Virginia Davis(1918-2009)
- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Virginia Davis was born on December 31, 1918, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Her father was a traveling furniture salesman and spent much time away
from home. With her husband gone for weeks at a time,
Margaret Davis, a housewife,
focused all her attention on her daughter; she began taking Virginia to
dancing lessons and modeling auditions when she was 2. A striking child
with long curls, Virginia was soon appearing in advertisements that
played between films in local theaters. She also entered Georgie
Brown's Dramatic School in Kansas City, where she studied drama and
dance. In the summer of 1923, 22-year-old
Walt Disney, a struggling but ambitious
director, saw Virginia in an advertisement in a Kansas City theater and
immediately decided to hire her. He quickly contacted Margaret Davis,
who was eager to advance her Virginia's career.
Alice's Wonderland (1923), the
first short film of the Alice series, was filmed at the Davis home in
Kansas City; both Margaret Davis and Walt Disney made brief appearances
(which marked Disney's first live appearance in one of his own
cartoons). After filming, Disney returned to Hollywood and began to
build his movie empire with only forty dollars and one short film
starring little Virginia Davis. The Davis family soon followed Disney
to Hollywood, although their daughter's career was not the only reason
for the move; Virginia had suffered a pneumonia and other health
problems, and her doctor told her parents that she would be healthier
in a drier, warmer climate. Virginia signed her first contract with
Disney for a salary of $100 a month, and she began filming the Alice
shorts in Walt Disney's first studio, his uncle's garage. His brother
Roy O. Disney was the cameraman, and the
Disney family dog Peggy appeared in many of the films. The Alice shorts
became very popular, providing Disney with his first national success.
But as the series progressed, Disney became more interested in the
animation aspect, which minimized Virginia's live-action role; she only
made about thirteen of the Alice shorts before her contract was
severed. She later auditioned for the role of voice of Snow White in
Disney's film
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937),
but she didn't get the role because her mother refused to accept the
frugal salary. Virginia had some small roles in full-length films,
including
The Harvey Girls (1946),
before she left acting to earn a degree from the New York School of
Interior Design. She later became an editor for the 1950s magazine
"Living for Young Homemakers," and in the 1960s, she began working for
real estate agents in Connecticut and later California. In 1992,
interest was renewed in the Alice series. Living in retirement in
Montana, Virginia was suddenly overwhelmed by the number of fans
seeking to honor her and the remarkable role she played in the birth of
Walt Disney Studios. She was the guest of honor at the Pordonone Silent
Film Festival in Italy in 1992, and she was inducted as a Disney Legend
in 1998. Virginia also became very active in silent film festivals and
events at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
