Virginia E. Belmont, also spelled Virginia Belmonte (September 20, 1921 – May 6, 2014), was an American film actress. Born in New York City, she moved to California as a child. She attended

San Diego High School San Diego High School (SDHS) is an urban public high school located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California, United States. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District, one of the oldest public sch ...

and

San Diego State College San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

and graduated from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and then started working as a

cigarette girl In Europe and the United States, a cigarette girl is a person who sells or provides cigarettes from a tray held by a neck strap. They may also carry cigars and other items like candy, snacks, and chewing gum on their trays. Uniform The most ...

at Mocambo. Belmont received her first acting role, uncredited, in the 1944 film ''

Black Arrow Black Arrow, officially capitalised BLACK ARROW, was a British satellite carrier rocket. Developed during the 1960s, it was used for four launches between 1969 and 1971, all launched from the Woomera Prohibited Area in Australia. Its final flig ...

''. Following a number of supporting roles for

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

and

RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

films, she was put under contract with

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

, starring in several

B-movies A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...

as the heroine opposite William Boyd,

Jimmy Wakely Jimmy Wakely (February 16, 1914 – September 23, 1982) was an American actor, songwriter, country music vocalist, and one of the last singing cowboys. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, he released records, appeared in several B-Western movies ...

, and

Johnny Mack Brown John Brown (September 1, 1904 – November 14, 1974) was an American college football player and film actor billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career. He acted and starred mainly in Western (genre), Western films. Early lif ...

, among others. In 1941 Belmont married the native-born Italian restaurateur Albert Califano, and in the late 1940s they moved to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where she continued her film career in the Italian industry, starring in a number of

melodrama film A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exces ...

s, while Califano worked as a correspondent for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

''. In the late 1950s she retired from acting and moved back in the U.S., where she was employed by

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

as a sales representative.

Selected filmography

* ''

Night Taxi ''Night Taxi'' (Italian: ''Taxi di notte'') is a 1950 French-Italian comedy film about a taxicab driver, directed by Carmine Gallone and starring Beniamino Gigli, Danielle Godet and Philippe Lemaire.Apra p.93 After finding a baby left abandoned in ...

'' (1950) * ''

The Mysteries of Venice ''The Mysteries of Venice'' (Italian: ''I Misteri di Venezia'') is a 1951 Italian drama film directed by Ignazio Ferronetti and starring Virginia Belmont, Renato Valente and Tito Schipa. Whittaker & Wright p.46 The film's sets were designed by th ...

'' (1951) * ''

Beauties on Motor Scooters ''Beauties on Motor Scooters'' (Italian: ''Bellezze in moto-scooter'') is a 1952 Italian comedy film by Carlo Campogalliani and starring Isa Barzizza, Virginia Belmont and Fulvia Franco.Gennari p.185 Partial cast * Isa Barzizza as Laura * Virg ...

'' (1952) * ''

Silent Conflict ''Silent Conflict'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by George Archainbaud and written by Charles Belden. The film stars William Boyd, Andy Clyde, Rand Brooks, Virginia Belmont, Earle Hodgins and James Harrison. It was released on Mar ...

'' (1948) * ''

Oklahoma Blues ''Oklahoma Blues'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Bennett Cohen. The film stars Jimmy Wakely, Dub Taylor, Virginia Belmont, I. Stanford Jolley, Zon Murray and George J. Lewis. The film was released ...

'' (1948) * '' The Rangers Ride'' (1948) * ''

Courtin' Trouble ''Courtin' Trouble'' is a 1948 American Western film directed by Ford Beebe and written by Ronald Davidson. The film stars Jimmy Wakely, Dub Taylor, Virginia Belmont, Leonard Penn, Marshall Reed and Steve Clark. The film was released on Novembe ...

'' (1948) * ''

Prairie Express ''Prairie Express'' is a 1947 American Western film directed by Lambert Hillyer and written by Anthony Coldeway and J. Benton Cheney. The film stars Johnny Mack Brown, Raymond Hatton, Virginia Belmont, Marshall Reed, William Ruhl and Robert Wi ...

'' (1947)

References

External links

*
Obituary
1921 births 2014 deaths American film actresses Actresses from Boston 20th-century American actresses University of California, Los Angeles alumni Italian film actresses American emigrants to Italy 21st-century American women {{US-film-actor-1920s-stub San Diego High School alumni