Virginia Grey

Virginia Grey (March 22, 1917 – July 31, 2004) was an American actress who appeared in more than 100 films and a number of radio and television shows from the 1930s to the early 1980s.

Grey was born on March 22, 1917, in Edendale, California, the youngest of three daughters of Florence Anna Grey (née Pauly; 1890—1930) and director Ray Grey.

One of her early babysitters was film star Gloria Swanson.

Grey debuted at the age of 10 in the silent film Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927) as Little Eva.

She continued acting for a few more years, but then left acting for three years to finish her education.

Grey abandoned her training as a nurse and returned to films in the 1930s, with bit parts and work as an extra.

She eventually signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) and appeared in several films, including The Hardys Ride High (1939) with Mickey Rooney, Another Thin Man (1939) with William Powell, Hullabaloo (1940), and The Big Store (1941) with the Marx Brothers.

Grey had an intermittent love affair with Clark Gable in the 1940s.

After Gable's wife Carole Lombard died and he returned from military service, Gable and Grey were often seen at restaurants and nightclubs together.

Many, including Grey herself, expected Gable to marry her, and tabloids often speculated on a wedding announcement.

She left MGM in 1942 and worked steadily for several film studios over subsequent years.

It was a great surprise when Gable hastily married Lady Sylvia Ashley in 1949, leaving Grey heartbroken.

During the 1950s and 1960s, producer Ross Hunter frequently included Grey in his popular soap melodramas such as All That Heaven Allows, Back Street and Madame X.

She was a regular on television in the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on Playhouse 90, U.S. Marshal, General Electric Theater, The DuPont Show with June Allyson, Your Show of Shows, Red Skelton, Wagon Train ("The Kate Parker Story", "The Major Adams Story"), Bonanza, Marcus Welby, M.D., Love, American Style, Burke's Law, The Virginian, Peter Gunn, Ironside and many others.

In 1951, Grey portrayed Blanche Bickerson on the syndicated comedy TV series The Bickersons.

Gable divorced Ashley in 1952, and he never rekindled his romance with Grey, who never married.

Grey died on July 31, 2004 at age 87 in Woodland Hills, California while a resident at the Motion Picture Home.

She was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea on August 6, 2004 off the Los Angeles coast.

She was portrayed by Anna Torv in the HBO miniseries The Pacific.