December 31 - Virginia Davis

Image courtesy of d23.com

On this day, in 1918, Virginia Davis was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Just five years later, Virginia would be hired by a young upstart named Walt Disney to star in a film he was producing at the Laugh-O-Gram studio, Alice's Wonderland. The picture was a combination of live action footage of Virginia in an animated universe. Unfortunately, it was also more expensive to produce than the little studio could handle. Laugh-O-Gram went belly up and, if the story involved anyone other than Walt, Virginia's career would have over as soon as it began.

Image copyright Warner Brothers

Walt traveled west, however, carrying few things with him other than the print of Alice's Wonderland. He managed to restart his studio based on that print but was convinced that he wouldn't make it without his star. It apparently didn't take much to convince Virginia's parents that a move to Hollywood was in everyone's interest. Over the next two years, she would star in 15 Alice Comedies, as the series became known. Margie Gay, the next actress to portray Alice, would star in more than twice as many but it's Virginia who has become synonymous with the role. A tomboy at heart, she often said her favorite short was Alice's Wild West Show, because she got to act tough in that one.

Image courtesy findagrave.com

Following her final Alice short in 1925, Virginia was cast in the First National Pictures production The Greater Glory. This lead to a contract with famed actor of the era Harry Carey (not to be confused with the Cubs announcer). Over the next eighteen years, Virginia sang, danced and acted her way through dozens of films including Three On a Match, Flying Down to Rio and Westerns like Hands Across the Rockies. She even did some voice tests for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, but wasn't ultimately hired for it.

Like many women of the time, Virginia's career came to an end when she married a Navy aviator in 1943. Over the next several decades, she spent her time raising two daughters and occasionally working as a real estate agent. She became an official Disney Legend in 1988 for being the girl who launched the company. Virginia passed away in her sleep at her home in Corona, California on August 15, 2009. She was 90 years old.