Maureen O'Hara 1920-2015
Maureen O'Hara, the flame-haired Irish actress who played strong, willful women in such film classics as "How Green Was My Valley," "Miracle on 34th Street," "Rio Grande" and "The Quiet Man," died at her home in Boise, Idaho, on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015. She was 95.
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan
"Jamaica Inn"
Maureen FitzSimons was born in 1920 near Dublin, Ireland. Her mother was a well-known opera singer, while her father owned several football teams.
While studying at Dublin's famed Abbey Theater, Maureen was offered a screen test, which led to small roles in British films. She was spotted by Charles Laughton, and at age 17 was hired to star opposite him in "Jamaica Inn," directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Laughton also bestowed upon her the stage name O'Hara.
Maureen O'Hara
At 18 Maureen O'Hara traveled on the Queen Mary to America, June 19, 1939.
O'Hara had met her first husband, director George Hanley Brown, while making "Jamaica Inn." When she moved to Hollywood, he remained in England and the marriage was annulled.
In 1941 she married director Will Price, with whom she had daughter, Bronwyn. "The marriage was a terrible mistake, and we divorced in 1952," she said. She remained unmarried until the late 1960s.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
Charles Laughton as Quasimodo in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939), with Maureen O'Hara as the beautiful gypsy girl, Esmeralda.
"The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
Maureen O'Hara as Esmeralda in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939).
"Dance, Girl, Dance"
Maureen O'Hara and Lucille Ball in Dorothy Arzner's "Dance, Girl, Dance" (1940).
"How Green Was My Valley"
Maureen O'Hara and Walter Pidgeon starred in John Ford's Oscar-winning drama, "How Green Was My Valley" (1941). The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
"Buffalo Bill"
Maureen O'Hara and Joel McCrea in "Buffalo Bill" (1944).
"The Black Swan"
Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara in the 1942 swashbuckler, "The Black Swan."
"Miracle on 34th Street"
Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood and Maureen O'Hara in the holiday fable, "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947).
"Sitting Pretty"
Robert Young and Maureen O'Hara advertise for a babysitter, only to have the eccentric Clifton Webb respond to their ad, in the 1948 comedy, "Sitting Pretty."
"A Woman's Secret"
In Nicholas Ray's 1949 film noir, "A Woman's Secret," Maureen O'Hara and Gloria Grahame play singers, one of whom ends up on the business end of a gun.
"Bagdad"
Maureen O'Hara plays a Bedouin princess and Vincent Price is the Pasha, in a tale of romance and court intrigue in "Bagdad" (1949).
"Rio Grande"
John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara and Ben Johnson in the John Ford Western, "Rio Grande" (1950).
With her Irish spunk, O'Hara and Wayne were well-matched on-screen. It was the first of five films O'Hara made with Wayne, which also included "The Quiet Man" (1952), "The Wings of Eagles" (1957), "McLintock!" (1963) and "Big Jake" (1971).
"The Quiet Man"
John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in the romantic comedy-drama "The Quiet Man" (1952), directed by John Ford, about a boxer who returns home to Ireland to reclaim his family's farm and to win the hand of a feisty neighbor. It was O'Hara's favorite of her films.
She was proud when Wayne remarked in an interview that he preferred to work with men - "except for Maureen O'Hara; she's a great guy."
"We met through Ford, and we hit it right off," she said in 1991. "I adored him, and he loved me. But we were never sweethearts. Never, ever."
"Against All Flags"
Maureen O'Hara as pirate captain "Spitfire" Stevens, in the 1952 adventure, "Against All Flags."
"Malaga"
An American intelligence agent (Maureen O'Hara) is assigned to infiltrate a smuggling ring in the 1954 thriller, "Malaga" (a.k.a. "Fire Over Africa"), co-starring Binnie Barnes, Harry Lane and Macdonald Carey.
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara, circa 1958.
"Our Man in Havana"
Alec Guinness and Maureen O'Hara in 1959 comedy of espionage, "Our Man in Havana," based on the Graham Greene novel and directed by Carol Reed.
"Our Man in Havana"
Maureen O'Hara in "Our Man in Havana" (1959).
"The Parent Trap"
Maureen O'Hara and Hayley Mills in the 1961 comedy, "The Parent Trap," about twin sisters who try to reunite their divorced parents.
"Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation"
In "Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation" (1962), a nice, quiet seaside vacation is anything but for James Stewart, Maureen O'Hara, and their brood.
Other film credits include "Spencer's Mountain" (1963), with Henry Fonda; and the James Stewart Western, "The Rare Breed" (1966).
"McLintock!"
Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne are pictured on the set of "McLintock!," Jan. 15, 1962 in Hollywood. O'Hara played Wayne's wife who, suspecting him of infidelity, wants a divorce, while Wayne tries to win her back.
"Big Jake"
John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara in the 1971 Western, "Big Jake."
After filming "Big Jake," O'Hara quit movies to live in the Virgin Islands, where her third husband, Brig. Gen. Charles Blair, operated an airline. He died in a plane crash in 1978.
"Being married to Charlie Blair and traveling all over the world with him, believe me, was enough for any woman," she said in a 1995 Associated Press interview. "It was the best time of my life."
"Only the Lonely"
After two decades Maureen O'Hara returned to movies, playing the domineering mother of Chicago cop John Candy in the 1991 comedy, "Only the Lonely." It was a part writer-director Chris Columbus had written especially for her.
She also did three TV movies: "The Christmas Box," "Cab to Canada," and "The Last Dance."
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara, pictured during an interview in Los Angeles on May 4, 1991, upon her return to the screen after 20 years for "Only the Lonely."
Governors Awards
Honoree Maureen O’'Hara accepts an Honorary Oscar from actors Clint Eastwood and Liam Neeson, during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 2014 Governors Awards, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center, November 8, 2014 in Hollywood, California.
Governors Awards
Honorees Harry Belafonte, Hayao Miyazaki, Jean-Claude Carriere and Maureen O'Hara pose onstage during the Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences' 2014 Governors Awards, at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center, November 8, 2014 in Hollywood.
In a 2000 interview with CBS News, O'Hara looked back with pride on her long career and the feisty characters she played: "I've always tried to do the best I could do, whether it was punching John Wayne or Henry Fonda or Brian Keith or Jimmy Stewart ... all the wonderful, wonderful men I worked with."
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara died on Saturday, October 24, 2015, at age 95.