Virginia R. Sullivan, Stage and TV Actor

Virginia R. Sullivan, a resident of Amagansett starting in the 1960s and of East Hampton Village for more than 50 years, died at her New York City home on Friday. She was 99 and had had a stroke in September.

Ms. Sullivan and her husband, Joseph Sullivan, were actors who were blacklisted during the Cold War era, when Senator Joseph McCarthy had many people investigated who were suspected or accused of having unAmerican loyalties. Their careers were impacted, but Ms. Sullivan’s daughter, Alicia Sullivan, said her mother continued to act until she was 98.

With the U.S.O., Ms. Sullivan entertained troops in Africa and Italy during World War II, and she was onstage during the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy. Fluent in French, Italian, and German, she had broadcast propaganda in German through the Voice of America to encourage German troops to surrender in the late stages of the war.

After the war, Ms. Sullivan worked for the DuPont Radio Hour and her career took off at around the same time, with performances in 15 Broadway plays and working with the directors Elia Kazan, Franco Zeffirelli, John Gielgud, and George S. Kaufman, among others. She had roles in films as well, including “Diary of a Mad Housewife,” and had long-running roles on the daytime television series “Loving” and “Love of Life.” Her daughter said she would be known to contemporary TV audiences for performances in the “Broad City” series. 

Virginia Routh was born on March 27, 1919, in Newark, the only child of the former Irma Neu and Robert Routh. When she was 11, her family moved overseas and she attended boarding schools in Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy. She was trained in London and was acting and modeling professionally by the age of 19.

She and her husband, who died in 1980, bought a house on Meeting House Lane in Amagansett in the mid-1960s. She volunteered with the Amagansett Village Improvement Society and was active in the management of the Jackson Memorial Tennis Court on Atlantic Avenue and Montauk Highway. Her daughter said she and her mother were regulars in the 8 a.m. slot at the court. Her mother continued to play into her 70s and traveled all over the world to watch matches into her 80s. She also worked in real estate for a time.

In addition to her daughter, a granddaughter and a grandson survive. Alicia Sullivan said her mother “was beloved by many people in the New York acting community and the Town of East Hampton for her wit, her fine mind, and her brilliant work, and will be dearly missed. She loved the beach, the beauty, and her friends.”

There was no funeral; a celebration of her life will take place in New York City in the fall. Because Ms. Sullivan loved dogs and cats, memorial donations have been suggested to the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 901, Wainscott 11975, or the Actors Fund, 729 Seventh Avenue, 10th Floor, New York 10019.