This is the story of Hollywood legend
Maureen O'Hara in her own words: “Above all else, deep in my soul, I’m a tough
Irishwoman.”
And so she was.
And so she was.
She was born August 17, 1920 and named Maureen FitzSimons. Her family was a large, happy one, prominent in Ireland. As I read the story of her
wonderful family, her early acting successes and her many professional
opportunities, contrasted with her first two dismal marriages to unworthy men, I
kept thinking of that book, Smart Women,
Foolish Choices. We’ve all been there and my heart went out to her. She
didn’t love the first two men she married (the first marriage was annulled and her second husband was, in her words, an “abusive alcoholic”). But she did come out of the
second with a daughter, Bronwyn, who she loved.
Maureen rose to stardom in the era when
studios owned the talent and could force a star like Maureen O’Hara to make
movies that showcased her beauty instead of her acting talent. She hated it.
She came to Hollywood as a teenager in
1939, brought by the great Charles Laughton, who became her mentor and friend, and with
whom she appeared in the classic film The
Hunchback of Notre Dame. At one point he asked her parents if he could
adopt her.
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| Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara in The Hunchback of Notre Dame |
The Second World War trapped her in the
US for many years and she missed Ireland and her family. But ultimately she
came to be proud of her adopted country and became a dual citizen of Ireland
and America (and that was another story!).
Her favorite movie of all those she
made was, not surprisingly, The Quiet Man. Her telling of the making of the movie
justifies buying the book. Her co-star, John Wayne, was a good friend and they
got along very well with great on screen chemistry, in part, she believed, because of her height (5'8") in contrast to many actresses with whom the studios paired the Duke. The movie was directed by
John Ford, a difficult, if not twisted, genius, who often treated the actors—including
Maureen—very badly. Her relationship with him, which extended over many years,
was problematic.
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| The Quiet Man with John Wayne |
There is nothing like hearing someone’s
story in their own words and this candid telling of her life is no exception. She
is frank in her assessments of the people she knew and lays the truth out “to
set the record straight… before some self-serving writer pens a heap of rubbish
about me after I am gone from this earth.”
I was very happy
to finally read of Maureen’s finding true love with Charles F. Blair, Jr., an airline pilot who had been a Brigadier
General in the Air Force. He was the great love of her life. Unfortunately,
after ten years together, he died in a mysterious plane crash.
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| Happy with Charlie Blair |
She was a fascinating woman who lived in interesting times... a woman I would have loved to
know.
Buy the book on Amazon.
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