#Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society

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We are so excited that the Carroll County Times of Westminster MD chose to write up Virginia, the Society, and her 90th birthday celebration.

Thank you!

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Sad news, shared on the Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society FB page -- Donald’s friend and frequent costar Gloria Jean passed away this weekend.

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New Post has been published on Cinephiled

New Post has been published on http://www.cinephiled.com/city-los-angeles-proclaims-celebration-virginia-weidler/

City of Los Angeles Proclaims ‘A Celebration of Virginia Weidler’

When screen legend John Barrymore declares a 12-year-old girl he worked with as “Hollywood’s greatest actress,” you can’t help but take notice. Born 90 years ago today, classic movie fans remember Virginia Weidler as Dinah Lord, Katharine Hepburn’s precocious sister in MGM’s The Philadelphia Story. She was the girl who played “Lydia the Tattooed Lady” for a bewildered Jimmy Stewart and Ruth Hussey and who did everything she could to sabotage Hepburn’s impending nuptials to George Kittredge. Young Weidler was brilliant in the film, and that performance, along with her role as Little Mary, Norma Shearer’s daughter in MGM’s all-star, all-female The Women, is what she is most known for today. Many people are not familiar with her remarkable career before these two films. Virginia Weidler made over 40 films in her relatively short career and had very successful stints at Paramount, RKO, and other studios. She was still a teenager when she made her final film in 1943. She continued to appear on the stage for several years and in 1947 married naval officer Lionel Krisel and raised two boys, Ron and Gary, before she died in 1968.

For several years, I’ve been involved with an online group to honor the work of the brilliant child star. Founded by Baltimore-based Pete White, The Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society has researched every aspect of Weidler’s career, her films, and her contemporaries, and in 2014 successfully lobbied Turner Classic Movies several for a six-film tribute called “Starring Virginia Weidler.” This year, to mark the 90th anniversary of Weidler’s birth, White contacted the Los Angeles City Council (including councilperson José Huizar who represents Weidler’s Eagle Rock birthplace) to honor the hometown girl. They agreed about Weidler’s contributions, and issued a beautiful proclamation signed by every member of the City Council that details Virginia’s achievements and concludes with the following:

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that by the adoption of this resolution, the City Council of Los Angeles recognizes VIRGINIA WEIDLER for her career accomplishments as well as her contributions to her country, her city, and to all who knew her and that March 21, 2017 is a celebration of Virginia Weidler.

I had the great pleasure of presenting this proclamation to Virginia Weidler’s granddaughter, Lindsay Rock Krisel. “All of us in the family are absolutely thrilled that Ginny’s work is still remembered and celebrated,” Lindsay said upon receiving the resolution. “She was born into a creative, expressive, weird, wonderful family who came to Los Angeles in the 1920s, drawn to America partly because of their reverence for Walt Whitman. She was an incredibly devoted mother — my dad says it was like growing up in a musical.  I never got to meet her, and it’s an odd thing that when asked to imagine my grandmother, I usually picture her as a child. But even in her most famously precocious moments on film, she always maintained an honesty about childhood — a curious, mischievous, authentic energy.  It is a privilege to be in her family, and a privilege to live in a place that cherishes its memories, and the accomplishments of its young citizens.”

As Lindsay said, Ginny (as she was known by her family and friends), was born into a showbiz family of immigrants in Eagle Rock, California, on March 21, 1927. Her parents, former opera singer Margaret Weidler and architect Alfred Weidler, had children: Sylvia, Renee, Warner, Walter, George, and Virginia. While the three Weidler boys appeared in several films together, including Shirley Temple’s Dimples, and had long careers as successful musicians, it soon became clear that Virginia was the standout actress in the family.

Weidler’s first credited role in the movies was as Europena Wiggs in Norman Taurog’s Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (1934) starring Pauline Lord, W.C. Fields, Zasu Pitts. Ginny went over big and, with Paramount looking to get in on the boom started by Shirley Temple at 20th Century Fox, several more projects were planned for the young girl. She was also loaned out to RKO and other studios and quickly gained a reputation for being one of the most reliable and skilled actresses around who could hold her own with all of the great stars of the day.

Weidler consistently received raves for her acting. She was a sensation as Little Sister in her next film, George Stevens’ poignant Laddie (1935) with John Beal and Gloria Stuart, and made many other films, some of them true starring vehicles. Virginia’s movies during the 1930s included Freckles (1935), Girl of the Ozarks (1936), The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1937), Love Is a Headache (1938), and Bad Little Angel (1939). She worked with many of the top stars in Hollywood and received praise from all quarters. In 1939, Ginny co-starred with John Barrymore in Garson Kanin’s The Great Man Votes in 1939. That’s when Barrymore, impressed by Weidler’s incredible talent at such a young age, first gave her that nickname, a claim he repeated the following year when he visited his friend and former co-star Katharine Hepburn on the set of The Philadelphia Story. “I’m thrilled to be seeing Hollywood’s greatest actress in action again,” Barrymore told Hepburn after watching the cast shoot a pivotal scene. “Oh, thank you, John,” Hepburn replied. “No, Kate, I was talking about Virginia Weidler!” Hepburn laughed, and didn’t take offense. She knew they were lucky to have Virginia in the film.

Weidler’s films continued into the early 1940s. In addition to her important role in The Philadelphia Story and her appearance in The Women, Virginia played one of Charles Boyer’s daughters in All This, and Heaven Too (1940) with Bette Davis; sang and danced alongside Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland in the Busby Berkeley musical Babes on Broadway (1941), and starred in the Technicolor extravaganza Best Foot Forward (1943) and The Youngest Profession (1943) which turned out to be her last two films.

I had the pleasure of talking to the late Robert Osborne about Weidler on several occasions. He was a huge fan of her work and told me how his mentor in Hollywood, Lucille Ball, loved Virginia (they worked together on Best Foot Forward). When I got the chance to talk to Jane Withers at the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, she became teary-eyed when discussing her old friend. Pete White has also spoken to some of Ginny’s friends and colleagues and was impressed by what they had to say about her. “Not one person has ever said a single unkind thing about Virginia Weidler. Even those she only touched professionally all remark on her kindness, helpfulness, and professionalism. Tommy Dix (Weidler’s love interest in Best Foot Forward) brought me to tears last year with the things he had to say about her and he only knew her during the making of that film over 70 years ago! Former actor and M*A*S*H producer Gene Reynolds knew her for many years and felt the same tender way toward her. All of these people whose lives were touched by Virginia seem to agree with what actress actress Jean Porter wrote years ago — that Virginia was the nicest person they ever met.”

Although there are very few public photos of Virginia Weidler once she left the movie industry, her granddaughter shared this priceless photo taken of Virginia during the time she and her husband were living in Cuba in the 1950s when they would often visit the home of Ernest Hemingway. That’s Ginny and her husband, Lionel Krisel, looking at the camera, Ernest and Mary Hemingway looking at Ginny, and a couple who won a trip to visit the legendary author in a game show with the final answer “Ernest Hemingway.” Lindsay also shared that when the Duke of Windsor would visit the Hemingways he would specifically seek out Ginny as a dance partner!

While some of Weidler’s bigger films are screened regularly on TCM, click here for a very special birthday treat — you will find links to several early films of Ginny’s that are hard to find. You’ll also find the full text of her friend Jean Porter’s poignant and heartfelt tribute to the actress. Finally, check out the great clip below from The Philadelphia Story that is one of my favorite scenes ever in which Dinah Lord, in cahoots with her sister Tracy (Katharine Hepburn), puts on quite a show for a reporter (James Stewart) and photographer (Ruth Hussey) who are trying to crash Tracy’s wedding.

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TODAY IN GINNY! reveal for 11/12

Miranda here. You know me from...well, you know.

It is time for the BIG! TIG! REVEAL! Today we congratulate the John Hyland Army for correctly guessing yesterday's TIG!er.  

* I was in two films with Virginia Weidler. I was Major Lieber in AFTER TONIGHT (1933) and Elder Goode in MAID OF SALEM (1937). Virginia was Nabby in that one.

* I am best remembered for a film I made starring two other TIG!ers (actors who worked with Virginia). The TIG!ers were William Powell (THE YOUNGEST PROFESSION) and Myrna Loy (STAMBOUL QUEST and TOO HOT TO HANDLE) and the film was THE THIN MAN (1934). I, not Powell, was The Thin Man.

* I was a working Broadway actor prior to making the trip to Hollywood. From 1905 to 1932. I played a lot of shady characters. I even found time to write plays and to make a few silent films while in New York.

*Criminals, Doctors, Majors, and two 'Pop's. Some of the characters I played in Hollywood. I also played Dr. John Abbott in the Dalton Trumbo written, Garson Kanin directed A MAN TO REMEMBER (1938). The film was a remake of a Lionel Barrymore film, ONE MAN'S JOURNEY (1933) and both come with the ginnyfan seal of approval.

*Preston Foster, Edward Arnold, Fred MacMurray, Warren William, and Donald Meek. Other TIG!ers I worked with.

Who am I?

Edward Ellis, born November 12, 1870.

If you wish to play TODAY IN GINNY! check out the Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society Facebook page!

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" ... the smartest, most regular-looking, cleverest girl in the room..."

When I first started this "calling" in 2012, it was under the mistaken impression that Virginia Weidler's story was a sad one. I hope the research we have all done here has pretty well established that it was not. Sadly for all of us, the story was too short, but she lived a good life and had an amazing family.

Still, it was the sad story that made me start digging for everything I could, later enlisting Danny and John's help, and seeking people who knew more than I about the feisty one. The first site, at TCM's now defunct Fan Forum, was called In Search Of...Virginia Weidler. Not wanting Leonard Nimoy to sue me, I changed it on Facebook to the much more appropriate Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society.

Early in my search, I found this blog post, written by Beth Daniels, that I think sums up the kinds of feelings Virginia's work brings out much better than I ever have or ever could. That part of her old site now seems unavailable, but she was nice enough to share the post with me so we all can read it once more.

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Birthday of the Week: Virginia Weidler 3/11/2011 I'm finding it surprisingly difficult to write about Virginia Weidler. As the smartest, most regular-looking, cleverest girl in the room, she meant the world to my sister and me. We loved her like a great friend for many years. She was the closest thing to a real person in the classic films we adored and one couldn't help but watch her and hope she'd say or do more.

If you haven't seen her in anything, you must see The Philadelphia Story. Then maybe Young Tom Edison. She's good if less herself in The Women, but that's not her fault.

By the time she was 17, Virginia had made 45 films and had been in the business for 12 years. She retired shortly after Best Foot Forward, a wise move, got married and had two children. She died in 1968 at the age of 41.

Here she is as a rabid autograph hound in her penultimate picture, The Youngest Profession (1943). Her line, "What's more important, Walter Pidgeon or liver and onions?" has become something of a motto for me.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHD9bbyiTAo

Virginia Weidler would have been 84 today. Happy Birthday, Buddy.

An interesting quote lifted directly and wholly from IMDb:

[When asked about her career in later years,] Virginia would always change the subject as quickly as possible without being rude. She never watched her old movies or replied to requests for interviews. Although she was never one to criticize, I think our boys got the impression that their mother didn't think very much of the motion picture industry." -- Lionel Krisel, Weidler's husband ___________________________

" ... the smartest, most regular-looking, cleverest girl in the room..."

That is it in a nutshell. Detractors sometimes derided her as "plain", but that just isn't true. She was girl-next-door pretty, not Hollywood pretty. And her ability to play tomboy well probably didn't help her standing with that detractor crowd, either.

I did a lot of research to find out that Virginia is probably the best friend I never met. Beth and her sister figured that out just by watching the films.

Good for them.

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My Roku told me there was a new Ginny film available on Amazon Prime Video.  They are charging an additional $9.99 for it, so luckily I already have it.

Please note that the trailer shows MGM was marketing it as a straight romance and deemphasizing the comedy...you know, Virginia's part.

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Well, I missed that TCM was showing the Disney musical remake of MOTHER CAREY'S CHICKENS, SUMMER MAGIC tonight. I have it on now. Hayley Mills has the Anne Shirley part of Nancy.  Eddie Hodges has the Jackie Moran part (they call him Gilly, ugh!); I mainly know Eddie from the High Hopes scene of A HOLE IN THE HEAD. Dorothy McGuire is Mother Carey, replacing Fay Bainter.  

I find it interesting that they did away with the other Carey sister, instead introducing a snobby cousin played by Deborah Walley. Jimmy Mathers, Jerry's less famous brother, has the Donnie Dunagan role of Peter Carey and a dog seems to be standing in for Peter's pet goat.

Since this is the Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society we should remember to mention that Wendy Turner is playing Lally Joy and Burl Ives takes over for Walter Brennan as Mr. Popham. Lally Joy was an only child in the original, but this Lally Joy (now Lallie Joy, for some reason) has a brother named Digby, played by the always unusual Michael J. Pollard.  The Mrs. Popham of this film is a lot less friendly than the one in Virginia's film.

Wendy gets to interact a bit more with the Carey girls than Virginia did. She even gets a proper makeover from Nancy and cousin Julia to be more ladylike.

One reviewer on IMDB said the film is a mashup of the original, Cinderella, and A Tree Grows In Brooklyn. I wouldn't go that far, but I do miss the way Ginny's Lally Joy mooned over Gilbert.

BTW, when Danny first saw the orginal, he wanted to know how Peter Carey of the New England seafaring Careys ended up with a Texas accent. Watching this I wonder how Nancy Carey of the New England once wealthy (no longer seafaring) Careys has a rich cultured British accent no one else in her family possesses. Wendy Turner is British as well, but I don't notice the accent quite as much from Lallie Joy.

The movie's running time is almost a half an hour longer than the 1938 version, probably because Walter Brennan didn't pull out a guitar and warble at the drop of a hat.

Overall, I am enjoying the film as long as I dismiss the idea that it is a remake of the 1938 film. To this point, they don't seem to have much to do with each other.

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A Humble Ginnyblog

We've now been celebrating Ginny for two week--wait, that's wrong. I've been celebrating Ginny for almost exactly five years. It was almost exactly five years ago that I watched THE LONE WOLF SPY HUNT, looked Virginia up on IMDb, and started the search. I call my five year old thread on TCM's forums "In Search Of...Virginia Weidler." I almost called this page that, but then I thought of the Remembrance Society name.  That the Society was just me that first day didn't matter.

I think the name choice was a good decision because a lot of you seem to have found it welcoming and this a place to share your interest and fascination with the nicest and most talented gal of Classic Hollywood. OK, I know some of you will argue with that, at least the second part because you have your own favorites, but this is still my page.

Anyway, I can safely say that for the past five years not one day has gone by where I haven't thought about Virginia Weidler at some point.  It is actually kind of funny, I started to investigate her life and career because her public biography made me so sad I couldn't stop thinking about it. I thought I'd figure out the secret of Virginia Weidler and put it in a mental drawer somewhere and it would all be over.  I'd feel better and that would be that.

Now I've learned that the "awkward" story wasn't the WHOLE story and that she had a wonderful life and one I certainly shouldn't be sad about and yet I still think about it every day.

By choice.

Right now, I'm having a bit of a post-Ginnyday letdown. I don't have a bunch of new ideas, photos, or anything right now. That will pass. Please bear with me.

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Good evening! It's a big day tomorrow as TCM has Marsha Hunt films through the daytime hours in honor of her turning 100!

The Virginia Weidler Remembrance Society is proud that our favorite is a small part of the celebration, as Virginia is a featured player in both THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA (1942) and I'LL WAIT FOR YOU (1941).  That double feature starts at 1:30 PM while the Hunt celebration begins at 6 AM.

In case you are wondering, AFFAIRS gets the John Hyland seal of approval. And ginnyfan calls IWFY an "improvement over HIDE-OUT, the film of which it is a remake!"

Try to be there!

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TODAY IN GINNY! - January 27 - Buddy DeSylva

I liked yesterday's quiz because of the mystery guest's connection to Betty Hutton.  If things had wound up just a bit differently, this could have been the Hutton Remembrance Society. At different times in my life it could also have been the Mario Lanza Remembrance Society, the Mark Belanger Remembrance Society or the Gummo Marx Remembrance Society.

OK, not that last one. I was a Groucho guy in Junior High.

Now the reveal.

My work is connected with two films featuring Virginia Weidler. They are THE ROOKIE COP (1939) and BABES ON BROADWAY (1941). My songs were played in each film.

I also had connections to another child actress. I produced several of her films and rewrote the lyrics to POLLY WOLLY DOODLE.

I promised a Broadway newcomer I'd make her a star and I did...in films. That was Betty Hutton. I had left FOX for a bigger job at Paramount and backed her career there. Virginia had already left for MGM by that time.

Capitol Records. I was a founder. Betty recorded for the label.

George Gershwin, Victor Herbert, Nacio Herb Brown. Three composers I wrote lyrics for. Brown, of course, wrote the Doll Dance Virginia performed in FRECKLES (1935).

Walter Abel. Abel played me, well he played "B.G. DeSoto" in STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM.

Who am I?

Buddy G. DeSylva, seen with Leo McCarey at the 1945 Oscars, born January 27, 1895.

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I know most of you probably noticed that part II of my interview was already posted on Jarrod's blog, but in case you didn't here it is.

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I recently sat down and answered a few more questions about the search for Virginia Weidler for Jarrod's blog.

This is part one.

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Did you know that the VWRS also tweets?  No, you won't get Miranda Sommerfield commenting on the events of the day, although that would be pretty danged interesting. What the twitter feed actually does is let you know whenever we post to virginiaweidler.net. And, yes, all those posts are also seen here.  It is just another tool to make sure you miss none of the feisty. At least it was until October 6 when Tumblr, the host of virginiaweidler.net, reset my page and removed the Twitter feed. I only noticed it this morning, which shows you how actively I use Twitter. Well, the Twitter feed is back today and NOW you won't miss anything. I promise.

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TODAY IN GINNY! - March 21 - Virginia Weidler

Good morning! I hope everyone is slowly recovering from the thrill and sheer exuberance of a Ginny's birthday celebration, especially those of you who are new to this level of hardcore excitement. I have found that there is one sure cure if you are dragging the day after a Ginny's birthday celebration...sitting down with a bowl of cottage cheese and watching a Ginny film. It is really the only way to recover.

Now the big TIG! (Today In Ginny!) reveal of yesterday's mystery guest.

I was in over forty films featuring Virginia Weidler. Virginia never appeared in a film without me.

I look a lot like, but am nowhere near as beautiful as, Miranda Sommerfield. (Hint supplied by Miranda Sommerfield, Virginia's character in THE AFFAIRS OF MARTHA).

I also look like Edie Moseley of GIRL OF THE OZARKS, but rarely wore rags or pointed shotguns off camera.

Jean Porter says I am the nicest person she ever met. Jean was a good friend.

In 1945, I was literally a Babe on Broadway. I played a young sheltered girl in THE RICH FULL LIFE. The play was adapted into the film CYNTHIA with Elizabeth Taylor.

I wanted to be a band singer, but my curfew was a problem. My brother Warner said I could sing with the Weidler Brothers Orchestra one night, but I'd have to go home after the first set.

Who am I?

Virginia Weidler, born March 21, 1927.

Bonus Question: Why did I especially like my role in THE UNDER-PUP (1939)?

Because Universal didn't put me in braids. My brothers hated the braids so much that they'd walk on the other side of the street when I had to wear them in public.

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We are having an awful squabble here at the VWRS. Patsy, Harriet, and Luck want to watch the Elvis tribute on TCM while Joan, Miranda, and Harriett want to watch the Elvis tribute on Encore. I guess that's why Young Tom Edison invented the DVR.

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The Blonde at the Film Classic Film and TV Cafe Classic Movie Night Grand Old Movies Immortal Ephemera Michael's TV Tray Movies Silently The Old Movie House Person in the Dark Picture This: Library...

Good morning! Our good friend and Virginia Weidler fan Beth Daniels (of http://www.mildredsfatburgers.com/, of course) wrote yesterday to inform us that she nominated us for a Versatile Blogger award. Miranda Sommerfield is now insisting that she be referred to as "Your Royal Highness". At some point I guess I'll have to fulfill the requirements for membership but, after looking at them, that will take some thought. I also wonder just how versatile a site that writes about one actress every day year after year really is. Beth is one of the good, make that great, ones and we appreciate and thank her for the nomination. Now go to her site and read a bunch of stuff. Just don't start expecting intelligent posts over here after you do.