Virginia Belle Pearson (March 7, 1886 – June 6, 1958) was an American stage and film actress. She made fifty-one films in a career which extended from 1910 until 1932.

Career

She was born on March 7, 1886, in

Anchorage, Kentucky Anchorage is a home rule-class city in eastern Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,348 at the 2010 census and an estimated 2,432 in 2018. It is a suburb of Louisville. History The land that is now Anchorage was a p ...

to parents Joseph F. Pearson and Mary Alice Calloway. She had one younger brother, Harvey Thompson Pearson. Virginia was also the granddaughter of Precious Martha Grable Pearson (actress Betty Grable's great aunt). Virginia worked for a brief time as an assistant in the public library in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

after completing school. She was famous in her hometown Louisville playhouse performances. Pearson trained in the tradition of the stars of the American stage, and played in stock productions in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In New York she played the heroine in ''Hypocrisy'', a story which laid bare "the shame of society." She was promoted by William Fox of

Fox Film Corporation The Fox Film Corporation (also known as Fox Studios) was an American Independent film production studio formed by William Fox (1879–1952) in 1915, by combining his earlier Greater New York Film Rental Company and Box Office Attractions Film ...

for the same kind of strong

vamp The VaMP driverless car was one of the first truly autonomous cars Dynamic Vision for Perc ...

parts as those played by

Theda Bara Theda Bara ( ; born Theodosia Burr Goodman; July 29, 1885 – April 7, 1955) was an American silent film and stage actress. Bara was one of the more popular actresses of the silent era and one of cinema's early sex symbols. Her femme fatal ...

. Among her movies is ''Blazing Love'' (1916), ''

Wildness of Youth ''Wildness of Youth'' is a 1922 silent film directed by Ivan Abramson, starring Virginia Pearson, Harry T. Morey and Mary Anderson. Plot Spoiled son Andrew Kane (Joseph Striker) competes with James Surbrun (Harry T. Morey) for the affections o ...

'' (1922), ''The Vital Question'' (1916), ''Sister Against Sister'' (1917), ''

The Red Kimona ''The Red Kimono'' (spelled as "''The Red Kimona''" in the opening credits) is a 1925 American silent drama film about prostitution produced by Dorothy Davenport (billed as Mrs. Wallace Reid) and starring Priscilla Bonner. This is the debut fil ...

'' (1925), ''Wizard of Oz'' (1925), and ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

'' (1925). In 1916 Pearson and her husband, movie actor

Sheldon Lewis Sheldon Lewis (April 20, 1868 – May 7, 1958) was an American actor of the silent era best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1914 and 1936. Lewis was married to actress Virginia Pearson, and they were ...

, severed their ties with the Virginia Pearson Producing Company. The couple affiliated themselves with the Independent Productions Company, capitalized at $1,000,000. In 1924 the couple were forced to declare bankruptcy. In 1928, Pearson was legally divorced from Lewis. At the time, it was considered bad box office for screen actresses to be married. However the two remained constant companions., and resided for many years at the old

Hollywood Hotel The Hollywood Hotel was a famous hotel, society venue of early Hollywood, and landmark, formerly located at 6811 Hollywood Boulevard, on the north side, extending from Highland Avenue to Orchid Avenue, in central Hollywood, Los Angeles, Califor ...

. Later they lived at the

Motion Picture Country Home The Motion Picture & Television Fund (MPTF) is a charitable organization that offers assistance and care to those in the motion picture and television industries and their families with limited or no resources, including services such as temp ...

Death

Virginia Pearson died of

uremic poisoning Acute kidney injury (AKI), previously called acute renal failure (ARF), is a sudden decrease in kidney function that develops within 7 days, as shown by an increase in serum creatinine or a decrease in urine output, or both. Causes of AKI are cla ...

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a metonymy, shorthand reference for the Cinema of the United States, U.S. film industry and the people associated with i ...

on June 6, 1958, nearly a month to the day after Sheldon Lewis. She was 72. Funeral services were held at the Pierce Brothers Hollywood Chapel. She was buried in an unmarked grave in

Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 10621 Victory Boulevard in North Hollywood and Burbank, California. The cemetery has an entrance called the Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation that is the final resting place for aviation ...

Selected filmography

Stolen Honor 1917.jpg, ''Stolen Honor'' (1917) Queen of Hearts 1919.jpg, ''Queen of Hearts'' (1918) The Love Auction.jpg, ''The Love Auction'' (1919) Virginia Pearson in The Bishop's Emeralds.jpg, ''The Bishop's Emeralds'' (1919)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Virginia 1886 births 1958 deaths Actresses from Louisville, Kentucky American film actresses American silent film actresses American stage actresses Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery Deaths from kidney failure 20th-century American actresses

Career

Death

Selected filmography

References

Further reading

External links