Olivia de Havilland Has Died

Angela Channing

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Hollywood actress Dame Olivia de Havilland, has died aged 104



Her most famous role was that of the virtuous Melanie opposite Vivien Leigh's wayward Scarlett, in the epic Gone with the Wind.

Her relationship with her sister, the actress Joan Fontaine, was a constant source of speculation in the gossip columns.

At the time of her death she was the oldest living performer to have won an Oscar.

Olivia Mary de Havilland was born in Tokyo on 1 July 1916 to Walter, a British patent lawyer and his actress wife Lilian.

Her paternal family originated in the Channel Islands; her cousin Geoffrey was the aircraft designer responsible for producing the famous World War Two plane, the Mosquito.

Her sister Joan was born in 1917. Both girls suffered from bronchial problems and her mother moved the family to California in 1919 in search of a more agreeable climate.

De Havilland was bitten by the drama bug while at Saratoga High School, making her stage debut in 1933 in an amateur production of Alice in Wonderland.

She was spotted by director Max Reinhardt, who cast her as Hermia in a production of a Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hollywood Bowl. She made her screen debut when the play was filmed for Warner Brothers in 1935. It received lukewarm reviews.

Her breakthrough came when producer Hal Wallis persuaded the studio to cast her in Captain Blood, opposite an Australian actor named Errol Flynn.

She won an Oscar in 1946 for her role in To Each His Own, the same year in which she married a naval veteran named Marcus Goodrich. She went on to major dramatic roles in The Snake Pit in 1948 and in The Heiress a year later, for which she won a second Oscar.

In the 1950s she moved to France with her second husband, Frenchman Pierre Galante, the editor of Paris Match, and devoted most of her time to a growing family.

Dame Olivia de Havilland, who has died at 104 in Paris, was one of the last survivors of Hollywood's Golden Age.
 
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Crimson

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Sad, although at the age of 104 hardly a surprise. One of my favorite actors and film stars. RIP

Worth noting too, she lived a Hollywood life virtually devoid of scandal or even much gossip -- other than a vague and probably far less interesting than the speculation feud with her sister, and an understandable but ill-advised lawsuit against Ryan Murphy.
 

Barbara Fan

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RIP - a grand old age - i have to be honest i wasnt really a fan of her films and i found the feud with her sister more entertaining. There cant be too many left now from the Golden Years of the movies
 

Alexis

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Rip... I have to say I was a fan. I loved Olivia an always enjoyed her, even as goodie goodie Melanie Wilkes.
 
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Karin Schill

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I was also sad to learn of her passing even though she did live a very long life.

Gone With The Wind (1939) remains my all time favorite movie. I think she was the last star from the movie who was still alive. So it feels like the end of an era. :(

RIP sweet Melanie.

My sympathies to her family, friends and fans.

RIP Olivia de Havilland :rip:
 

Payton Cross

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Very sad to hear about the death of Olivia de Havilland, she has reached a beautiful age of 104 years.

I always like her on the series "North & South: Book II and most of her movies, she was a great actress. :(

:rip:
Olivia de Havilland

 
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Toni

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RIP dear Olivia. Joan Fontaine must be holding a welcome party for her up there...

upload_2020-7-27_22-1-58.jpeg
 

thomaswak

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104... Wow...
It's quite rare. I'm happy she lived that long, she always seemed to be a nice human being. May she keep living beyond.
 
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