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| Olivia De Havilland at the height of her classic and classy beauty. |
Olivia
de Havilland was one of Hollywood’s classiest golden era actresses. Olivia
fought for substantial parts, stood up to studio heads, balanced a long career
with raising her children, discreet about the distance between her sister Joan
Fontaine, and married only twice. De Havilland did all this without scandals,
breakdowns, drugs and alcohol, diva meltdowns, or tell-all books. So, just how did de Havilland have such a great
career? Easy—Olivia worked hard and made challenging career choices. Here are
10 highlights of the life and career of Olivia de Havilland.
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| Olivia with one of many honors that she received in her long life & career. |
Olivia
de Havilland was born in Toyko on July 1, 1916 to British parents.
De
Havilland became a naturalized citizen on Nov. 28, 1941, on the eve of Pearl
Harbor. Stellar timing, Olivia!
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| Olivia made a marvelous Maid Marian in 'The Adventures of Robin Hood.' |
Olivia
left Hollywood to live in Paris in 1956. She wrote a best-seller, pre-dating
David Sedaris’ Me Talk Pretty Some Day,
called Every Frenchman Has One, a
humorous look at learning the language and customs of France.
Olivia
had an on-again, off-again relationship with actress sister Joan Fontaine for
decades. Mostly off! Here’s a telling tale: A friend of mine who has long
worked in L.A. told me his best friend is Joan Fontaine’s daughter, Deborah.
His comment: “Deborah adores her Aunt Olivia and can’t stand her mother.”
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| Olivia sidesteps sister Joan after her first Oscar win. De Havilland was upset over a catty remark that Fontaine made about her husband. |
De
Havilland is a two-time Academy Award winner for To Each Their Own and The
Heiress, in 1946 & 49.
Olivia
made 8 films with Errol Flynn. The first, Captain
Blood, made them both stars. Their last, 1941’s They Died with Their Boots On, was a fictionalized bio-pic of George
Custer. And their best film? IMO, 1938’s The
Adventures of Robin Hood, tons of fun in beautiful Technicolor. She and
Flynn had a mutual attraction for one another, but de Havilland never acted on
it, since Flynn was a notorious womanizer. Where do you think the old expression
“in like Flynn” came from?
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| Olivia and Errol in their prime as Maid Marian and Robin Hood. |
De
Havilland had romances with such diverse men as eccentric millionaire Howard
Hughes, beloved actor Jimmy Stewart, and macho director John Huston. Olivia married twice, once to author Marcus
Goodrich, and a much longer marriage to Pierre Galante, an executive editor at Paris Match. She had a son with
Goodrich, and a daughter with Galante.
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| Olivia with her two Oscars, for 'To Each Their Own' and 'The Heiress.' |
The
actress sued Warner Brothers in 1943 to get out her contract—and won. Bette
Davis had tried once—and lost. The studio system would put actors on
“suspension” for turning down roles, without pay. Actors were not free to work
elsewhere and the time spent on suspension was added on to the remainder of
their contracts! De Havilland won the admiration of fellow actors, but was
given the cold shoulder by studio heads for two years. This was an eternity,
back when actors appeared in 3 to 4 movies a year. However, the unofficial
blacklisting ended when de Havilland signed a two-picture deal with Paramount.
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| Olivia won her second Best Actress Oscar for the heartbreaking 'The Heiress.' |
De
Havilland only played evil characters twice in her long career: an “evil” twin
in 1946’s The Dark Mirror and the
two-faced cousin in 1964’s Hush, Hush,
Sweet Charlotte. Olivia preferred playing heroines over villainesses,
despite good reviews for both films.
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| Bette Davis wasn't the only one who played twins! Olivia times two in 'The Dark Mirror.' |
Olivia
de Havilland was the last principal surviving star of Gone with the Wind. Olivia
lived long enough to celebrate her 104th birthday July 1, 2020. Olivia
died peacefully at her home in Paris July 26. Though she expressed hope to live
to be 105, Olivia de Havilland lived a long, rich life and left us with a stellar
film legacy. Cheers to Olivia for life well-lived!
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| Talk about a full life & satisfying career: Olivia de Havilland rode hers till the wheels fell off! |
I put all the movie overflow on my public FB movie page.
loving these little profiles, rick! It's perfectly you
ReplyDeleteThanks, Brian...working on some bigger pieces, too!
ReplyDeleteshe is not that last survivor of gone with the wind, there is the actress that played marybelle meriweather and beau wilkes
ReplyDeleteMarybelle died in 2014.
DeleteI was referring to the stars of the movie, but glad to know there's another survivor or two! Cheers, Rick
DeleteMaybelle, not Marybelle.
DeleteHappy birthday Ms. DeHavilland!! Such a legend & amazing actress!! God bless her and I hope she celebrates many more birthdays!!
ReplyDeleteOlivia has said she hopes to make it to 110! Cheers, Rick
DeleteI was her Concierge at the Watergate Hotel back in the 70s during her several visits. She was charming, gracious, lovely, intelligent and had impeccable manners. The epitome of class! I treasure the two letters she wrote me. Happy 103rd Olivia and may you have more healthy and happy years. Love, JP
ReplyDeleteIf you were to look up the words beauty, class and talent, you would find Olivia de Havilland right next to it. My favorite role of hers and one of my top 10 favorite movies is The Heiress. What a great arc of a character! Terrific story that keeps you in suspense up until midway she plays the role beautifully. You root for her all the way and boy does she zing it at the end! One of cinemas greats. Happy Birthday Olivia and a 103 more to go!
ReplyDeleteTotally agree! Cheers, Rick
Delete