Maureen O’Hara
The beautiful, talented, charismatic, colorful, and (in every way as far as I’m concerned) Maureen O’Hara was born on this date in 1920 in Ireland.
Maureen FitzSimons would go on to become…
- One of Hollywood’s first female action stars
- Half of a legendary screen couple (with her friend John Wayne)
- Part of an iconic Christmas film seen and loved for generations
- The Queen of Technicolor!
What’s more, she did it all with class, style, pride, and very, very, very much on her own terms.
My love for old Hollywood…. its films and its stars… is one of the things that most defines me today. Oddly enough, it pretty much has always been that way. Even as a little girl (and then teenager), I MUCH preferred watching old movies with my mom, dad, and/or our cat and dog. It was Maureen O’Hara (in Miracle on 34th Street and The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Westerns, Shirley Temple, Abbott and Costello, Jerry Lewis & Dean Martin, and James Stewart (It’s a Wonderful Life) that hooked me as a child and… if we’re being honest… I love them all just as much today as I did then. Possibly more.
I plan to spend Maureen O’Hara Day reading from her autobiography (after all, I’ve only read it, like 50 times by now) and settling in to rewatch one of her movies later. I’m in the mood for a swashbuckler, so I’ve narrowed it down to one of these great films:
- The Spanish Main
- The Black Swan
- At Sword’s Point
The good thing about collecting her films, is I have all of them to choose from!
Happiest of Heavenly birthdays, lovely Maureen.
John Payne and Maureen O’Hara, Miracle on 34th Street