Virginia Arness, wife of James Arness, made her final acting appearance on Perry Mason

She later shunned Malibu life to run a roadside motel.

It is always worthwhile to pay close attention to the details in Perry Mason. Plotwise, those twisty mysteries always sprinkle clues through the episodes. From a behind-the-scenes perspective, Perry Mason cases also pack plenty of nifty Hollywood trivia. You can spot all kinds of vintage cars, bygone Los Angeles locations, recycled props, etc.

Oh, and the series cast all kinds of fascinating actors.

Take "The Case of the Gallant Grafter," for example. The 1960 episode begins with a wealthy woman named Sylvia Nelson demanding a divorce from her CEO husband. Playing Sylvia is Virginia Arness, née Chapman, who was, at the time, married to James Arness, the towering star of Gunsmoke.

However, dark clouds hung over the relationship, which was nearing its end. The two had been married since 1948. Arness adopted Chapman's son at the time. The couple had two children, Jenny Lee and Rolf, in the early 1950s. A few years later, Virginia had the chance to work with her husband, popping up in two episodes of Gunsmoke, "Reed Survives" and "The Killer." Both times, she played a gypsy. The actress also had small roles on the action shows Highway Patrol and Whirlybirds.

But a life of fame was not all it seemed. At the end of the decade, Virginia struggled deeply with mental health issues. Perry Mason's "The Case of the Gallant Grafter" would be her final screen role. The Arnesses split shortly thereafter.

Virginia walked away from her career in Hollywood and life in Malibu. She did have another moment in the spotlight, though. 

In October 1967, Virginia, still using the byline Virginia Arness, wrote a lengthy, impassioned essay in the pages of Ebony magazine. The piece, titled "From the Oasis," explained her decision to leave behind the glitz and glamor so that she could run the Oasis Motel in San Bernadino, California. The roadside motor inn still sits on N. Mount Vernon Avenue, a.k.a. the famed Route 66.

But Virginia's main motivation for running the joint was not tourism and hospitality. She yearned to live and work in a multicultural environment. "I have found a haven in this inter-racial community because — for one thing — humanitarian values are, to me, virtually non-existent in the white power structure," she writes in the rousing, somewhat conflicted commentary, which is an interesting glimpse at the Civil Rights politics of the late Sixties. She goes to great length to explain and defend her decision to live in a largely African-American neighborhood.

"My faith in mankind has been returned to me by living in this community," Arness wrote. "I am a refugee from white status society." Earlier in the article, she said, "I had to be exposed to the so-called upper echelons of… society to discover the emptiness, the hollowness, the shallowness, the desperate loneliness."

She also dishes on her marriage to James Arness.

"Twenty years ago I married a young beach comber, James Arness, who became an actor and who pulled himself up into the stardom of the indomitable television show, Gunsmoke," she said. "As his career sky-rocketed, I gradually realized I was tied to a star that had turned into a comet shooting into outer space, leaving me earth-bound and terribly alone."

Knowing all that, it's hard not to watch her final screen role in Perry Mason and search for some of those emotions boiling under the performance.

"Why is it every husband seems to think there's always another man when his wife wants a divorce?" her character says with a roll of her eyes in "Gallant Grafter." It's a roll of the eyes that seems well-practiced.

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13 Comments

Felicity 22 months ago
Virginia was my mothers sister, my aunt. I didnt know her very well, the sisters were very very distant. No family get togethers after I was 11. I met her a yr before Jenny overdosed, and the next yr Virginia OD'd I come from a long line of beauties/ working women, at the turn of the century in DTLA. Beautiful women have mental health issues for many reasons I blame sexual abuse, it runs in this family. Virginia grew up in LA/ Hollywood in the 20's and 30's. Lots of corruption and the fast crowd, all that in LA. My mother who wasn't stable either but more stable than V moved us out to east LA, La Habra, Whittier, a quaker town. We were so clean, our family was too good to ever watch Peyton Place in the 60's. I was so naive, I got my self into the Hollywood crowd and I'm so glad I dropped out. I feel the same as my aunt in many ways. Its easy to call the woman crazy, when men have so much power over our lives. Thank god I don't have to worry about relationships any more. My Grandma, V's and momsters mother warned me "It gets lonely at the end". She had 2 very unhappy daughters, and lots of funny uncles. It was of the time, in sunny California. Have patience and understanding, there is truth to what she said. And about the motel, I heard her biz partner/husband made the motel investment which was hard to get out of. Bad advice and that's what happens to the venerable. I know too much. Its a TV script. The expose she wrote was burned by the "family"
ANN64633 24 months ago
I like to see Family Matters and Golden Girls on Me T.V
CoraBellamy 30 months ago
I don't find many MeTv articles very interesting. But this was worth my time. I read Mrs. Arness' article. It was very insightful for that era. But of course there has to be something wrong with a woman that choose to live in a predominantly black neighborhood so they labeled her as a mentally ill drug addict. I don't think that was the case I read the article not with her husband's thoughts in mind. But her thoughts and she has some very smart speak. Most mentally unstable or drug addicts have only one thought any others aren't very enlightening. Thanks to the writer of this article for a glimpse into real talk.
Susan00100 30 months ago
Amazing how much she resembled Jane Wyman.
AbeSchwartz 38 months ago
The coroner's report indicates accidental overdose of sleeping pills.
Dee48 38 months ago
She conveniently failed to mention that James Arness received custody of the children and that her drug use during the marriage put the nail in the coffin.
Gary1967 38 months ago
Mr Arness ex wife died if a drug overdose in 1977 after trying twice to commit suicide (1959 & 1960), his daughter also does from an overdose in 1975. And he is buried in Forest Lawn in Glendale California.
cperrynaples 38 months ago
For those of you curious. I found out that Virginia died in 1977 at the age of 56! No details about the cause or where she is buried. Even James' final resting place is unknown.
Piglet cperrynaples 38 months ago
James Arness is buried in a mausoleum in Glendale, CA according to Find-a-grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/70791188/james-arness
cperrynaples Piglet 38 months ago
I apolgize! I only read the Find-A-Grave for Virginia, and the author said the family wouldn't reveal either, but apparently they just meant Virginia!
Pacificsun 38 months ago
I usually don't disagree with the stories MeTV Staff writes.

But my takeaway from the article in that Virginia Arness' mental health issues really got in her way. Combined with the superficial values of Hollywood, that is when not looking any deeper. However by saying the following is a bit stereotypical.

"I have found a haven in this inter-racial community because — for one thing — humanitarian values are, to me, virtually non-existent in the white power structure," … .”

So she ran a motel NOT for tourism and hospitality (??). Then for what. JUST to be present in a multi-cultural community? She must’ve had a very hard time connecting with people in general. I think there are plenty of unsung heroes (also) in the “white world” and of any financial means doing philanthropic work. They just don’t advertise it, because they don’t want to be besieged by people holding out their hand.

“I had to be exposed to the so-called upper echelons of … society to discover the emptiness, the hollowness, the shallowness, the desperate loneliness.”

I wonder if that statement was really a mirror about herself, until she realized you don't have to be those things. But to call that segment of the popular out (in general) is a bit harsh. Aren’t we (especially in this day and age) supposed to be judging people on their individual merits.

This article just inflames the existing prejudice being thrown out there so that people can make their points! And we certainly don’t need that right now.

Let’s remember there’s good and bad in …everyone!

ncadams27 Pacificsun 38 months ago
I agree with your comments. Considering these statements came from a person with mental health issues - what point is being made?
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