Victoria Horne

Victoria Horne
File:CuckoochooCHOP.jpg Victoria Horne (second from left) with the Three Stooges and co-star Patricia Wright (second from right) in Cuckoo on a Choo Choo.
Born	Victoria Horne (1911-11-01)November 1, 1911 New York City, New York, USA
Died	Beverly Hills, California, USA
Resting place	Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale
Other names	Victoria Horne Oakie
Years active	1944 - 1959
Spouse(s)	Jack Oakie (1950 - 1978)

Victoria Horne (November 1, 1911 – October 10, 2003) was an American character actress, appearing in 49 films (uncredited in 25 of these) during the 1940s and 1950s. She was born in New York City, New York on November 1, 1911 to Ignatz Hornstein (who emigrated from Braila, Romania) and Mary Louise Schoenwetter Hornstein. She was the second of four children. The family named was changed to Horne when she was a child.

Career

The films in which she appeared included Blue Skies, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, and Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff. Perhaps her best-known film roles were as Myrtle Mae Simmons in the 1950 film adaptation of Mary Chase's play Harvey, as Roberta in the 1952 Three Stooges short subject Cuckoo on a Choo Choo, and as Nabura, a villainous Japanese agent in the 1945 serial Secret Agent X-9.

Personal

She married actor Jack Oakie in 1950 and remained with him until his death on January 23, 1978. After his death, she arranged the posthumous publication of her late husband's book, Jack Oakie's Double Takes and also published a number of other books about him.

Victoria and Jack Oakie lived their entire married life at "Oakridge", their 11-acre (45,000 m²) estate at 18650 Devonshire Street (just west of Reseda Boulevard) in Northridge, Los Angeles, California. Victoria Oakie continued to live there after her husband's death and bequeathed the estate to the University of Southern California. After two failed attempts to develop the property, Oakridge was acquired by the City of Los Angeles. The city plans to use the property as a park and community event center. Oakridge was originally commissioned by Barbara Stanwyck and designed by Paul Williams, and is considered to be one of the last remnants of the large Northridge estates famed for thoroughbred breeding. The house and grounds are Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument #484.

Partial filmography

• San Diego, I Love You (1944)
• The Scarlet Claw (1944)
• Secret Agent X-9 (1945 serial)
• The Scarlet Horseman (1946)
• To Each His Own (1946)
• Blue Skies (1946)
• Suddenly, It's Spring (1947)
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
• Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)
• The Good Humor Man (1950)
• Harvey (1950)
• Cuban Fireball (1951)
• Cuckoo on a Choo Choo (1952 short)
• Affair with a Stranger (1953)

Bibliography

• Autobiography published posthumously by Oakie's widow on January 1, 1980. 240 pages.
• A history of the Oakie family home, "Oakridge". 126 pages.
• Letters of congratulation and reminiscence sent from almost 150 celebrities to Jack Oakie in celebration of his 70th birthday. Compiled & edited by Mrs Oakie to commemorate his 90th birthday. 140 pages.

External links

• Victoria Horne at the Internet Movie Database
• Victoria Horne at the Internet Broadway Database
• Aerial view of the Jack Oakie and Victoria Horne "Oakridge" estate - (circa 2006-07)
• Victoria Horne at Find a Grave