October 27, 2015

Maureen O’Hara, one of the most glamorous movie stars of the mid 1900’s, died Saturday, October 24, at the age of 95. O’Hara was sometimes called the “Queen of Technicolor” after the patented process for making motion pictures in color. After decades of black-and-white films, O’Hara’s flaming red hair, green eyes, and flawless pale skin dazzled audiences in color films. Her on-screen presence was enhanced by the passionate, independent characters she so often portrayed. Despite the nickname, many of O’Hara’s greatest roles were in black-and-white movies.

Irish-American actress Maureen O’Hara
Credit: Kate Gabrielle (licensed under cc by 2.0)

O’Hara appeared in about 50 Hollywood films from the 1940’s through 1971, but she was never nominated for an Academy Award. She played a few more screen and television roles later in life, and, in 2014, O’Hara received an honorary Oscar in recognition of performances that “glowed with passion, warmth, and strength.”

O’Hara was born Maureen FitzSimons on Aug. 17, 1920, in Ranelagh, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. At the age of 14, she was accepted into the acting school of the famous Abbey Theatre in Dublin. Three years later, she traveled to London to make a screen test. The test caught the attention of actor, director, and producer Charles Laughton, who cast her in the 1939 film Jamaica Inn, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Laughton also encouraged Maureen to change her name from FitzSimons to O’Hara.

After the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, O’Hara moved to Hollywood. Playing alongside Laughton, she established herself as a star in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. For the next three decades, O’Hara split her career between escapist films and a few more substantial motion pictures. She became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1946, but retained her Irish citizenship.

O’Hara co-starred with John Wayne in five movies, becoming a close friend of “the Duke.” Wayne commented, “I’ve had many friends, and I prefer the company of men, except for Maureen O’Hara. She’s a great guy.” Perhaps their best-known pairing came in the romantic film The Quiet Man (1952), set in Ireland. It was one of several films she made with director John Ford, starting with the classic How Green Was My Valley (1941), set in a coal mining area of Wales. She starred with John Wayne in her last movie for Ford, The Wings of Eagles (1957).

O’Hara may be best remembered for starring in a Christmas classic replayed every season: Miracle on 34th Street, a 1947 film directed by George Seaton that “proved” the existence of Santa Claus. O’Hara retired from films in 1971, but returned to the screen in Only the Lonely (1991).

O’Hara’s autobiography ‘Tis Herself was published in 2004. In 2005, she moved back to Ireland, settling on an estate in County Cork. O’Hara returned to the United States in 2012 as her health began to fail. She died at her home in Boise, Idaho.