#virginia biddle

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Virginia Biddle (1910-2003) was an American revue performer and showgirl. Biddle was a regular performer in Florenz Ziegfeld's "Follies" shows until 1931.

In July 1931, Biddle sustained burns to her feet and ankles in the explosion of Harry Richman's yacht Chevalier II. Her friend and fellow cast member in the 1931 Follies, Helen Walsh, was killed. Although she played the benefit performance of the Follies in Walsh's memory, Biddle ended her career on the stage in the wake of the accident, and her injuries also forced her to abandon dancing. She sued Richman for $50,000 damages but received only $50.

Biddle married twice and had three children, later forging a career as a realtor in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. In 2003 she suffered injuries in a car accident and died shortly afterwards. Photo by De Barron

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Remembering dancer/model VIRGINIA BIDDLE…

Biddle appeared as a showgirl in the original 1927 production of “Show Boat”, at the Ziegfeld Theatre. She was also given a featured dance bit in 1928's "Rio Rita," which played on Broadway at three different theatres: the Ziegfeld, the Lyric and the Majestic, for a total of 494 performances. She became a regular presence in Ziegfeld's shows until the final Follies of 1931.

By 1931, she was seen as the girlfriend of actor/performer Harry Richman. Biddle was a close friend of fellow Ziegfeld performers Gladys Glad and Helen Walsh.

On July 26th of 1931, Richman made plans to take his new 36-foot motor yacht, 'Chevalier II' out for a trip with a hired pilot, inviting Miss Biddle, Daily Mirror writer Mark Hellinger, and the two other Ziegfeld girls: Miss Glad (who was also Hellinger's wife, they having been married in 1929), and Miss Walsh.

The boat was docked at Greenport, LI. Everybody piled aboard, some below decks/some above. The pilot got on and pressed the starter button - the boat, freshly filled with 140 gallons of gas, immediately exploded.

The pilot, a Capt. Samuel White, was blown overboard. Glad and Biddle somehow scrambled out from below decks and jumped into the water. Helen Walsh was not so fortunate: she was trapped below deck in a raging inferno. Richman and Hellinger raced below to see what they could do - somehow in the smoke and fire, Richman managed to reach Walsh and take her out, throwing her in the water and following in after her. The deck was close at hand, and all scrambled out.

The three men, and Gladys Glad, weren't hurt. Virginia Biddle had burns on her feet and legs. Helen Walsh was worse off. She had made it to a hospital in time, but her burns were too severe. Walsh died at age 23. At a benefit put on by Flo Ziegfeld a few nights later, every union stagehand and actor donated their services for the evening, so great was their affection for the much-loved showgirl. An event, in those days, unheard of for even the greatest of stars.

Virginia Biddle retired from the business shortly afterwards due to the burns on her feet. She married and became a realtor in Old Saybrook, Conn. She died from injuries in a car crash in 2003, at the age of 92.

PHOTO:

Virginia Biddle by Alfred Cheney Johnston, 1927.

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Virginia Biddle (1910-2003), danseuse de revue et showgirl dans les Ziegfeld Follies - 1927

Photo de Alfred Cheney Johnston

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Virginia Biddle portrait by Alfred Cheney Johnston.

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Vintage Bohemian or “Gypsy” styles from the early 1900s through the 1920s. Now that it is 2020, I think this style deserves a comeback.

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Virginia Biddle portrait by Alfred Cheney Johnston

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Virginia Biddle fotografiada por Alfred Cheney Johnston (hacia 1929).