Mastering Radio and Television

Virginia Gregg (1916-1986) was an American actress known for her many roles in radio dramas and prolific work in television from the Fifties into the mid-Eighties. Gregg's versatility as a voice actress on radio cast her in the major programs of the day, including Lux Radio Theatre, Dragnet, Dr. Kildare, Gunsmoke, The Jack Benny Program, Let George Do It, and Mutual Radio Theater, to name a few. During the Bob Bailey years in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar, she was exceptional, often cast as his sexy potential love interest yet ultimately her true nature arose by the episode's end as a two-timing criminal. Gregg was equally effective as Richard Diamond's girlfriend, the wealthy Helen Asher, on the Richard Diamond, Private Detective radio series starring Dick Powell. In addition, Gregg made more than forty-five films from 1947 to 1981.

But she made her indelible mark on television. Roles that somewhat typecast her as a homely, disgruntled housewife, belligerent individual, or a condescending co-worker. Her ability to appear in these roles thanks to no makeup and an angry countenance. A face that eventually was made for radio. But she was much more than this. She appeared in nearly every narrative television series in the late Fifties through the mid-Seventies, including Bourbon Street Beat, Hawaiian Eye, 77 Sunset Strip, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Perry Mason, Wanted Dead or Alive, The Virginian, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Wagon Train, Mannix, Make Room for Daddy, My Favorite Martian, The Twilight Zone, and The Rockford Files, just to add a smattering. Gregg perhaps is best remembered for her many appearances in Jack Webb's Dragnet television series, but she and Webb had a long working relationship since his radio version.

Note: Before going into radio, Gregg played the double bass with the Pasadena Symphony and Pops. She was a member of the Singing Strings group heard initially locally in Los Angeles in 1937 and later on CBS and Mutual.