Virginia Lee Corbin

American actress (1910–1942)

Virginia Lee Corbin

Born	(1910-12-05)December 5, 1910 Prescott, Arizona, U.S.
Died	June 5, 1942(1942-06-05) (aged 31) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1913–1931
Spouse(s)	Theodore Krol (1929–1937; divorced); 2 children Charles Jacobson (m. 193?)
Children	2

Virginia Lee Corbin (December 5, 1910^{[citation needed]} – June 4, 1942^[1]) was an American silent film actress.

Early years

Corbin was born Laverne Virginia Corbin in Prescott, Arizona to Leon Ernest Corbin and Virginia Frances (Cox) Corbin, and she had a sister, Ruth Emilie (Corbin) Miehle De Vries Lipari.^[2]

Career

Corbin began her career as a child actress in 1916, when she was billed as Baby Virginia Corbin.^[3] When she was six years old, she starred in fairy-tale films made by the William Fox Company.^[4] The success of Jack and the Beanstalk (1917) was such that Fox signed Corbin to a five-year contract. In addition to her salary, the contract specified that the company would provide instruction for her education.^[5]

She went on to become a youthful flapper in the 1920s. She was one of the many silent stars that would not make it in the sound era, and retired from acting in the early 1930s.^[6]

Corbin was named one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1925.^[7] She also had a nervous breakdown in 1925, causing her to miss making films.^[8] Films in which she starred included Alladin and the Wonderful Lamp,The City That Never Sleeps, Knee High, The Perfect Sap, and Hands Up. Her career ended with her working as an extra in 1940.^[1]

Personal life and death

She married New York broker Theodore Krol in 1929, retiring from films for the marriage,^[9] and they had two children, Harold Phillip and Robert Lee.^[10] They divorced in 1937 and shortly after she married another Chicago stockbroker, Charles Jacobson.^[11]

Corbin died on June 4, 1942, in Winfield, Illinois, aged 30.^[2]

Partial filmography

Let Katie Do It (1916) – Child (uncredited)
Intolerance (1916) – Child in Epilogue (uncredited)
Pidgin Island (1916) – Minor Role (uncredited)
Heart Strings (1917) – Johanna – as a child
Vengeance of the Dead (1917, Short)
Jack and the Beanstalk (1917) – Virginia / Princess Regina
Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp (1917) – Princess Badr al-badr
The Babes in the Woods (1917) – Rose / Gretel
Treasure Island (1917) – Louise Trelawney
Six-Shooter Andy (1918) – Susan's Sister (uncredited)
Ace High (1918) – Annette Dupre (child)
Fan Fan (1918) – Fan Fan
The Forbidden Room (1919) – Virginia Clark
The White Dove (1920) – Dorothy Lanyon
Enemies of Children (1923)
The Cafe of Fallen Angels (1923)
Fight and Win (1924)
Wine of Youth (1924) – Flapper
Sinners in Silk (1924) – Flapper
The City That Never Sleeps (1924) – Molly Kendall
Broken Laws (1924) – Patsy Heath – age 16
The Chorus Lady (1924) – Nora O'Brien
Three Keys (1925) – Edna Trevor
The Cloud Rider (1925) – Blythe Wingate
Lilies of the Streets (1925) – Judith Lee
Headlines (1925) – 'Bobby' Dale
The Handsome Brute (1925) – Nelly Egan
North Star (1925) – Marcia Gale
Hands Up! (1926) – Alice Woodstock
The Honeymoon Express (1926) – Becky
Ladies at Play (1926) – Dotty
The Whole Town's Talking (1926) – Ethel Simmons
The Perfect Sap (1927) – Ruth Webster
Driven from Home (1927)
Play Safe (1927) – Virginia Craig
No Place to Go (1927) – Virginia Dare
The Head of the Family (1928) – Alice Sullivan
Bare Knees (1928) – Billie Durey
The Little Snob (1928) – Jane
Jazzland (1928) – Martha Baggott
Footlights and Fools (1929) – Claire Floyd
Knee High (1929)
Morals for Women (1931) – Maybelle
Shotgun Pass (1931) – Sally Seagrue
Forgotten Women (1931) – Sissy Salem
X Marks the Spot (1931) – Hortense
Letter of Introduction (1938) – Woman at Barry's Party (uncredited)
Adventure in Diamonds (1940) – Nightclub Woman (uncredited) (final film role)

References

^ ^a ^b "The Final Curtain" (PDF). Billboard. June 27, 1942. p. 25. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Virginia Lee Corbin". The New York Times. June 6, 1942. p. 13. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
^ Motion Picture Classic Vol. III No. 7 (March 1917)
^ Lussier, Tim (2018). "Bare Knees" Flapper: The Life and Films of Virginia Lee Corbin. McFarland. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-4766-3425-8. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
^ "Young Fox Stars". Motography. August 25, 1917. p. 399. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
^ Silents Are Golden website article
^ "WAMPAS pick 1925 crop of baby screen stars". Los Angeles Evening Post-Record. January 5, 1925. p. 1. Retrieved April 23, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Virginia Lee Corbin Has Breakdown". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 29, 1925. p. 21. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
^ "Son to Virginia Lee Corbin, Actress". The New York Times. August 30, 1932. p. 21. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
^ "Husband Sues Virginia Krol". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 25, 1937. p. 37. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
^ Lussier, T: "Silentera.com"