 – November 14, 1996), styled as Virginia Child Villiers, Countess of Jersey between 1937 and 1946, was an American actress best known to modern audiences for her role as the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin's City Lights (1931).
Early life Virginia Cherrill was born on a farm in rural Carthage, Illinois, to James E. and Blanche (née Wilcox) Cherrill.Louvish, Simon. "Bright Spark on the Silver Screen." The Guardian, May 9, 2009. Retrieved: December 17, 2011. She attended schools in Chicago and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
She initially did not plan on a film career, but her friendship with Sue Carol (who later married Alan Ladd) eventually drew her to Hollywood. She had been voted "Queen of the Artists Ball" in Chicago in 1925 and was invited to perform on the variety stage by Florenz Ziegfeld, an offer she declined. She found her first marriage unsatisfying, and through her friendship with Sue Carol, decamped to California where she met William Randolph Hearst, went to Hollywood for a visit and met Charlie Chaplin when he sat next to her at a boxing match;Nicholson, Juliet.Review: "Review: Chaplin's Girl: The Life and Loves of Virginia Cherrill by Miranda Seymour." The London Evening Standard, May 20, 2009. Retrieved: December 17, 2011. however, Chaplin wrote in his autobiography that she approached him on the beach wanting him to cast her in his film while acknowledging that he had met her before.
Career
Chaplin soon cast Cherrill in City Lights. Although the film and her performance were well-received, her working relationship with Chaplin on the film was often strained. As indicated in the documentary Unknown Chaplin, Cherrill was briefly fired from the film: by her account, for returning late from lunch; by Alastair Cooke's account (quoting Chaplin) for asking, on the day of the emotional climactic shoot, to leave early for a hairdressing appointment.https://archive.org/details/UnknownChaplinEp2 Chaplin planned to re-film all her scenes with Georgia Hale, but ultimately realized too much money had already been spent on the film. Cherrill recalls in the documentary that she followed close friend Marion Davies's advice to hold out for more money when Chaplin asked her to return to the film.
Even before City Lights was released, 20th Century Fox signed Cherrill to a contract. Following the success of City Lights, the studio put her to work in early sound films of the 1930s, such as Girls Demand Excitement (1931), one of John Wayne's early films as a star. Big-name directors cast her in their films, such as John Ford in The Brat (1931) and Tod Browning in Fast Workers (1933). She also appeared in the 1931 Gershwin musical Delicious with Janet Gaynor. She then went to Britain where she starred in two of James Mason's earlier films, including Troubled Waters, which turned out to be her last film. None of these later films were hits, and she gave up her film career, claiming that she was "no great shakes as an actress."
Personal life Cherrill married four times. She had no children.
Her first husband, Irving Adler, was a rich Chicago lawyer (not the famed scientist Irving Adler). They were married in 1925 and divorced in 1928."Arnstein & Lehr, The First 120 Years", (Louis A. Lehr, Jr.)(Amazon), p. 22
Considerable publicity attended an engagement to the wealthy William Rhinelander Stewart Jr. (1888–1945) that was announced in July 1932."How the Hollywood Cinderella Won the Blue Book's 'Most Eligible' Man." Olean (NY) Times-Herald, 18 July 1932. The two sailed from Hawaii on Vincent Astor's yacht, on which the ceremony was planned, but returned thereafter, having broken off the wedding by mutual consent.Johnson, Irving. "Virginia Seceding from Jersey." Albany Times-Union, 2 December 1945.
Cherrill married actor Cary Grant on February 9, 1934, in London. She received a divorce on March 26, 1935, in Los Angeles after alleging that Grant was abusive toward her.
She married George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey in 1937, becoming the Countess of Jersey until their divorce in 1946.
At the time of her death, she and Polish flying ace Florian Kazimierz Martini had been married for 48 years. Cherrill died at a hospital at 88.
Recognition Cherrill has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1545 Vine Street."Virginia Cherrill: Hollywood Star Walk." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved: December 17, 2011.
Filmography Year Title Role Note1928 The Air Circus Extra uncredited1931 City Lights Blind Girl Girls Demand Excitement Joan Madison The Brat Angela Delicious Diana Van Bergh 1933 Fast Workers Virginia The Nuisance Miss Rutherford He Couldn't Take It Eleanor Rogers Charlie Chan's Greatest Case Barbara Winterslip Lost film Ladies Must Love Bill's Society Fiancée 1934 Cane Fire / White Heat Lucille Cheney Lost film Money Mad Linda 1935 What Price Crime Sandra Worthington Late Extra Janet Graham 1936 Troubled Waters June Elkhardt 1983 Unknown Chaplin Herself TV mini-series/documentary, 1 episode
References Notes
Bibliography
Eagan, Daniel. America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide To The Landmark Movies In The National Film Registry. London: Continuum Publishing Group, 2010. . Seymour, Miranda. Chaplin's Girl: The Life and Loves of Virginia Cherrill. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009. .
External links
Virginia Cherrill at Virtual History