Virginia Dabney

Born in Atlanta, Virginia Dabney studied dance at the Potter-Spiker School, and during her sophomore year at Washington Seminary she moved to Beverly Hills. After attending Westlake School for Girls, she began as a ballroom dancer in orchestral shows, before attracting the attention of scouts while playing in two musical comedies at the Mayan Theater in Los Angles. Although she never desired an acting career, and only sought a way to support herself and her mother during the Depression, by 1932 she was working in movies from gangster pictures such as Scarface (1932) to musicals such as 42nd Street (1933). Beginning in mid-1933, Virginia was placed under contract as a "stock-girl" at Warner Bros. for two years, earning $50 a week, $1,700 a year, and with a contract specifying she could not add or subtract more than five pounds from her 5'4", 118-pound frame. During this time, Virginia worked on a number of the musicals of Busby Berkeley, including Footlight Parade (1933), '42nd Street'