
Virginia Cherrill
Acting
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Virginia Cherrill (April 12, 1908 - November 14, 1996) was an American actress best known for her role as the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin's City Lights (1931). She married an English earl in the 1940s, and is also known as Virginia Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey. Virginia Cherrill was born on a farm in rural Carthage, Illinois, to James E. and Blanche (née Wilcox) Cherrill. She was a Chicago society girl with no thoughts of a film career when she went to Hollywood for a visit and met Charlie Chaplin when he sat next to her at a boxing match. He had failed to find the girl he wanted for his film but decided she would do and cast her in City Lights in which she gave the performance for which she is remembered, although her working relationship with Chaplin on the film was often strained. As indicated in the documentary Unknown Chaplin, Cherrill was in fact fired from the film at one point and Chaplin planned to refilm all her scenes with Georgia Hale, but ultimately realized too much money had already been spent on the picture; as Cherrill recalls in the documentary, close friend Marion Davies suggested Cherrill hold out for more money when Chaplin asked her to return to the film, and she did. She appeared in a few other films subsequently, including the 1931 Gershwin musical Delicious with Janet Gaynor, but gave up her movie career in 1936 after Troubled Waters. Cherrill married four times; her second husband was actor Cary Grant (from 1934 to 1935), and her third was George Child-Villiers, 9th Earl of Jersey (from 1937 to 1946). Her longest marriage was to Florian Martini, with whom she lived in Santa Barbara, California from 1948 until her death at age 88; she had no children. She is a part of stars of Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1545 Vine Street. Description above from the Wikipedia article Virginia Cherrill licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Known For

A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.
City Lights

A documentary series examining the film making methods and techniques of Charles Chaplin. Featuring previously unseen footage from Chaplin's private film archive.
Unknown Chaplin

Documentary that explores the life and career of leading man Cary Grant through film clips and interviews. Produced as S18E03 of the long running series American Masters.
Cary Grant: A Class Apart

For the first time one of Hollywood's greatest stars tells his own story, in his own words. From a childhood of poverty to global fame, Cary Grant, the ultimate self-made star, explores his own screen image and what it took to create it.
Becoming Cary Grant

A look at the life and work of Charlie Chaplin in his own words featuring an in-depth interview he gave to Life magazine in 1966.
The Real Charlie Chaplin

Fast-talker extraordinaire Tracy gives one of his quintessential wiseguy performances as a conniving ambulance chaser who falls in love with Evans, unaware she's a special investigator for a streetcar company he's repeatedly victimized.
The Nuisance

Gunner and Bucker are friends who work as riveters. Whenever Bucker gets the urge to marry, which is often, Gunner will hit on his girl to see if she is true or not. So far, Gunner hasn't failed. But one night, while Gunner is in jail, Bucker meets Mary, a tough dame with a line. He falls for her, and she falls for his money. But Mary is already a gal pal of Gunner, and no two know about the third one. The trouble starts when the triangle is revealed too late.
Fast Workers

A society novelist brings a brash young chorus girl home in order to study her for inspiration for his new novel. His family is distraught, but soon her behavior has forever altered their snobbish ways.
The Brat

Peter Brooks is a hard-working, hard-up college student whose dislike of women attending college weakens under the amorous advances of spoiled socialite coed Joan Madison.
Girls Demand Excitement

In this melodrama filmed on location in Hawaii, a sugar plantation manager finds himself falling in love with a native girl, but instead of committing to her, he marries a socially prominent young woman from San Francisco. The spoiled girl does not easily adapt to the rigors of plantation life and she gets terribly bored. She is just about to give in to the romantic overtures of a persistent native when her former lover shows up. The husband gets jealous and is about to attack him when the wife sets fire to the cane field. The husband's native lover saves him from death. Afterward, his wife leaves to be with her old flame, and the manager is free to be with the woman he's loved all along.
White Heat

The whole world knows him. Burlesque comedy genius, popular actor, author, director, producer, composer, choreographer, Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) used his talent to serve an ideal of justice and freedom. But his best scenario was his own destiny, a story written into the political and artistic history of the 20th century.
Charlie Chaplin, The Genius of Liberty

A comic group of Europeans coming to the USA have romantic and immigration troubles.
Delicious

When a good-for-nothing man named Dan is stabbed to death and his arm broken, Charlie Chan is on the case. His first clue comes from the victim's sister, who noticed a prowler wearing a glow-in-the-dark wristwatch.
Charlie Chan's Greatest Case

Jimmy Kelly, who can't hold on to a job because of his hot temper, finds his calling as a process server. He serves process on a gangster and exposes a criminal conspiracy while trying to stop his long-suffering girlfriend from taking a vacation with her lecherous boss.
He Couldn't Take It

Lost film. Two eager young pilots at flight school compete over their flight instructor's aviatrix sister.
The Air Circus

A newspaper reporter sets out to track down the murderer of a policeman.
Late Extra

Lighthearted comedy film following the (mis)adventures of four gold diggers.
Ladies Must Love

Thieves break into a warehouse that stores guns, steal them and kill the night watchman. An undercover agent assigned to the case happens to get into a traffic accident with the sister of the man the police suspect is head of the burglary ring, and in order to work his way into the gang, he romances the boss' sister. Complications ensue when the two fall in love.
What Price Crime
James Mason is teamed up once again with Virginia Cherill whom he appeared with in his debut film, 'Late Extra'. He plays a government agent (John Merriman) who makes a few enquiries and follows leads. Cherill plays June Elkhardt.