Summary
- Anna Torv's portrayal of Virginia Grey in HBO's The Pacific offers a glimpse into the fascinating life of a Hollywood actress who had a successful career spanning almost 50 years.
- Despite never becoming an A-lister, Virginia Grey appeared in major films and worked alongside renowned actors, maintaining her career by playing various supporting roles.
- Grey's real-life connection to John Basilone, as depicted in The Pacific, involved their brief romance during their time participating in the war bond tour, with Grey later having a relationship with Clark Gable.
In HBO’s The Pacific, Anna Torv makes a brief appearance as Virginia Grey, a real actress who led a fascinating life. The Pacific offers an expansive, true account of the Pacific Theater of World War II, as seen through the eyes of real Marines. Much like its Eastern front counterpart, Band of Brothers, The Pacific’s high budget allowed it to take on a vast scope in depicting the numerous real-life figures and details that composed the stories of its lead characters.
One such story takes place during “Peleliu Landing,” the fifth episode of The Pacific. In the episode, Sgt. John Basilone, played by Jon Seda in the series, finds himself transferred from the front lines to the war bonds tour following his heroic turn at Guadalcanal and subsequent Medal of Honor. The episode, while depicting Basilone’s rising dissatisfaction with the tour, also features a romance with one of his fellow touring stars, the film actress Virginia Grey. Grey, who’s played in the series by Anna Torv of the Mindhunter cast, was a prolific Hollywood figure.
Who Was Virginia Grey?
While she never attained A-lister fame, Virginia Grey saw a decades-spanning career as a Hollywood actress. Following an acting debut at the age of 10, in the 1927 silent film Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Grey worked consistently in Hollywood for almost 50 years. The actress appeared in numerous major films, including the Marx Brothers’ The Big Store, Another Thin Man, and the musical Hullabaloo. While she was considered a great Hollywood beauty, she generally played a supporting role to bigger stars such as Betty Grable, Micky Rooney, and Rock Hudson.
Grey did see some leading roles in her career, but they were generally in B movies such as the dinosaur film Unknown Island and the schlocky House of Horrors. Nevertheless, the actress was able to maintain a solid career well past the age where parts often dried up for actresses in Hollywood. “She could play the girl next door or somebody's other woman. And that was what kept her working” said A-lister Ann Rutherford (via NYT), but Grey herself had a more pragmatic explanation for her own longevity: “I consider myself a professional who acts -- not to express my soul or elevate the cinema, but to entertain and get paid for it.”
Virginia Grey's Connection To John Basilone In Real Life
The Pacific’s true story of John Basilone’s service career includes his tenure selling war bonds in the States. The series’ depiction of Basilone’s brief romantic entanglement with Virginia Grey is likewise based in fact. Grey’s contributions to the war effort saw her join the war bond tour and act as a frequent volunteer hostess at the star-studded Hollywood canteen, where military servicemen ate for free. It was on the war bond tour that she met John Basilone. Interestingly, the small size of her role in the series corresponds to the brevity of their relationship. After the events of The Pacific, Grey had a romance with actor Clark Gable, although the two never married.
Source: The New York Times