Virginia Lee O'Brien

 Virginia Lee O'Brien (April 18, 1919 – January 16, 2001)

She performed primarily in comedic roles during the height of her formal film career. Among the films she appeared in during her time at MGM were The Big Store (1941) with the Marx Brothers, Lady Be Good (1941), Ship Ahoy (1942) with Eleanor Powell and Red Skelton, Thousands Cheer (1943), Du Barry was a Lady (1943), and The Harvey Girls (1946), among others. She made her Broadway debut in the short-lived musical Keep Off The Grass with Jimmy Durante and recorded four of the songs for Columbia Records. She also recorded several sides for Decca Records, including two of her signature songs – "The Wild, Wild West" and "Say We're Sweethearts Again." In 1984 she created a cabaret act, "Virginia O'Brien Salutes the Great MGM Musicals," which was recorded at the Masquer's Club in Hollywood. She continued to perform well into the 1990s with both her one-woman show and a production of Show Boat, co-starring Alan Young, and also headlined The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies. She died aged 81 in Woodland Hills, California, from natural causes. O'Brien was married three times, and had four children. She was also the sister of actress Mary O'Brien. Virginia O'Brien is buried at Forest Lawn-Glendale.