Virginia Karns (May 30, 1907 – June 21, 1990) was a singer and
character actress
A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to be ...
at the
Hal Roach
Harry Eugene "Hal" Roach Sr.Randy Skretvedt, Skretvedt, Randy (2016), ''Laurel and Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies'', Bonaventure Press. p.608. (January 14, 1892 – November 2, 1992) was an American film and television producer, director, a ...
Studios in the early 1930s. Fans probably remember her best from the opening scene of the
Laurel and Hardy
Laurel and Hardy were a British-American Double act, comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood cinema, Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–19 ...
musical comedy ''
Babes in Toyland'' (1934), in which she portrayed Mother Goose.
She also appeared in films with
Thelma Todd
Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, she ...
,
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly (born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly; January 12, 1910 – September 24, 1981) was an American actress. She is known for her role as the brash, wisecracking sidekick to Thelma Todd in a series of short comedy films produced by Hal Ro ...
,
Billy Gilbert
William Gilbert Barron (September 12, 1894 – September 23, 1971), known professionally
as Billy Gilbert, was an American actor and comedian. He was known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects a ...
, and
Charley Chase
Charles Joseph Parrott (October 20, 1893 – June 20, 1940), known professionally as Charley Chase, was an American comedian, actor, screenwriter and film director. He worked for many pioneering comedy studios but is chiefly associated with pro ...
while working for Hal Roach. Blessed with a beautiful singing voice, she was an accomplished
voice-over
Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-Diegetic#Film sound and music, diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, th ...
artist during this period.
Karns married
R. William Patterson and hosted a local variety television show in
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
.
Filmography
External links
*
1907 births
1990 deaths
Musicians from Dayton, Ohio
20th-century American actresses
Actresses from Dayton, Ohio
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