Although he was a beautiful personality, often demure in the movies, de Havilland exhibited an off-screen grit that could have helped explain his longevity, dying decades after many of his co-stars, at the age of 104.
As if to point out that point, the actress sued the FX production of “Feud: Bette and Joan,” a series dedicated to Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, for their portrayal of her as a secondary player, making it clear that even as a centennial She was not someone to play with.
In fact, de Havilland had gone to court to protect her rights before, suing Warner Bros., at the height of her career, after the studio suspended her for demanding bigger roles and rejecting screenplays. Regardless of the duration of the lawsuit, de Havilland won the case, and in the process struck a blow to the freedom of the actors who had been subject to the restrictions of the study system.
Born in Japan to British parents, de Havilland moved to California as a child, and director Max Reinhardt, who chose her in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” noticed her in a school play. (Her sister, Joan Fontaine, also became a famous actress, although their relationship was notoriously stormy.)
De Havilland was still in his late teens when he staggered onto the screen in front of the hedgehog Errol Flynn, co-starring in “Captain Blood” in 1935 before playing Maid Marian in “The Adventures of Robin Hood” three years later.
The following year, Warner Bros., with whom he had signed a seven-year contract, loaned it to producer David O. Selznick to play the lovable Melanie in “Gone With the Wind,” losing an Oscar for best support. actress of her African-American co-star who makes history, Hattie McDaniel.
After her court victory, de Havilland embarked on a varied series of roles in the 1940s that established her as more than just naive and great beauty. She won an Oscar in 1946 for “To Each His Own,” followed by playing a mental patient in “The Snake Pit,” then won another Academy Award for her performance as an unassuming woman wooed by her fortune by a suitor. ambitious, played by Montgomery Clift, in “The Heiress”.
In the 1950s, De Havilland’s film career slowed, though he continued to appear on stage and on television, and in the movie “Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte.” Her last roles were in television movies in the late 1980s, and she finally quietly retired to France.
While de Havilland’s long life might have ended, her historical career will continue, as she so eloquently put it, vividly and cheerfully.
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