Friday, April 17, 2015

O for Maureen O'Hara



Born: August 17, 1920

Died: Nope still alive and just as feisty!

Age: Soon to be 95 years young

Real Name: Maureen Fitzsimmons

Married: 3 times

Famous Partners: John Wayne and John Ford(Director)

A famously beautiful red haired Irish spitfire who could match men scene for scene! She is one of my favourites:)  She was discovered by Charles Laughton who became his protégé. She grew up as a tomboy who loved sports so she often did her own stunts. Colour loved her and it was found she could do fun swashbuckling pictures sword dueling with the best of them but also show great dramatic flair all without losing her beauty and femininity. She was John Ford's favourite actress and was part of the team which included John Wayne and Ward Bond. She was the only woman allowed to go along on one of their many sailing trips and were there for her when she went through 2 failed marriages. They were always very respectful towards her and she considered John Wayne one of her dearest friends and vice versa. In the 1950's, she made a few record albums because she had such a beautiful singing voice although she never made a musical. When she made "The Parent Trap" for Disney she had to battle them to get her same salary and have her name above the title. Disney was a sore point for her. She met her last husband and he turned out to be the love of her life. They lived on the Virgin Islands running "Antilles Airlines". He tragically died 10 years later in an airplane crash which made her the owner of the airlines-the first woman to run an airline! When John Wayne was dying of cancer. she approached congress with Elizabeth Taylor to make sure he received the Congressional Gold Medal saying "John Wayne-American".  After a long absence she made a film with John Candy called "Only The Lonely". When Candy noticed she had a very small trailer while he had a very nice one, he went to the higher ups and told them this living legend deserved a trailer as big as his. They stated they did not have it in their budget so he switched trailers with Ms. O'Hara. Didn't those executroids come up with another trailer for John Candy. In October 2014 she received an honourary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement which was not included in the actual Oscar telecast (so wrong!). When she gave her acceptance speech, they cut her off, even though she is in a wheelchair she kicked her shoe off in disgust-Way ta go girl!

Films: "Jamaican Inn", "Hunchback Of Notre Dame", "How Green Was My Valley", " The Black Swan", "The Spanish Main", "Miracle on 34th Street", "Rio Grande", "The Quiet Man", "Parent Trap", "Mr. Hobb's Takes a Vacation", "McLintock", "Only The Lonely"

Quote: Speaking to drama students in 2010-"If you really want it, go after it--and learn how to speak properly, for God's sake!"

Oh I put a few in bold to see first but you can pick any. It was sweet to see her with John Candy

71 comments:

  1. When I got to "love of her life" I thought, oh - a happy one! Then he died two sentences later...
    By the way, look out for my post in P tomorrow. I have a film star for you!
    Anabel's Travel Blog

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    1. Yes that was the one sad thing but she found love and she was happy to have been with him for those 10 years. How many can say they are happy with their spouses? There are many but also many who are not

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  2. Feisty for sure. A very enjoyable actress to watch. I love her quote about speaking. Right on!

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    1. Yes I love that quote and agree with her 100%!

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  3. Still alive? That's impressive. And very nice of Candy to switch trailers with her.

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    1. She is-alive and kicking-literally:) She is one of my favs!

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  4. haha all else fails kick your shoe off at them. A nice thing for Candy to do as well. Watched only the lonely last month on netflix

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    1. It was wonderful of him and she thought he was one of the nicest men

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  5. I always loved her in the Parent Trap. That's my earliest memory of her.

    Good luck with the A to Z Challenge!
    A to Z Co-Host S. L. Hennessy
    http://pensuasion.blogspot.com/

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    1. Yes but you must watch "The Quiet Man"-my fav!

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  6. Yay! Finally one who is still alive. :) She was a great great actress and a beauty too.

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    1. She is a great beauty and intelligent and a great actress

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  7. Hollywood doesn't know how to treat their legends, apparently.

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    1. No they don't- Once they hit a certain age-they move on-cruel to be in

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  8. LOL, aren't all redheads feisty?

    ;-)

    I am not super familiar with her work, but after seeing her glorious turn in The Quiet Man, I'm all in!

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    1. Oh she is one gutsy lady and you have to see some of her other roles-I love her in any of them

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  9. one of my favourite films the quiet man...my Dad and I loved watching it on Sunday afternoons cuddled up on the sofa...happy memories xxxx

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    1. What a great memory and this is my favourite film of hers

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  10. One of my all time favorites. Loved every movie I ever saw her end. She was a class act. Nice to know some men stood up for her, and shame on the Administrative types who didn't. My all time favorite movie is she and John Wayne in The Quiet Man, hubby and I watch it ever year around St. Paddy's Day.
    Sandy at Bridge and Beyond

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    1. That is a great film and it is my fav of hers. She is captivating and gutsy

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  11. Good for her for the fighting that she did in her career to get what she rightfully deserved! Shame with the trailer; those executives were tacky in my opinion to not give her the same size trailer as John Candy. What a gentleman he was to try to remedy the situation and switch trailers with her.

    Glad to hear too at the age of 95 she is still feisty!

    betty

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    1. John Candy is a class act and she was saddened why he died. The execs have no class

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  12. Feisty till the end! I'm elated to learn she is still with us. I had no idea (actually, I hadn't thought of it). See how helpful you blog is?? :-)

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    1. She is and she is one I would love to meet

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  13. I didn't know she was still alive. The story about the trailer is infuriating. Amazing that even an elderly woman can't be treated equally. Good for Candy for switching with her.
    I am so jealous of her hair in this photo. So beautiful!

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    1. Don't you lover her hair and eyes. Glad Candy stepped up and i would want to bitch slap the execs who gave her the small trailer

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  14. BIRGIT ~
    WOO-HOO! One of my very, very, very favorites. My Ma (RIP) gets all the credit for turning me on to Maureen O'Hara!

    Honestly, I think John Wayne was secretly the "real" love of her life.

    I don't disagree with a single movie you highlighted but I would say that for anyone who has never seen her, start with 'THE QUIET MAN'. To me, that is not only the best of Maureen but also The Duke's best non-Western movie. (That sly smile she gets on her face as she slips outta camera range in the field where she leaves Sean Thornton and Will Danaher facing each other is PRICELESS!)

    And I love that last scene she appears in 'ONLY THE LONELY'.

    ~ D-FensDogG
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. Oh she is one of my all time favourites and I always thought that her and John Wayne would have been ideal for each other. To tell you the truth, my dad and mom reminded me of them. My mom looks nothing like Maureen O'Hara but my dad, when he was older, looked like an older John Wayne and had some similar looks that just made me shake my head in wonder. My mom was a spitfire and they had some doosies of an argument. Anyhoo, Yes The Queit Man is the first any one should see. My favourite scene is when she leaves him after formally meeting him and when she opens the door and the wind blows her hair and he grabs her and kisses her-wowzers! This and when he finally takes her off the train and brings her to her brother-I love that! I have to see Only The Lonely again-it has been years but it made me cry

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  15. I love her! I remember the movie with John Candy. It was great, and what a gentleman to switch trailers with her. I miss him. Maureen was so gorgeous in a great curvy way - not like the stick figures we have today. Thanks for the info!

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    1. She had a great body and wasa true beauty. The sticks walking around now need to eat more than half a carrot. I miss John Candy also

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  16. Love the Learn How To Speak Properly quote. Seems like a lost art for far too many people today.

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    1. Isn't that a great quote! I agree with her 100%

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  17. She is amazing, and I'm glad she's still around. I agree, too bad she was treated that way at the oscars. I love the quote!!! Lisa, co-host AtoZ 2015, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

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    1. Yup they never give the Life Oscar out at the ceremony and they should!!

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  18. What an interesting old lady! Thank you for sharing - I'd never heard of her. Sigh. I'm a muggel.

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    1. Oh start with "The Quiet Man" A great film. If it was sports-I would be a muggel:)

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  19. She's quite a woman. I love what she told the drama students. It works for acting and life.

    Untethered Realms

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  20. Maureen O'Hara is such an excellent choice for O. She is one of the most talented and beautiful actress know. She lived in Galway Bay area in Ireland while we lived there. Feisty and firey. Love her.

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    1. That's cool-did you ever meet her? She is all what you say and more

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  21. LOVE the story about John Candy. While I always liked him, now I think he's pure awesomeness. I have an all new respect for the man.

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    1. Yes-I loved that he did this. I recall her speaking about this and saying what a wonderful person he was

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  22. I always like seeing a Maureen O'Hara movie. I love her spirit and feistyness. Good for John Candy. I want to see that movie again.

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    1. So do I! I have not see that movie in years!

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  23. Love that she's different and beautiful in her own way. =D

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    1. I always wanted Auburn hair and green eyes. She is a beauty all the way around

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  25. Sister was a big fan, so naturally I've seen a lot of her work. :)

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  26. Ms O'Hara was quite a fetching beautiful dame.

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  27. Another very good tidbits. I like her!

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  28. Another interesting and fun read! I don't know how you manage to do this. Loved that she kicked her shoe off in disgust. I'm very fond of fiesty old ladies!

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    1. Thank you! I have a love of film stars and have kept much in my memory plus a ton of books for reference. She is feisty!

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  29. Ooo! I love a lot of those movies. My most favorites are black swan (Tyrone Powers is great!) and the quiet man with mr. Wayne.

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    1. They are great and I love her in The Quiet Man:)

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  30. I loved Maureen O'Hara. I was thinking of your character in the movie Only The Lonely just the other day, and she played it so well. She was also great in many of the other movies she was in.

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    1. She was great in that film and feisty. She was a real Man's Woman if you know what I mean

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  31. Being raised by an Irish immigrant, my mom made sure we knew Maureen O'Hara. What a treat that was. The Quiet Man with John Wayne is a wonderful films. I was a big fan of the Parent Trap and I can't believe Disney was so nasty to her.

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    1. Yes they were and Walt Disney was still alive back then. Great that you know her so well and I Love The Quiet Man

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  32. I believe she was on the Academy Awards this year. I remember her as being so beautiful and fiery in her roles.

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    1. She was all that but in regards to the Oscars, they showed a brief clip of the people who got special awards which were passed out in October 2014 and this is where you saw her probably. They used to give these awards out at the actual ceremony. I wish they would get rid of the stupid stuff the host thinks is funny and bring the people back who have earned these awards for their body of work

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  33. I recently watched Only The Lonely again, and loved it as much the second time. It's such a sweet family movie. Sadly, John Candy died too young. I didn't remember that Maureen O'Hara received the Lifetime Achievement award. That definitely should've been televised, as it would've been a highlight of the show. Maureen O'Hara is still a class act.

    Julie

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    1. I have to see that film again also-it has been a while. She is a class act and they need to bring it back to the actual awards night

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  34. The original Miracle on 34th Street has become a staple for us in the run up to Christmas. She does a really good job in it. :-)

    Cait @ Click's Clan

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    1. She does and that movie (plus others) is a staple in our home as well

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  35. Yay! You did Maureen O'Hara. Thanks:) I loved watching her movies.

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    1. Hahahaaa-Yup I had her picked long time ago-she needs the recognition

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  36. I adore this actress. Loved her most with John Wayne (in Irish movie) and Parent Trap. Her Irish temper was so cute!

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