MANILA, Philippines?Maureen O?Hara was a feisty and gorgeous redhead. Hollywood imported her from London?s theater industry to play Esmeralda in ?The Hunchback of Notre Dame.?
Thereafter, she appeared in ?Jamaica Inn? and was cast as the leading lady of macho men like Errol Flynn, Tyrone Power and John Wayne. In ?The Quiet American,? director John Ford knew how to put the actress? temperament and natural acting style to good use.
O?Hara was a standout during the cinema?s Golden Age. She followed in the footsteps of other lovely redheads like Greer Garson and Deborah Kerr. Robert Mitchum cited her as his favorite leading lady.
Brave feat
Maureen accomplished a brave feat when she dared to confront the abusive Hollywood Confidential magazine, the notorious weekly that exposed the private lives?and destroyed the careers?of many celebrities.
One example was singer Johnny Ray who was allegedly sacrificed by his studio when the magazine threatened to expose the sexual preference of their most bankable male star.
One of the magazine?s most revealing exposes was about how O?Hara supposedly made out in the balcony of a Los Angeles movie house. Well, it never happened, insisted Maureen, who said she was out of town when the event supposedly took place. The actress stood up for her principles. So, she hauled the gossip magazine off to court, bravely testified?and won the case!
