Virginia Christine
Encyclopedia
Virginia Christine was an American
film
and television
actress and voice artist. Christine had a long career as a character actress in film and television. She played "Mrs. Olsen" (or the "Folgers Coffee Woman") in a number of television commercials for Folgers
.
, she began working in radio while attending UCLA
. She was trained for a theatrical career by actor/director Fritz Feld
, whom she married in 1940. In 1942, she signed a contract with Warner Bros.
, and started appearing in various films. Her first film was Edge of Darkness (1942), in which she played a Norwegian peasant girl. In 1946 she played a notable supporting role in the film noir classic The Killers. Also in 1946 she appeared in The Scarlet Horseman a 13 chapter Universal serial playing Carla Marquette aka Matosca.
She was adept at imitating foreign accents
when the role required it. In "The Lady in Black", a 1953 episode of Adventures of Superman
, she appears as the title character, affecting a stereotypically mysterious eastern-European accent. She guest starred in two 1950s
Rod Cameron
series, State Trooper
and COronado 9
as well as the anthology series, The DuPont Show with June Allyson
and Behind Closed Doors
, and the syndicated sitcom How to Marry a Millionaire
.
She also appeared in the first Brian Keith
series, Crusader
, a Cold War
drama, on Jeannie Carson
's short-lived CBS sitcom, Hey, Jeannie!
, and in the syndicated western
series Frontier Doctor
, with Rex Allen
. In the episode, she played a deranged woman who blamed the murders she had committed on her younger brother played by Robert Vaughn
. In 1961-1962, she appeared occasionally in the role of Ovie in the NBC western Tales of Wells Fargo
, starring Dale Robertson
. In 1965, she appeared in The Virginian
a long running TV western. She appeared in "The Awakening" which was a farewell episode for Roberta Shore
.
Over the years she appeared in prestigious films such as High Noon
(1952) and Judgment at Nuremberg
(1961), as well as horror films such as The Mummy's Curse
(1944) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). She was a favorite of director Stanley Kramer
, appearing in a number of his films. One of her most notable roles was as Hilary St. George, the bigoted
co-worker of the Katharine Hepburn
character in the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
(1967).
Her greatest fame came in 1965 when she started her 21-year stint as the matronly Mrs. Olsen, who always had comforting words for young married couples while pouring Folgers Coffee in the TV commercials. In 1971, Christine's hometown honored her by transforming the city water tower to resemble a giant coffeepot.
She died in 1996, aged 76, from heart disease. Her interment was in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
actress and voice artist. Christine had a long career as a character actress in film and television. She played "Mrs. Olsen" (or the "Folgers Coffee Woman") in a number of television commercials for Folgers
Folgers
Folgers Coffee is a major brand of coffee in the United States, part of the food and beverage division of The J.M. Smucker Co.-Company history:...
.
Biography
Born as Virginia Christine Kraft in Stanton, IowaStanton, Iowa
Stanton is a city in Montgomery County, Iowa, United States. The population was 714 at the 2000 census.Stanton was first settled by Swedish immigrants. Stanton is best known for its two water towers, the tanks of which are painted and shaped like a giant coffee pot and coffee cup...
, she began working in radio while attending UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. She was trained for a theatrical career by actor/director Fritz Feld
Fritz Feld
Fritz Feld was a film character actor actor who appeared in over 140 films, both silent and sound. His trademark was to slap his mouth with the palm of his hand to create a pop sound.-Biography:...
, whom she married in 1940. In 1942, she signed a contract with Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
, and started appearing in various films. Her first film was Edge of Darkness (1942), in which she played a Norwegian peasant girl. In 1946 she played a notable supporting role in the film noir classic The Killers. Also in 1946 she appeared in The Scarlet Horseman a 13 chapter Universal serial playing Carla Marquette aka Matosca.
She was adept at imitating foreign accents
Accent (linguistics)
In linguistics, an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside , the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language In...
when the role required it. In "The Lady in Black", a 1953 episode of Adventures of Superman
Adventures of Superman (TV series)
Adventures of Superman is an American television series based on comic book characters and concepts created in 1938 by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The show is the first television series to feature Superman and began filming in 1951 in California...
, she appears as the title character, affecting a stereotypically mysterious eastern-European accent. She guest starred in two 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...
Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron
Rod Cameron was a Canadian-born movie actor whose career extended from the 1930s to the 1970s. He appeared in horror, war, action and science fiction movies, but is best remembered for his many Westerns....
series, State Trooper
State Trooper (TV series)
State Trooper is a half-hour television crime drama set in the 1950s American West, starring Rod Cameron as Rod Blake, an officer of the Nevada State Troopers. The series aired 104 episodes in syndication from September 25, 1956, to June 25, 1959...
and COronado 9
COronado 9
Coronado 9 is a syndicated crime drama set in San Diego, California, starring Rod Cameron as Dan Adams, a former United States Navy intelligence officer turned private detective. Coronado 9 is Adams's address; the numeral 9 on a rock shown near his front door in the opening credits denotes the...
as well as the anthology series, The DuPont Show with June Allyson
The DuPont Show with June Allyson
The DuPont Show with June Allyson is an American anthology drama series which aired on CBS from September 21, 1959 to April 3, 1961 with rebroadcasts continuing until June 12, 1961...
and Behind Closed Doors
Behind Closed Doors (1958 TV series)
Behind Closed Doors is an American drama series set during the Cold War hosted by and occasionally starring Bruce Gordon in the role of Commander Matson. The series, which aired on NBC from October 2, 1958, to April 9, 1959, focuses, among other themes, on how the former Soviet Union stole American...
, and the syndicated sitcom How to Marry a Millionaire
How to Marry a Millionaire (TV series)
How to Marry a Millionaire is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from 1957 to 1959. The series was based on the 1953 film of the same name which starred Marilyn Monroe, Betty Grable, and Lauren Bacall.-Synopsis:...
.
She also appeared in the first Brian Keith
Brian Keith
Brian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
series, Crusader
Crusader (TV series)
Crusader is a half-hour black-and-white American adventure/drama series that aired on CBS for two seasons from October 7, 1955 to December 28, 1956.-Synopsis:...
, a Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
drama, on Jeannie Carson
Jeannie Carson
Jeannie Carson is a retired English-born United States-based comedienne and musical theatre actress...
's short-lived CBS sitcom, Hey, Jeannie!
Hey, Jeannie!
Hey, Jeannie! is a 32-episode half-hour situation comedy starring Jeannie Carson as a young Scottish woman living in New York City. Twenty-six segments aired on CBS from September 8, 1956 to May 4, 1957 in the Saturday slot following The Gale Storm Show and preceding the western series Gunsmoke.Six...
, and in the syndicated western
Western (genre)
The Western is a genre of various visual arts, such as film, television, radio, literature, painting and others. Westerns are devoted to telling stories set primarily in the latter half of the 19th century in the American Old West, hence the name. Some Westerns are set as early as the Battle of...
series Frontier Doctor
Frontier Doctor
For the NBC program similarly named, see Frontier .Frontier Doctor is an American Western television series starring Rex Allen that aired in syndication from September 26, 1958, until June 20, 1959.-Synopsis:...
, with Rex Allen
Rex Allen
Rex Elvie Allen was an American film actor, singer and songwriter, known as the Arizona Cowboy, particularly known as the narrator in many Disney nature and Western film productions. For contributions to the recording industry, Allen was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Family...
. In the episode, she played a deranged woman who blamed the murders she had committed on her younger brother played by Robert Vaughn
Robert Vaughn
Robert Francis Vaughn, , is an American actor noted for stage, film and television work. His best known roles include the suave spy Napoleon Solo in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., wealthy detective Harry Rule in the 1970s television series The Protectors, Albert Stroller in...
. In 1961-1962, she appeared occasionally in the role of Ovie in the NBC western Tales of Wells Fargo
Tales of Wells Fargo
Tales of Wells Fargo is an American Western television series that ran from March 18, 1957 to June 2, 1962 on NBC. Produced by Revue Productions, the series aired in a half-hour format until its final season when it expanded to an hour.-Synopsis:...
, starring Dale Robertson
Dale Robertson
Dayle Lymoine "Dale" Robertson is an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the role of Jim Hardie in the TV series, Tales of Wells Fargo, and the owner of an incomplete railroad line in ABC's The Iron Horse, often appearing as the deceptively thoughtful but...
. In 1965, she appeared in The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
a long running TV western. She appeared in "The Awakening" which was a farewell episode for Roberta Shore
Roberta Shore
Roberta Jymme Schourop , better known as Roberta Shore, is an American actress and performer, most famous for her youthful television and movie roles in the 1950s and early 1960s....
.
Over the years she appeared in prestigious films such as High Noon
High Noon
High Noon is a 1952 American Western film directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly. The film tells in real time the story of a town marshal forced to face a gang of killers by himself...
(1952) and Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judgment at Nuremberg is a 1961 American drama film dealing with the Holocaust and the Post-World War II Nuremberg Trials. It was written by Abby Mann, directed by Stanley Kramer, and starred Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Maximilian Schell, Werner Klemperer, Marlene Dietrich, Judy...
(1961), as well as horror films such as The Mummy's Curse
The Mummy's Curse
The Mummy's Curse is the 1944 horror film follow-up to The Mummy's Ghost which was also released in 1944. This film marks Lon Chaney, Jr.'s final appearance as Kharis, the Egyptian mummy. The Universal Mummy series boasts of a parallel-earth kind of timeline...
(1944) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). She was a favorite of director Stanley Kramer
Stanley Kramer
Stanley Earl Kramer was an American film director and producer. Kramer was responsible for some of Hollywood's most famous "message" movies...
, appearing in a number of his films. One of her most notable roles was as Hilary St. George, the bigoted
Bigotry
A bigot is a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs...
co-worker of the Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
character in the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a 1967 American drama film starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, and featuring Hepburn's niece Katharine Houghton...
(1967).
Her greatest fame came in 1965 when she started her 21-year stint as the matronly Mrs. Olsen, who always had comforting words for young married couples while pouring Folgers Coffee in the TV commercials. In 1971, Christine's hometown honored her by transforming the city water tower to resemble a giant coffeepot.
She died in 1996, aged 76, from heart disease. Her interment was in Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery
Mount Sinai Memorial Parks and Mortuaries refers to two Jewish cemeteries in the Los Angeles, California metropolitan area. The original cemetery is located at 5950 Forest Lawn Drive in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles. The cemetery was originally established in 1953 by the neighboring Forest...
.