Virginia Christine (born Virginia Christine Ricketts; March 5, 1920
â€" July 24, 1996) was an American stage, radio, film, television, and
voice actress. Though Christine had a long career as a character
actress in film and television, she is probably best remembered as
"Mrs. Olson" (or the "Folgers Coffee Woman") in a string of television
commercials for Folgers Coffee during the 1960s and '70s.Christine was
born in Stanton in Montgomery County in southwestern Iowa. She was of
Swedish descent. Upon her mother's remarriage, she changed her last
name to "Kraft". The family later moved to Des Moines in Polk County,
where Virginia attended Elmwood Elementary School. The family
relocated again to Des Moines County in southeastern Iowa, not to be
confused with the state capital in central Iowa. There Christine
attended Mediapolis High School, where she aspired to be a concert
pianist. Her family later moved to California, where she enrolled at
UCLA.Christine began working in radio during college. She began
training for a theatrical career with actor/director Fritz Feld whom
she married in 1940. In 1942, she made her stage debut in the Los
Angeles production of Hedda Gabler. While performing in the play, she
was spotted by an agent from Warner Bros. who signed her to a film
contract with the studio. Her first film for Warner's was Edge of
Darkness (1943), in which she played a Norwegian peasant girl. She was
dropped by Warner Bros. in 1943 and signed with Universal Pictures in
1944. That year, Christine had a supporting role in The Mummy's Curse
and The Wife of Monte Cristo, with her husband Fritz Feld (the two
would also go on to appear together in the Western 4 for Texas in
1963). In 1946, she appeared in The Scarlet Horseman, a 13-chapter
film serial playing Carla Marquette, or Matosca, followed by a
supporting role in the mystery film The Inner Circle. Christine's next
film for Universal was the film noir classic The Killers. She
initially tested for the lead role of femme fatale Kitty Collins, but
lost out to Ava Gardner. The film's producer, Mark Hellinger, was
impressed with her test and cast her as Lilly Harmon Lubinsky, the
wife of Lt. Sam Lubinsky (Sam Levene). Christine also portrayed the
role of Miss Watston in the 1964 remake of the film, starring Lee
Marvin and Angie Dickinson.In 1950, she played an uncredited
supporting role in The Men. Although the part was small and the film
was not a commercial success, her performance impressed the film's
producer Stanley Kramer. She became a favorite of his, and went on to
appear in a number of his films including Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
and High Noon (1952). Kramer later cast her in the 1955 drama Not as a
Stranger, where she played a countrywoman. She also coached the film's
star Olivia de Havilland on her Swedish accent. The following year,
she co-starred in the horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In
1961, Kramer cast her again as a German housekeeper in Judgment at
Nuremberg. One of her most notable roles was as Hilary St. George, the
bigoted co-worker of Katharine Hepburn's character in the 1967 film
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
â€" July 24, 1996) was an American stage, radio, film, television, and
voice actress. Though Christine had a long career as a character
actress in film and television, she is probably best remembered as
"Mrs. Olson" (or the "Folgers Coffee Woman") in a string of television
commercials for Folgers Coffee during the 1960s and '70s.Christine was
born in Stanton in Montgomery County in southwestern Iowa. She was of
Swedish descent. Upon her mother's remarriage, she changed her last
name to "Kraft". The family later moved to Des Moines in Polk County,
where Virginia attended Elmwood Elementary School. The family
relocated again to Des Moines County in southeastern Iowa, not to be
confused with the state capital in central Iowa. There Christine
attended Mediapolis High School, where she aspired to be a concert
pianist. Her family later moved to California, where she enrolled at
UCLA.Christine began working in radio during college. She began
training for a theatrical career with actor/director Fritz Feld whom
she married in 1940. In 1942, she made her stage debut in the Los
Angeles production of Hedda Gabler. While performing in the play, she
was spotted by an agent from Warner Bros. who signed her to a film
contract with the studio. Her first film for Warner's was Edge of
Darkness (1943), in which she played a Norwegian peasant girl. She was
dropped by Warner Bros. in 1943 and signed with Universal Pictures in
1944. That year, Christine had a supporting role in The Mummy's Curse
and The Wife of Monte Cristo, with her husband Fritz Feld (the two
would also go on to appear together in the Western 4 for Texas in
1963). In 1946, she appeared in The Scarlet Horseman, a 13-chapter
film serial playing Carla Marquette, or Matosca, followed by a
supporting role in the mystery film The Inner Circle. Christine's next
film for Universal was the film noir classic The Killers. She
initially tested for the lead role of femme fatale Kitty Collins, but
lost out to Ava Gardner. The film's producer, Mark Hellinger, was
impressed with her test and cast her as Lilly Harmon Lubinsky, the
wife of Lt. Sam Lubinsky (Sam Levene). Christine also portrayed the
role of Miss Watston in the 1964 remake of the film, starring Lee
Marvin and Angie Dickinson.In 1950, she played an uncredited
supporting role in The Men. Although the part was small and the film
was not a commercial success, her performance impressed the film's
producer Stanley Kramer. She became a favorite of his, and went on to
appear in a number of his films including Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
and High Noon (1952). Kramer later cast her in the 1955 drama Not as a
Stranger, where she played a countrywoman. She also coached the film's
star Olivia de Havilland on her Swedish accent. The following year,
she co-starred in the horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers. In
1961, Kramer cast her again as a German housekeeper in Judgment at
Nuremberg. One of her most notable roles was as Hilary St. George, the
bigoted co-worker of Katharine Hepburn's character in the 1967 film
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner.
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