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Virginia Cherrill
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Virginia Cherrill (April 12, 1908 - November 14, 1996) was an American actress best known for her role as the blind flower girl in Charlie Chaplin's City Lights (1931). Due to marrying an English earl in the 1940s, she is ... known as Virginia Child-Villiers, Countess of Jersey.
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At one point, Virginia Cherrill came back to the set late from an appointment, keeping Charles Chaplin waiting. Chaplin, whose relationship with Cherrill was not friendly, fired her on the spot. He intended to reshoot the film with Georgia Hale, his heroine from The Gold Rush (1925), playing the flower girl; he even reshot the final scene between the tramp and the flower girl with Hale in the role. However, Chaplin had already spent far too much time and money on the project to start over. Knowing this, Cherrill offered to come back to work - at double her original salary. Chaplin reluctantly agreed and the film was completed
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The movie follows the misadventures of a lovable but bumbling Tramp (Chaplin), who finds himself hopelessly smitten by a Blind Girl (Virginia Cherrill), who he encounters by chance on a New York City street corner. An unfortunate coincidence (the first of many) leads the girl to believe the Tramp is a wealthy gentleman of the highest order, and, unwilling to dash her hopes, he allows the fantasy to continue. As luck would have it, the Tramp saves An Eccentric (and terribly drunken) Millionaire (Harry Myers) from suicide, and the grateful man takes the Tramp under his wing. Their relationship... ebbs and flows depending on the Millionaire's level of inebriation, which provokes several comedic situations.
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Virginia Cherrill was born on a farm in rural Carthage, Illinois to James E. and Blanche (née Wilcox) Cherrill. She moved to Hollywood and met Charlie Chaplin when he sat next to her at a boxing match. He cast her in City Lights in which she gave the performance for which she is remembered, although her working relationship with Chaplin on the film was often strained. As indicated in the documentary Unknown Chaplin, Cherrill was in fact fired from the film at one point and Chaplin planned to refilm all her scenes with Georgia Hale, but ultimately realized too much money had already been spent on the picture; as Cherrill recalls in the documentary, close friend Marion Davies suggested Cherrill hold out for more money when Chaplin asked her to return to the film, and she did.
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Virginia Cherrill seems to have been a little unfairly maligned over the years because she was most likley Chaplin's least favorite leading lady and she was not a professional actress. However, she turns in a commendable performance, especially when one considers she was not a professional.
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Cherrill bleef hierna tot 1936 werkzaam als actrice. Tijdens de première van Blonde Venus (1932), ontmoette ze Cary Grant, met wie ze van 10 februari 1934 tot en met 26 maart 1935 getrouwd zou zijn.
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Virginia Cherrill