Memosaic

Thursday, March 09, 2017

Maureen O'Hara On Demand

Get ready for St. Patrick’s Day by listening to a MAUREEN O’HARA TRIBUTE show on Movie Addict Headquarters. This popular episode airs ON DEMAND from March 10 through March 18 on BlogTalkRadio. Listen any time by clicking the link at the end of this post.

Brought to Hollywood from Ireland by Charles Laughton during the late 1930s, O’Hara achieved immediate acclaim for her fiery performances in The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Jamaica Inn. She remained a popular box-office draw throughout her long acting career (seven decades!) and played opposite a host of A-list actors, including John Wayne, Tyrone Power, Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart. O’Hara, who passed away in 2015 at the age of 95, appeared in such classic movies as The Quiet Man, Miracle on 34th Street, How Green Was My Valley, The Spanish Main and McClintock.

Because of her beautiful red hair, O’Hara has been called the Queen of Technicolor, and her work in so many Western movies earned her a Golden Boot Award in 1991. She also received an Honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. O’Hara displayed a talent for acting as a child and was accepted into Ireland’s Abbey Theater at the age of 14. Ironically, her operatic training there seemed wasted in Hollywood. Although she was the number one choice for the lead in The King and I musical, the director didn’t want someone who made “all those pirate movies” playing Anna -- so the role went to Deborah Kerr, whose vocals had to be dubbed. Go figure!

During this encore episode, classic movie experts Diana Saenger and James Colt Harrison discuss their favorite Maureen O’Hara films and performances. Saenger is the founder of Classic Movie Guide and Harrison is a film historian who contributes movie commentary to a variety of outlets including Classic Movie Guide and Review Express.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, movie fans!

HOST:  Betty Jo Tucker
PRODUCER: Nikki Starr  
LINK:  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/movieaddictheadquarters/2015/03/17/actress-maureen-ohara-tribute



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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Maureen O'Hara's Voice

On this St. Patrick's Day, I want to congratulate Irish actress Maureen O'Hara for her beautiful singing voice. Although I'm a fan of O'Hara's acting and always looked forward to her movies (wasn't technicolor invented just for her?), I had no idea she's also a trained singer.

After watching and listening to her lovely rendition of "Look to the Rainbow" on a recent PBS presentation, I'm very sorry she never got her wish to star in one of those big MGM musicals. What a treat it would be to hear her sing a variety of numbers on the big screen!

Happy St. Paddy's Day, Maureen.

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Friday, March 20, 2009

Lovely Natasha Richardson

Before seeing the remake of Disney’s popular The Parent Trap, I worried that it wouldn’t be as much fun as the original. And I couldn’t imagine anyone except Maureen O’Hara playing the mom. Thankfully, the talented Natasha Richardson stepped into that role and won me over completely.

Natasha was a lovely lady and a wonderful actress. She could do drama or comedy equally well – and even won a Tony for her work in the Broadway musical Cabaret. My two favorite performances by Natasha are her roles in Nell and in Zelda, the TV biopic of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s troubled wife.

Fans are invited to share their comments about Natasha Richardson at http://www.legacy.com/.

My sincere condolences to Natasha’s family and friends.

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