# Virginia Walker
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{{short description|American actress (1908-1946)}}
{{use mdy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Virginia Walker
| image = Virginia Walker (actress).png
| alt =
| caption = Walker in a 1945 publicity photo for
''[A Royal Scandal](/source/A_Royal_Scandal_(1945_film))''
| birth_name = Virginia May Walker
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1908|07|31}}
| birth_place = [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts), U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1946|12|23|1908|07|31}}
| death_place = [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles), [California](/source/California), U.S.
| other_names = Virginia Walker Hawks
| occupation = Film actress
| years_active = 1938–1945
| known_for = Alice Swallow in ''[Bringing Up Baby](/source/Bringing_Up_Baby)''
| spouse = [William Hawks](/source/William_Hawks) (1938-1942)
}}
'''Virginia May Walker Hawks''' (July 31, 1908 – December 23, 1946) was an American model and film actress. Born in [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts), she studied [Japanese art](/source/Japanese_art) at the [School of the Museum of Fine Arts](/source/School_of_the_Museum_of_Fine_Arts_at_Tufts) and pursued a modeling career in national magazine advertisements, through which she was spotted by a [Universal Pictures](/source/Universal_Pictures) scout and signed to a film contract. Upon arriving in Hollywood, she met filmmaker [Howard Hawks](/source/Howard_Hawks), who negotiated her release from Universal and signed her to a personal contract. She made her film debut in Hawks's ''[Bringing Up Baby](/source/Bringing_Up_Baby)'' (1938), and the following year married Hawks's brother [William](/source/William_Hawks). After their 1942 divorce, she appeared in four more feature film roles, three of them uncredited, for [20th Century Fox](/source/20th_Century_Fox).
==Early life and education==
Virginia May Walker[{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44305313/william_h_walker_dead_30_july_1912/|title=William H. Walker Dead|newspaper=[The Boston Globe](/source/The_Boston_Globe)|date=July 30, 1912|page=14|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}] was born in [Cambridge, Massachusetts](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts), on July 31, 1908.[{{cite web |url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-XXDJ-KT?i=34&cc=1536925&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AFXHQ-KNR|title=Births Registered in the City of Cambridge for the Year Nineteen Hundred and Eight|publisher=[FamilySearch Indexing](/source/FamilySearch_Indexing)|access-date=February 16, 2020}}] She was the only daughter of William Homer Walker (1869–1912), a local attorney, and Eva M. Walker (née Perry), originally from Paris.[ She had two older brothers.][
Walker grew up in Boston and [Cambridge](/source/Cambridge%2C_Massachusetts); the family vacationed in [Miami](/source/Miami), Florida, during the winters.][{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44066447/miss_walker_pt_2_20_november/|title=Face May Prove Fortune (pt. 2)|newspaper=The Boston Globe|page=4|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}][{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44066352/face_may_prove_fortune_pt_1_20/|title=Face May Prove Fortune (pt. 1)|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=November 20, 1935|page=1|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}][ At age 10, Walker moved to Miami and eventually graduated from [Miami High School](/source/Miami_High_School).][ She returned to Boston to study [Japanese art](/source/Japanese_art) at the [School of the Museum of Fine Arts](/source/School_of_the_Museum_of_Fine_Arts_at_Tufts), with a specialty in [Japanese prints](/source/Woodblock_printing_in_Japan).][{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44065734/the_boston_globe/|title=Boston Miss in Screen Debut|first=Mayme Ober|last=Peak|date=December 4, 1937|newspaper=The Boston Globe|page=9|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}] She was a member of the [Junior League of Boston](/source/Junior_League_of_Boston).[{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44066069/the_boston_globe/|title=Boston's Own Virginia Walker Gets Role With Jimmy Dunn|first=Mayme Ober|last=Peak|date=March 31, 1945|newspaper=The Boston Globe|page=12|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}]
==Early work==
Walker began modeling in national magazine advertisements for various companies, including a car manufacturer and a garment designer.[ She performed in amateur stage productions in Brookline, including dramatic plays staged by the [Harvard Dramatic Club](/source/Harvard_Radcliffe_Dramatic_Club) and comedies produced by the [Hasty Pudding Club](/source/Hasty_Pudding_Club).][{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43934423/virginia_hawks_dead_on_coast/|title=Virginia Hawks Dead on Coast|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=December 24, 1946|page=12|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}] Additionally, she created a skin care product which she manufactured in her home kitchen.[
==Film career==
In 1935, Walker responded to a call for "new faces" by [Hollywood](/source/Cinema_of_the_United_States) filmmaker [Cecil B. DeMille](/source/Cecil_B._DeMille), who sought a new actress for his production of ''[Samson and Delilah](/source/Samson_and_Delilah_(1949_film))''. DeMille received 3,000 entries from around the country and chose Walker's picture together with five others for further consideration.][ She was ultimately not chosen for a screen test, but in June 1937, a [Universal Pictures](/source/Universal_Pictures) scout saw Walker's picture in a magazine advertisement for a soap product, signed her to a contract, and brought her to Hollywood.][
Before the studio cast her in a film, however, Walker and a friend went to visit executives at [RKO Pictures](/source/RKO_Pictures), including director [Howard Hawks](/source/Howard_Hawks). Hawks recognized Walker from her magazine advertisements and wanted her to work for him. He negotiated Walker's release from Universal and signed her to a personal contract.][ She was one of the first actresses whom Hawks signed to a personal contract, and was loaned to RKO to appear in Hawks's 1938 film ''[Bringing Up Baby](/source/Bringing_Up_Baby)''.{{sfn|McCarthy|2007|p=391}} Walker made her film debut playing Alice Swallow, the fiancée of [Cary Grant](/source/Cary_Grant)'s character.{{sfn|McCarthy|2007|p=391}}][{{cite web |url= https://cine-fille.com/2011/07/31/bringing-up-baby-the-supporting-cast/|title=''Bringing Up Baby'': Meet the Supporting Cast|date=July 31, 2011|access-date=February 9, 2020|work=Cine-Fille}}]
She put aside her screen career upon her marriage in 1938,[{{cite news|url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/16120123/the_decatur_daily_review/|title=Film Actress Dies|date=December 24, 1946|newspaper=The Decatur Daily Review|page=15|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}] but resumed it after her 1942 divorce. In the second part of her career, she signed with [20th Century Fox](/source/20th_Century_Fox)[ and played bit roles in four films, three of them uncredited.][ In 1945 she was signed to appear with [James Dunn](/source/James_Dunn_(actor)) in ''Command to Embezzle'',][ a drama film that was ultimately shelved.][{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LQgbBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT124|title= Joan Blondell: A Life Between Takes|first=Matthew|last=Kennedy|year=2009|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|isbn= 9781626744325|page=124}}]
==Personal life==
Walker married film producer [William Hawks](/source/William_Hawks), brother of Howard Hawks, in June 1938 in Mexico.{{sfn|McCarthy|2007|p=391}}[{{cite news|title=Bessie Love's Former Husband Weds Actress|newspaper=[The Hartford Courant](/source/Hartford_Courant)|date=June 29, 1938|page=4}}] It was the second marriage for Hawks.[{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NQwEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT54|title=Divorces|magazine=[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))|date=November 14, 1942| volume=54|issue=46|page=54}}]
Walker died on December 23, 1946, after a months-long illness and a surgical procedure at [Cedars-Sinai Hospital](/source/Cedars-Sinai_Medical_Center) in Los Angeles.[{{cite web |url= https://www.aenigma-images.com/2017/06/photo-research/virginia/|title=Virginia Walker|publisher=aenigma-images.com|year=2020|access-date=February 9, 2020}}][{{cite web |url= https://www.nytimes.com/1946/12/25/archives/mrs-virginia-w-hawks-former-actress-left-boston-society-for-film.html|title= MRS. VIRGINIA W. HAWKS; Former Actress Left Boston Society for Film Career|date=December 25, 1946|access-date=February 9, 2020|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)}}] A [requiem](/source/requiem) mass was held for her at the [Church of the Good Shepherd](/source/Church_of_the_Good_Shepherd_(Beverly_Hills%2C_California)) in [Beverly Hills](/source/Beverly_Hills%2C_California).[{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44065149//|title=Mass Thursday for Mrs. Hawks, Former Actress|newspaper=Valley Times|location=North Hollywood, California|date=December 24, 1946|page=2|via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)}}{{open access}}]
==Filmography==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Film
! Role
! Notes
|-
|rowspan=1|1938
|''[Bringing Up Baby](/source/Bringing_Up_Baby)''
|Alice Swallow
|
|-
|rowspan=4|1945
|''[A Royal Scandal](/source/A_Royal_Scandal_(1945_film))''
|Lady-in-waiting
|Uncredited
|-
|''[Diamond Horseshoe](/source/Diamond_Horseshoe)''
|Chorine
|Uncredited
|-
|''[Nob Hill](/source/Nob_Hill_(film))''
|Mrs. Van Buren
|Uncredited
|-
|''[The Caribbean Mystery](/source/The_Caribbean_Mystery)''
|Adelaide Marcel
|
|}
{{col-end}}
Sources:[{{sfn|McBride|2013|p=237}}{{sfn|American Film Institute Catalog|1999|p=380}}]