It is one of the most typical examples in the production of images, sex symbol, from Hollywood. And at the same time one of the most typical cases of glamorous stars who lived longer in misery, abuse, who never tasted her glory and had a painful end.
It is the now famous Rita Hayworth, the girl from Brooklyn who entered the stage, due to her incomparable beauty, as a pin up model, reached the top of Hollywood, had five disastrous marriages – including with Orson Wells – he often drowned in a sea of ​​alcohol and died alone, after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease from a relatively young age.
The tragic story of her life created a legend, especially after her retirement from the cinema, beyond and above her acting talent, which, bad lies, was not special.
Hayworth’s performances were simplistic, without any depth, covered as a point by very capable directors, while even her movement, although not very high, was ungrateful.
But what was non-negotiable about her was her sparkling glow, the sculpted features of her face, her alabaster skin, the ability of a model to take poses that steal the eye from acting. Maybe that’s why her best were the movie posters and of course the covers.
Turning 35 years after her tragic death on May 14, 1987, we will remember the incredible hardships of her life, from her childhood to her times of glory, the abusive times she lived with her father and her five husbands, but and her best moments in cinema.
The dance of horror
Margarita Carmen Dolores Cancino, as her real name was, was born in 1918 in Brooklyn, New York to a Spanish father, a flamenco dancer, Eduardo Cancino, and the mother of American actress Volga Hayworth. The ordeal began in her childhood, when her brutal father forced her to start dancing at the age of three. Her childhood life was only rehearsals, although, as she had confessed, she did not like dancing and perhaps that is why she never let her subconscious let the rhythm enter her body. Before going to high school, she had to drop out of school to become her father’s partner, from whom she ate a lot of wood when she disobeyed him. They danced on gambling boats in miserable Mexican casinos. And all of this was nothing compared to what Orson Welles revealed years later about the monster father. Eduardo, who presented her as … his wife, in order to avoid the law that forbade child labor, abused her sexually in the afternoon and danced with her at night …
Both husband and promoter
Rita escapes her father’s clutches and in 1937 marries, as is usually the case in these cases, a swindler, Edward Charles Johnson, who introduced herself as a Texan oilman while he was a car salesman! Janston persuaded her to become her personal manager, but turned out to be the worst of the five men she married. He is the one who forced her to change, in a painful way, some features of her face. Of course, he was also violent, erupting on her when she refused to go with other men. In fact, he did not hesitate to suggest to the director of Columbia to sleep with her to promote her. A contract that he eventually signed as Hayworth, another idea of ​​Jannson.
Erotic symbol
In 1939 she will make her first major appearance in the Howard Hawks drama “Only Angels Have Wings”, opposite Carrie Grant and Gene Arthur. This will be followed by the musical “You Will Never Get Rich” with Fred Astaire and the classic romantic adventure “Blood and Sand” with Tyrone Power, which made her a brand and cover on Time. A cover that became a poster on millions of walls above teen beds. However, her greatest success was the coveted divorce she would finally get from her husband in 1942, after she gave him a respectable amount and while he had threatened to scratch her face. It will be followed by the cover of Life entitled “The Great American Goddess of Love”, with Hayworth kneeling in bed in a lace nightgown. For the time being, a photo that really implied a lot, but no one could understand the real Hayworth, a star, who lived in insecurity, with a complex of inferiority, a permanent victim of abuse and exploitation and obviously with the Stockholm Syndrome …
Orson, Gilda and the bomb
Her photo also dazzled Orson Welles, who would ignore rumors of her brief stormy relationship with the quirky and troubled billionaire Howard Hughes, approach her and marry her in 1943. Next year they will have a daughter, R. 1946 will be a significant year, as he will shoot the famous “Gilda”. A remarkable though unequal film noir, with a sweet ending, that went hand in hand with what the general public wanted, which was turned by the experienced Charles Windor, placing next to her the excellent and highly reliable protagonist Glenn Ford. However, looking at its interpretation calmly, it would probably be characterized as mediocre and it is indicative of the power that Hollywood had to make huge successes out of nothing, manipulating a significant part of the press. However, indicative of the success, but also of the situation that prevailed in America at that time, is the story with the classic photo from the film that was placed in the hydrogen bomb, during the first test, off the Bikini atoll. Hayworth, as Wells had said, became furious, “almost mad”, wanted to go to Washington to protest, but was eventually stopped by the Columbia director, telling her that “it is not patriotic”!
The Lady’s divorce from Shanghai
And her second marriage went from bad to worse, as Wells tried with many books to “improve” her spiritually, he was stressful and without realizing it he pushed her away from him. As Rita had said “I could not stand his genius anymore”. However, they will manage to shoot together the film noir “The Lady from Shanghai”, her second best known film. As a director, Wells will take care to give her a different persona, protect her from exaggeration and give her the incomparable scene with the mirrors.
The prize of Ali Khan
Hayworth was the highest paid star at the time, earning $ 5 million a year – in addition to her huge paychecks from cosmetics companies – but she still could not find satisfaction, feeling trapped in Hollywood. She will meet playboy Prince Ali Khan in 1949 in Cannes, with whom she will be charmed at the same time, and while she is two months pregnant, she will marry him in a lavish ceremony on the C Αte d’Azur. A few months later she will give birth to their daughter Princess Jasmine in Switzerland. Four more hard years will follow, with Khan torturing her life, with his infidelities and the contempt he showed her. In fact, he wanted her as a prize, while as he admitted after years, she was one of the men “who fell in love with Gilda and woke up with Rita”.
Dive into alcohol
Her self-destructive course continued again with her fourth marriage, as in 1953 she married the alcoholic singer, with a bad reputation in Hollywood, Dick Hayes. Their marriage will end after two years with a lot of wood, while alcohol will come, to soothe her crushed nerves. Nevertheless, Rita will move on to a fifth marriage, when in 1958 she marries the producer James Hill, another brutal husband, who will blacken her in the wood. In 1961 she got her fifth divorce, but her life was ruined, even though she continued to “write” on the big screen.
Martyrdom end
In 1971 she made her last attempt to enter the studios, but left filming because she forgot her words. Everyone thought that this was a result of her alcoholism, but in fact the next torment had begun, as she was suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The only one who would stay next to her was her daughter Jasmine.
Rita Hayworth will make a total of 60 films, next to big stars and many times great directors, but in the end it did not matter. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
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