Virginia Weidler

In late 2016, the Los Angeles City Council declared March 21, 2017, what would have been Virginia's 90th birthday, a Celebration of Virginia Weidler. In its proclamation the council recognized her stardom, patriotism, and her commitment to her family, friends, and colleagues. The council closed by stating that, "Virginia Weidler is recognized for her career accomplishments as well as her contributions to her country, her city, and to all who knew her...".

For many years, it was believed that her mother died shortly after she did in 1968, but the Social Security Death Index indicates that Margaret Weidler died in 1987 at age 97. Virginia's father had died in 1966 at 80.

Gave birth to her second child at age 23, son Gary Krisel, on May 13, 1950. Child's father was her husband, Lionel Krisel.

Gave birth to her first child at age 21, son Ronald Alexander Krisel, on July 19, 1948. Child's father was her husband, Lionel Krisel.

One of her brothers, child actor and musician George Weidler, was Doris Day's first husband (from 1946-49). RKO picked up young Virginia after learning that she could speak a bit of French.

Graduated from Hollywood Professional School in June 1944.

After rather disappointing receptions to Born to Sing (1942), The Youngest Profession (1943), and Best Foot Forward (1943), the awkward teen left films and turned to vaudeville as a song-and-dance comedy performer, utilizing her full-scale talents as a mimic.

Virginia's forte was providing comedy relief and she reached her young peak with two classic MGM films: Young Tom Edison (1940) as Rooney's creative sister, and The Philadelphia Story (1940), as Katharine Hepburn's smart-alecky younger sis. Her tongue-in-cheek rendition of "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" at the piano was just one of many memorable highlights from this vintage classic. The young actress's career started to slip away from her when the teenage Shirley Temple signed with MGM, abruptly bumping "Plain-Jane" Virginia back to secondary status.

Little Virginia could also shine in dramatic outings as she did with The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939) and Bad Little Angel (1939), but she was never a good choice for sappy roles, as demonstrated when she played Norma Shearer's whiny imp of a daughter in The Women (1939).

Co-starring with Mickey Rooney in Love Is a Headache (1938), she proved a natural young comedienne and precocious scene-stealer in such films as Out West with the Hardys (1938), again with Rooney, and Too Hot to Handle (1938).

For the Paramount film The Big Broadcast of 1937 (1936), Virginia was billed in promotional materials such as lobby cards as Virginia 'Pigtails' Weidler.

She earned her first lead in Girl of the Ozarks (1936) and showed she could easily hold her own. After an unimpressive stint with Paramount, who tried to groom her as a rival to Fox's bratty Jane Withers, she was finally picked up by MGM and her film career blossomed.

The average-looking youngster was ably cast as rural tomboy types in Laddie (1935) and Freckles (1935), the latter film allowing her to do a dead-on parody of Shirley Temple.

A year later she scored her first small movie bit in Warner Baxter's Surrender (1931) and was on her way.

Virginia nearly made her acting debut at age 3 in John Barrymore's Moby Dick (1930), but was summarily replaced.

Delightful child/juvenile actress Virginia Anna Adelaide Weidler (her friends called her "Ginny") had that knowing gleam in her eye that usually spelled trouble in one form or another for anyone at arm's reach. She was born in Eagle Rock, California in 1927, one of six children. Her mother was a former Wagnerian opera singer Margarete Radon (born Margarete Therese Louisa Meyer) and her father was architect Alfred Weidler.