Happy Birthday, Olivia de Havilland


Olivia de Havilland turns 102 today. She is the last surviving bona fide star of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The last surviving bona fide star of the Silent Era is Diane Serra Cary AKA “Baby Peggy” at 99. If you’re interested in Ms. Havilland’s enormous breadth as an actress, you might consider these movies:

Captain Blood (1935)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
The Snake Pit (1948)
The Heiress (1949)
Light in the Piazza (1962)
Lady in a Cage (1964)
Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

She’s still feisty, jealously guarding her image, pursuing an appeal in her case against FX for her depiction in their miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan.

Update

I stand corrected. I would end the “Golden Age of Hollywood” at around 1950. In that case both Olivia de Havilland and Kirk Douglas are still living as of this writing would be considered Golden Age stars. If the Golden Age is ended in 1964 as some do, then Sophia Loren and Sidney Poitier qualify as well as would Albert Finney, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and a number of others. I resist such a late date. I’m tempted to end the Golden Age in 1943 with, ironically, Olivia de Havilland’s lawsuit against Warner Bros.

In any case my apologies to Mr. Douglas.

3 comments… add one
  • With respect: Some would consider Sophia Lorena and Sidney Poitier in rankings of the Golden Age. Inarguably, by any metric, Kirk Douglas qualifies in the same category as Olivia, so she can’t be considered the last.

  • Per your comment I’ve updated my post.

  • Liane Layman Link

    I love her to pieces and I hope she makes it to 103.

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