Virginia Gregg
Virginia Gregg (March 6, 1916 – September 15, 1986) was an American actress best known for her many radio and television roles. She was born in Harrisburg, Illinois, to musician Dewey Alphaleta Todd and businessman Edward William Gregg. When she was five, her family moved to Pasadena, California. She studied at Jefferson High School, Pasadena Junior College, and the Pacific Academy of Dramatic Art. Before turning to radio, she played the double bass with the Pasadena Symphony and Pops and sang with the Singing Strings on KHJ, CBS, and Mutual.
Gregg had a long and varied career in radio, appearing on programs such as The Adventures of Sam Spade, Dragnet, Dr. Kildare, Gunsmoke, The Jack Benny Program, Lux Radio Theatre, One Man’s Family, Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, and many others. On Have Gun–Will Travel she played Miss Wong, and she also acted in the radio version of Richard Diamond, Private Detective. She moved into film and television, acting in more than 45 films including Body and Soul (1947), I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955), The D.I. (1957), Operation Petticoat (1959), All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960), Spencer's Mountain (1963), Madigan (1968), and S.O.B. (1981). She often spoke about being a versatile character actress, joking that casting calls for a woman who looks like the wrath of God found her.
On television, Gregg appeared on many popular series from the late 1950s to the 1970s, including Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Perry Mason, Maverick, The Twilight Zone, Bewitched, Kung Fu, The Rockford Files, and My Three Sons. She also appeared in The Waltons and Spencer’s Mountain-related projects, and did voice work for The Herculoids and the Hitchcock Presents episode And So Died Riabouchinska. She provided the uncredited voice of Mrs. Bates in Psycho (1960) and later voiced characters in Psycho II and Psycho III. She was married to producer Jaime del Valle in 1948, and they had three children before divorcing in 1959. She later volunteered with Recording for the Blind.
Virginia Gregg died of lung cancer in Encino, California, at the age of 70.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:49 (CET).