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Photo of Virginia Vale

Virginia Vale

Actor
Born May 20, 1920Died September 14, 2006 (86 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Virginia Vale (born Dorothy Howe, 20 May 1920 – 14 Sep 2006) was an American film actress. She starred in a number of B-movie Westerns but took a variety of other roles as well, notably in Blonde Comet (1941), in which she played a race car driver.

Vale was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Howe. Before becoming a professional actor, she was a switchboard operator in Dallas, Texas, and honed her acting skills in productions at a little theater in Dallas. After a representative of Paramount Pictures saw her in a leading role, he invited her to make a screen test, which led to a contract. (Another source says that Howe was working at the switchboard in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Dallas office, where a talent scout for Paramount found her and signed her to a contract.

Career

Several of Vale's early films were made using her birth name. The name Virginia Vale had been chosen in advance for the female winner of the 1939 Gateway to Hollywood contest, a nationwide talent search sponsored by producer Jesse Lasky -- as noted (somewhat indignantly) then by another Virginia Vale a syndicated columnist covering the film industry. Vale edged out Rhonda Fleming in the 1939 contest.

After her film career, she became an executive secretary at Lockheed and also a competition judge for the US Figure Skating Association. She was eventually honored by the USFSA for 50 years of service in that role. Before becoming a judge, she'd also briefly been a competition skater. Her life in film and skating was featured at the 2002 U.S. figure skating championships and a memorial trophy for "most outstanding performance" was given in her name at the 2007 California Championships.

Known For

  • Blonde Comet
  • South of Panama
  • Crime, Inc.

Filmography

2018
New Amsterdam (2018) (TV Series) · as Kira Davis
1976
1945
Crime, Inc. · as Trixie Waters
1942
Broadway Big Shot · as Betty Collins
1941
Blonde Comet · as Beverly Blake
1941
Unexpected Uncle · as Telephone Girl
1941
The Gay Falcon · as Hysterical Woman (uncredited)
1941
Robbers of the Range · as Alice Tremaine
1941
South of Panama · as Janice 'jan' Martin, Aka Dolores Esteban
1941
Repent at Leisure · as Elevator Girl
1940
Triple Justice · as Lorna Payson
1940
Stage to Chino · as Caroline Mckay
1940
Millionaires in Prison · as May Thomas
1940
Prairie Law · as Priscilla Brambull
1940
1940
Bullet Code · as Molly Matthews
1940
Legion of the Lawless · as Ellen Ives
1939
The Marshal of Mesa City · as Virginia King
1939
Three Sons · as Phoebe Pardway
1939
Unmarried · as Betty (as Dorothy Howe)
1939
1939
Ambush · as Waitress At Restaurant
1939
Disbarred · as Airline Stewardess
1938
King of Alcatraz · as Dixie (as Dorothy Howe)
1938
Cocoanut Grove · as Hazel De Vore
1938
Her Jungle Love · as Eleanor Martin
1938
The Big Broadcast of 1938 · as Joan Fielding
1938
The Buccaneer · as Cast
1937
True Confession · as Brunette Girl (uncredited)
1937
Night Club Scandal · as Marsh's Maid

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