Caroline Josephine Kretoski Gainer: 1929-2021 northcoastjournal.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from northcoastjournal.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
April 21, 2021Updated 10:09 a.m. ET
The evening of Feb. 28, 1957 in Los Angeles was a balmy one, and the 14th annual Golden Globes awards were in progress at the Ambassador Hotel. Inside, a nervous Hollywood newcomer named Vikki Dougan was about to present the award for Best Supporting Actor to Earl Holliman for his performance in “The Rainmaker.”
Ms. Dougan had slipped on a pink satin backless dress for the special occasion one of several she’d had custom-made after signing a contract with John Wayne’s production company, Batjac and covered her shoulders with a mink stole.
Before making her way to the stage to present, she realized she wouldn’t be able to hand off the award, shake Holliman’s hand and hold up her shawl at the same time. She gently let the mantle fall from her shoulders to the ground, revealing her toned, taut and impossibly shapely back as she made her way to the stage.
Viola Phillips Claiborne, 91, of Coleman, died Tuesday, February 23, 2021 in Wichita Falls.
Funeral service will be 2:00 p.m. Saturday, March 6, 2021 at Stevens Funeral Home Chapel. Following the funeral service there will be a short graveside service and burial at the Coleman City Cemetery. The funeral service will be live streamed and available to view for up to 90 days. Go to www.livingmemorials.com and select the obituary page for Viola. The live stream will be located at the bottom of her obituary page.
Face coverings are mandatory to attend the funeral service. Services are entrusted to Stevens Funeral Home.
She was born Viola Pearl Phillips on September 16, 1929 in Cross Plains to William Henry Phillips and Lena Mae Woods Phillips. She grew up around Cross Plains and graduated from Cross Plains High School at the age of 16. She then went to telegraph school in Springfield, Missouri and worked for Western Union on the railroad in different parts of Texas