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253:. The audience found the performance to be hilarious and she was soon hired to repeat this performance in a number of movies beginning in 1940, for which she gained the nicknames "Frozen Face" and "Miss Ice Glacier" amongst others. When she was not singing, her acting style was just as emotive as other actresses, and she did not always employ her gimmick when singing, as evidenced by her performance in the excerpt from
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O'Brien primarily performed in comedic roles during the height of her formal film career. This was in part due to her intentionally humorous singing style, which involved her singing in a deadpan manner, with no facial expressions and very little movement– reportedly she stumbled upon this "gimmick"
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230:(April 18, 1919 – January 16, 2001) was an American actress, singer, and radio personality known for her comedic singing roles in
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O'Brien was suddenly dropped from her MGM film contract, and she moved into television and back to live performances.
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with Jimmy
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Cinegrill, the Vine St. Bar and Grill, and the
Gardenia, as well as the Plush Room in San Francisco.
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She continued to perform well into the 1990s with both her one-woman show and a production of
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The Name Below the Title : 65 Classic Movie
Character Actors from Hollywood's Golden Age
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Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous
Persons, 3d ed
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by accident during a stage show when she became virtually paralyzed with
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VIRGINIA O'BRIEN: MGM'S DEADPAN DIVA (SOFTCOVER EDITION) by Robert Strom
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and after a guest appearance the following year in the short,
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before singing a number in the Los
Angeles stage production
426:. She performed several times at such clubs as Hollywood's
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She was among the stars in a 1972 nostalgia revue entitled
265:. She made her Broadway debut in the short-lived musical
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After appearing once again with Red
Skelton in 1947's
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985:Virginia O'Brien – Salutes the Great MGM Musicals
418:, which toured the country and played New York's
1014:
1053:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
912:Alistair, Rupert (2018). "Virginia O'Brien".
455:, from natural causes. She is buried at the
286:Among the films she appeared in at MGM were
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859:, November 1952, page 34, Ideal Publishers
385:(1955) and a brief appearance in the 1976
379:She made two film appearances after this:
275:, including two of her signature songs – "
31:
885:
911:
888:"Virginia O'Brien, The Diva of Deadpan"
209: 1968; died 1996)
16:American actress and singer (1919–2001)
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857:Motion Picture and Television Magazine
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1048:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players
937:Virginia O'Brien at BearManor Media
1068:20th-century American women singers
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322:(in which she endured ribbing from
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1038:American musical theatre actresses
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237:
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830:Wilson, Scott (August 17, 2016).
446:The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies
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868:Morning News, January 10, 1948,
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1063:20th-century American actresses
886:Van Neste, Dan (January 1999).
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1058:20th-century American singers
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531:Lucille LaVonne (uncredited)
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281:Say We're Sweethearts Again
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1043:Actresses from Los Angeles
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476:1952 presidential election
453:Woodland Hills, California
326:about her singing style),
80:Woodland Hills, California
1073:Catholics from California
846:– via Google Books.
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466:O'Brien was a registered
457:Forest Lawn Memorial Park
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698:Till the Clouds Roll By
474:'s campaign during the
336:), the film version of
262:Till the Clouds Roll By
234:musicals of the 1940s.
61:Los Angeles, California
1078:California Republicans
870:Who Was Who in America
765:Musical Merry-Go-Round
652:Two Girls and a Sailor
478:. She also adhered to
470:and was supportive of
372:Musical Merry-Go-Round
444:, and also headlined
420:Madison Square Garden
976:Virginia O'Brien
967:Virginia O'Brien
953:Virginia O'Brien
944:Virginia O'Brien
748:Merton of the Movies
461:Glendale, California
451:She died aged 81 in
399:The Big Show of 1928
366:Merton of the Movies
228:Virginia Lee O'Brien
182: 1958;
155: 1942;
96:Glendale, California
47:Virginia Lee O'Brien
37:O'Brien in the 1940s
987:at ArtistDirect.com
900:on August 13, 2004.
783:Francis in the Navy
635:Du Barry Was a Lady
387:Walt Disney Studios
382:Francis in the Navy
329:Du Barry Was a Lady
277:The Wild, Wild West
232:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
957:TCM Movie Database
710:/Specialty Singer
332:(with Skelton and
268:Keep Off The Grass
923:978-1-7200-3837-5
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810:
773:Specialty Singer
753:Phyllis Montague
724:Specialty Singer
672:"Woodpecker" Peg
660:Specialty Singer
628:Specialty Singer
579:Specialty Singer
472:Dwight Eisenhower
259:in the 1946 film
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667:Meet the People
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339:Meet the People
319:Thousands Cheer
250:Meet the People
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440:co-starring
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412:Beatrice Kay
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308:(1942) with
303:
299:Lady Be Good
297:
287:
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260:
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245:stage fright
241:
227:
226:
74:(2001-01-16)
18:
1028:2001 deaths
1023:1919 births
608:Fran Evans
594:Flo Foster
486:Filmography
480:Catholicism
404:Allan Jones
344:Dick Powell
314:Red Skelton
1017:Categories
814:References
703:Ellie Mae
526:Sky Murder
512:Hullabaloo
468:Republican
442:Alan Young
416:Sally Rand
408:Cass Daley
169:Vern Evans
53:1919-04-18
1007:Biography
872:(Vol. 2).
805:Reporter
708:Show Boat
689:Hortense
603:Ship Ahoy
436:Show Boat
305:Ship Ahoy
256:Show Boat
141:Kirk Alyn
121:Roles in
113:1940–2001
980:AllMovie
770:Herself
657:Herself
625:Herself
576:Herself
389:comedy,
302:(1941),
218:Children
125:musicals
955:at the
880:Sources
356:), and
279:" and "
211:
203:
199:
188:
176:
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161:
149:
145:
130:Spouses
993:Portal
920:
840:
640:Ginny
548:Kitty
502:Notes
424:iTunes
414:, and
352:(with
82:, U.S.
63:, U.S.
795:1976
778:1955
760:1948
743:1947
679:1946
647:1944
615:1943
584:1942
562:Lull
538:1941
507:1940
499:Role
496:Film
493:Year
402:with
342:with
205:(
201:
178:(
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151:(
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948:IMDb
918:ISBN
838:ISBN
312:and
184:div.
157:div.
69:Died
43:Born
978:at
969:at
946:at
800:Gus
706:in
459:in
392:Gus
283:."
123:MGM
1019::
890:.
822:^
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51:(
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