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On 7/22/2020 at 12:09 PM, Drew said:

Goodness! When I saw there was a new post from you about De Havilland, I started preparing my "rest in peace ..." message...Evidently not. Hurray for Olivia De Havilland!

You weren't off by much, alas. Farewell, Miss Melly. Odd how Leslie Howard, Clark Gable, and Vivien Leigh all died relatively young. She was already the last surviving star of GWTW by 1968.

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2 hours ago, dirac said:

You weren't off by much, alas. Farewell, Miss Melly. Odd how Leslie Howard, Clark Gable, and Vivien Leigh all died relatively young. She was already the last surviving star of GWTW by 1968.

From what I read, she died in her sleep at home....That seems like a gentle ending and I hope it was. May she rest in peace.

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I hadn't read that but it is nice to know. NYT obit:

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Ms. de Havilland sued. The case dragged on for a year and a half but David finally beat Goliath when the California Supreme Court upheld a lower-court ruling in her favor in 1945. What became known as the de Havilland decision established that a studio could not arbitrarily extend the duration of an actor’s contract.

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Ms. de Havilland’s readings of scripture on Christmas and Easter at the American Cathedral, on the Avenue George V, became annual events in Paris. In 2010, Nicolas Sarkozy, then the president of France, awarded her the Légion d’Honneur. And her association with a distant era of Hollywood glamour made her a living legend in her adopted city.

Vogue

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But off-screen she was probably best known for her decades-long feud with her sister, the fellow actress Joan Fontaine. Though de Havilland never spoke directly about the rivalry, many reports suggest it started in childhood -- when two were often rivals for their parents' affection -- and came to a head in 1941 when both women were nominated for Best Actress, Olivia for Hold Back the Dawn and Joan for Alfred Hitchcock's Suspicion — marking the first time that a pair of siblings had competed against one another in the same category at the Academy Awards..................... (When Joan's memoir, No Bed of Roses, was published in 1978, Olivia reportedly said it should have been titled, No Shred of Truth.)

 

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I knew it was coming and yet there was the part of me that thought she would live forever.

As cousin Miriam in Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte:

"His pure, darling little girl was having a dirty little affair with a MARRIED MAN!!!"

Classic

 

Edited by miliosr
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I knew it was coming and yet there was the part of me that thought she would live forever.

I felt the same way. There's really no reason to feel sad - it was a full life that closed peacefully - but I enjoyed wishing her a happy birthday every year and knowing she was living and thriving. There are a few performers left from the era but with de Havilland gone it really does feel like closing the book on an era.

I hope we get to see something of that second memoir she was said to be working on.

Fans, what is your favorite de Havilland role(s)?

Mine, in no particular order:

"The Heiress." I have quibbles with it as compared to the novel, but the cast and direction are wonderful. 

"The Adventures of Robin Hood." The movie is perfect of its kind and de Havilland looks and acts the perfect storybook heroine, sweet and ardent and spirited. 

"They Died With Their Boots On." De Havilland demonstrates how much she matured as an actor during the years with Flynn. Her Libbie Custer is gentle but very strong.

"The Strawberry Blonde." Not really "her" movie but she's great and I love the picture.

"Gone with the Wind." Natch. The character would have been hopelessly sappy in the hands of most other actors. 

Camp value:

"Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte." 

 

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