Given my interest in the stars from yesteryear, I vividly recall a conversation I had with the late TCM film historian Robert OsššØš«š§e aboutĀ Gone With the WindĀ star Olivia de Havilland.
“We speak every Sunday,” he told me. “And I would so like to do an on-camera interview with her for TCM. But she would rather be remembered for her illustrious career instead of anyone wondering what she might look like as an older woman.”
My conversation with Mr. OsššØš«š§e, if I remember correctly, was in 2003, which would have made the legendary two-time Oscar winning actress 87 years old at the time.
Today it is my honor, and my privilege, to wish Dame Olivia de Havilland a very Happy Birthday. She turns 103.
Movie fans, of course, will remember de Havilland as Melanie Hamilton Wilkes in 1939 classicĀ Gone With the Wind, which netted the actress her first of five Academy Award nominations. But her initial movie role of prominence was in 1935 swashbuckling pirate filmĀ Captain BloodĀ opposite Errol Flynn. Then of note, also pre-Gone With the WindĀ (and also opposite Errol Flynn), wasĀ The Adventures of Robin HoodĀ in 1938.
“This was an early Technicolor classic,” OsššØš«š§e said aboutĀ The Adventures of Robin HoodĀ during our memorable conversation. “It was the film that really was the best looking color film of the 1930s; more so thanĀ The Wizard of OzĀ andĀ Gone With the Wind. It just never got the credit it deserves.”
By that time, de Havilland, then 22, was a young rising star about to reach an early zenith in an eventual career featuring 49 film roles.
Born in Tokyo on July 1, 1916,Ā Olivia Mary de Havilland made her big screen debut in 1935 in dramaĀ A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Next were two relatively unknown comedies,Ā Alibi IkeĀ andĀ The Irish in UsĀ (the latter opposite James Cagney), both in the type of role she became primarily known for…the sweet and charming love interest.
While also relatively unknown, comedyĀ Call It a DayĀ in 1937 gave de Havilland her first starring role. After a string of unmemorable film parts leading toĀ The Adventures of Robin Hood, it wasĀ Gone With the WindĀ that helped make the year 1939 one of the most memorable in cinema history. ThinkĀ Mr. Smith Goes to Washington;Ā Wuthering Heights;Ā Goodbye, Mr. Chips;Ā Dark Victory;Ā Of Mice and Men;Ā Stagecoach;Ā Love Affair;Ā NinotchkaĀ and, of course,Ā The Wizard of Oz.
“Gone With the Wind…you say that name and it conjures up all kinds of images,” said Robert OsššØš«š§e in his first post-film introduction when discussing the film on TCM. “Beautiful, headstrong Scarlett O’Hara; dashing Rhett Butler; Tara; the burning of Atlanta; the performances of Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland, Leslie Howard and the wonderful Hattie McDaniel.”
Oscar came calling for Olivia de Havilland for the first time in 1947 for dramaĀ To Each His Own. De Havilland’s performance in 1948 dramaĀ The Snake PitĀ was praised as one of the first films to attempt a realistic portrayal ofĀ mental illness. And, in 1950, came her second golden statue for dramaĀ The Heiress. But de Havilland turned down the role of Blanche DuBois inĀ A Streetcar Named DesireĀ (which went to herĀ Gone With the WindĀ co-star Vivien Leigh) because she wanted to spend time with her young son, Benjamin Goodrich.
Ultimately, deĀ Havilland’s career spanned 53 years, from 1935 to 1988. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. She was given an honorary doctorate from the University of Hertfordshire in England. And, while her relationship with younger sister Joan Fontaine remained strained until Fontaine’s death at age 96 in 2013, they are the only siblings in history to be be awarded with an Oscar in a lead acting category.
More recently, Olivia de Havilland was back in the news in 2017 after filing a lawsuit against producer Ryan Murphy for inaccurately portraying her and using her likeness without permission in FX dramaĀ Feud: Bette and Joan.
“I want respect; respect for doing a difficult job,” Olivia de Havilland once said.
“One of the great gifts I have been given is a chance to know this extraordinary lady,” said OsššØš«š§e. “She truly is one of the finest actresses in cinema history.”
