Friday, August 1, 2008

...evelyn keyes - the keyes of tara...

Remember the MGM's 1939 classic, "Gone With The Wind"??? Remember Scarlett "tomorrow is another day" O' Hara??? Now, remember Scarlett's other sisters??? Suellen O'Hara and Carreen O'Hara???

Evelyn Keyes, who portrayed sister Suellen, died at the age of 91 from uterine cancer. Keyes (20th November 1916 - 4th July 2008), was born in Texas, took dancing, voice and singing lessons hoping to become a ballerina, but entered a beauty pagent and became a chorus girl. She had some obscure bit part roles like in "The Bucanner" (1938), "Paris Honeymoon" (1939) and "Union Pacific" (1939), before David O. Sleznick gave her a bit part in Margaret Mitchell's saga, the now classic "Gone With The Wind", casting her as Scarlett's younger whiny and bratty sister - Suellen.

Her second husband was director Charles Vidor who directed her in some of Evelyn's pictures in Columbia studio, among them "Ladies In Retirement" (1941) starring Ida Lupino and Louis Hayward. They divorced in 1945, supposedly due to Vidor's infidelity. She then hit a pin-up status and played the daughter of Boris Karloff in "Before I Hang" (1940) and as a blind women who befriended the scarred Peter Lorre in "The Man Behind The Mask" (1941).

Husband number three was John Huston. She played Al Jolson's wife in "The Jolson Story" (1946), opposite the splendid imitation by Larry Parks. Her marriage to Huston also ended up a divorce in 1950. In between this and her next marriage to musician Artie Shaw (whom I find a self-centered, egoistic person from most of the articles I read and the reply card I received from him when I wrote to him many years ago), she had a "close" friendship with flamboyant producer, Michael Todd. Among Shaw's wives were Lana Turner and Ava Gardner and among Todd's wives were Joan Blondell and Elizabeth Taylor (the queen of husbands!!!). She also appeared in Marilyn Monroe's "The Seven Year Itch" (1955) and had a cameo role in Todd' all-star "Around The World In Eighty Days" (1956). Later in her career, she guested in "Love Boat" and "Murder, She Wrote" and also in movies like 1987's "A Return To Salem's Lot" (a vampire) and 1989's "Wicked Stepmother" (a witch instructor). She wrote two autobiographies - "Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister" in 1977 and "I'll Think About That Tomorrow" (1991).

There goes another Hollywood star from that era. Now, the only living supporting cast from "Gone With The Wind" is Ann Rutherford (2nd November 1920 = 87 years old) and it's star, the legendary Olivia De Havilland (Melanie Hamilton) (1st July 1916 = 92 years old!!!).

Frankly my dear, I do give a damn!!!

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