It feels as though we’ve hit the point of asking ‘what else can happen?’ as 2020 continues to roll along and loss continues to be a daily part of life. Olivia de Havilland, one of the last, remaining actresses of the Golden Age of Hollywood Cinema, has passed away recently at the impressive age of 104. While many mourn her passing it’s also important to remember that along with the sadness that comes is the need to remember that she lived a long and very full life, having started her career back in the 30s when she was still a young woman. If anyone digs just a little deeper into the past they’ll see that she was given an ultimatum by her stepfather as well at one time, to keep acting and leave home, or to stay home and give up her time on stage. Obviously Olivia made her choice, otherwise, we might not be speaking of her in the same revered tones. Life was undoubtedly harder after having to leave home, but while she did find lodging with a friend she was also granted a scholarship to college where her goal of becoming an English teacher started to take root. When she was given the role of that would eventually keep the proverbial ball rolling though, it took a little convincing, but Olivia would eventually agree to put her English teaching career on hold in order to make her way into the movies. And the rest, as they say, is history.
While it’s true that Olivia did become typecast very quickly and was thrust into one role after another that utilized her in the same manner, that didn’t stop her from pushing forward over and over in order to get the roles she wanted in order to show that she had more talent than just one type of role could display. But to her credit, she was an amazing woman that had a great deal of talent that couldn’t be caged by a single role, thought she definitely had roles that shone brighter than others. One among them was the role of Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind, one of the absolute greatest movies of all time according to many people. Oddly enough she didn’t wish to audition for the role of Scarlet as so many women did, but this spoke volumes about her character and about the type of role that she wanted to fill as Olivia possessed a quiet and very strong sense of character that allowed her to fulfill this role in a manner that might not have stood out to everyone, but was without any doubt one of the most dignified roles in the movie.
Many things can be said about Olivia and her talent onscreen, but one thing that needs to be said is that even in her time she was a pioneer, someone that was working to better herself and show what she could do not just for the sake of being a woman in the movies but being someone that could bring a quiet sense of dignity to every part she played. She was also out to show that she wasn’t about to be pigeon-holed or held down by one role that might define her for the rest of her career, which is an attitude that many people have taken up throughout the years. It’s a bit ironic that her time as Melanie is how a lot of people remember her, but the role wasn’t the only great thing about her career. Instead, her time as Melanie was in itself proof that she had a great deal of something, some hard to define quality that makes some actors great and escapes others as they push forward without breaking through those final few barriers to become thought of as legends. it might sound melodramatic, but with individuals such as Olivia, it’s definitely warranted considering all that they managed to do in their time. For actors such as Olivia, the screen didn’t give them the strength and focus that it tends to bestow upon so many people, it only highlighted what she had to offer, granting people a look into the world of a person who wouldn’t be cowed and who wouldn’t back down when she saw something that was worth her time and effort.
Screen legends come and go, and whether we remember them or not is due to a great number of things, but there are those that don’t always need the recognition that continues to follow them wherever they might go, as the careers they’ve created and the acclaim they built up in their prime is something that won’t tarnish and won’t fade as readily as some might think. Olivia de Havilland was one of the last of a swiftly fading era that will be fondly remembered and held up as the years pass as an example of the greatness that helped to shape the acting world. Rest in peace ma’am, you’ll be missed.
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