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September 20, 1921 - May 6, 2014 Virginia E. Califano (Virginia Belmont) Virginia Califano, 92, passed away on May 6, 2014 at her home in Hollywood, CA. The daughter of Ernestine and Henry Schupp, she was born on September, 20, 1921, in New York City. She graduated from UCLA where she studied Italian. Virginia enjoyed a successful movie and stage career in the 1940s and 1950s in the heyday of Hollywood-made westerns and traveling roadshows. Her stage name was Virginia Belmont. She co-starred in westerns with Jimmy Wakely, Johnny Mack Brown, and William Boyd (Hopalong Cassidy). A beautiful woman, she traveled throughout the United States as one of Director Samuel Goldwyn's "Goldwyn Girls." In 1941, she married Hollywood restaurateur Albert Califano, a native-born Italian and later naturalized U.S. citizen. He was very instrumental in fostering her career in Hollywood. They subsequently moved to Rome, Italy, where Virginia starred in several popular Italian movies, and Albert was a correspondent for the "Hollywood Reporter." Fluent in Italian, she transitioned quickly into an expanded and successful acting career in Italy. Following her retirement in the late 50s, she joined United Airlines in Sales and Reservations. She was employed by United for 28 years. She and Albert traveled the world. She is survived by her sister, June Schaefer of Livermore, CA, her daughter-in-law Katharine Turner of San Jose, CA, and several nephews and nieces. She was pre-deceased by her husband, Albert, their two children, Diane and Robert, and her brother, George Schupp. She will be interred at Mt. Hope Cemetery in a family plot in San Diego, CA.
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Published in the Los Angeles Times from May 14 to May 18, 2014
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