Maureen O’Hara
As I’ve often said on Hollywood Yesterday (as well as everywhere else in the world), I have many favorite actresses and actors – particularly from the age of Old Hollywood and Classic Television. However, none will ever surpass my first 6 favorites and, quite frankly, do well to even come close. These 6 stand just a bit above the rest and… let’s face it… they always will.
- Maureen O’Hara
- Lucille Ball
- Lena Horne
- James Stewart
- Henry Fonda
- Lionel Barrymore
That’s the wonderful thing about the “extraordinary” stars (or at least those you consider to be extraordinary) – others may come and go, but your extra special favorites journey through life with you. The six above have been with me since I was a little girl – they’ve seen me (somehow, in spite of hating it with every fiber of my being) make it through school and even do very well… they saw me grow up as a spoiled only child with a loving mom and dad who were convinced their little girl hung the moon… they’ve seen me meet and marry the love of my life (Mr. Rights do exist, sometimes you just have to wait for them at the arcade), and they were with me when I had and raised three unbelievably beautiful, hilarious, classy, and intelligent daughters.
Maureen, Lena, and Lucille would certainly be very impressed with the beauty, charisma, and charm of my girls… traits they were certainly familiar with, themselves.
They saw me become a MiMi and fall head over heels in love with the three most perfect and amazing baby boys you could ever hope to see.
Their movies saw me through losing both my mom and dad far too early in life and, earlier this year, they’ve seen me through the worst health crisis of my life.
Do they compare to God’s presence or the presence of my husband, daughters, sons-in-law, or grandbabies?? OF COURSE NOT.. but they are companions in my life and I am very grateful for them.
I was thinking about the journey we have with our favorite stars earlier and maybe, just maybe, that’s why we can sometimes become extra “protective” or defensive of them. If, say, someone is a fan of an actor others consider to be a scoundrel or a “one trick pony,” their words can sometimes hit you hard. I saw a man on Twitter once bombarded by people talking badly about his favorite actor and I felt incredibly badly for him.
Personally, I see nothing wrong with sticking up for your favorites – I’ve done it before. I’ll do it again. Let them try me.
Hollywood Yesterday
My much-loved old Hollywood blog (Hollywood Yesterday) has suffered this year due to my illness. I am, thank the Lord, much better, but it was a nightmare from March-August. During these months, my book reviews, movie reviews, and even pictures of the day went the wayside.
When you’re just trying to hang on and make it through alive, some things just have to go, right?!
I also deactivated comments on the blog because I couldn’t keep up and didn’t want to let anyone down.
I am looking for a new commenting system and hope to have it implemented this week. I’d love to hear your comments, your favorites, and your thoughts… just as long as you’re prepared for a fight on your hands with one wrong word about my six!
Just kidding… kind of.
Be happy, be blessed!
~ Joi (“Joy”)
Maureen O’Hara and Henry Fonda, Spencer’s Mountain