Leading Ladies Maureen O'Hara
The Quite Man/ Mary Kate Danaher
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame/ Esmeralda
Miracle On 34th St./ Doris Walker
McLintock/ Katherine Gilhooley McLintock
Per Quinlan's Film Stars:
Hollywood's favorite red haired, hazel eyed Irish colleen. A strange combination of gentleness and high spirits. She was memorable as staunch wives or spitfire village girls in several John Ford films.
She was born Maureen Fitzsimmons at Dublin, Ireland in 1920.
Growing up Maureen liked rough athletic sports and had an equal gift for performing. She won many awards and by age 14 she was accepted by The Abbey Theatre and pursued her dream of classical acting and operatic singing.
This goal was changed when Charles Laughton noticed her and got her to star in Jamaica Inn with him. It was Laughton that got her to change her name from Fitzsimmons to O'Hara since it would fit on the marquee better.
Under contract to Laughton, her next film was in America and it was the 1939 version of The Hunchback Of Notre Dame which also starred Laughton.
Her contract to Laughton was bought out by RKO and she was at the top at the age of 19 and she stayed there.
As noted before, in addition to her natural beauty she had a fine lyric singing voice and natural athletic ability. With her athletic prowess she could do a lot of physical feats that other actresses could not, like fencing and fisticuffs.
Some of Maureen O'Hara's film roles were:
The Playboy (1938) as The Secretary
Little Miss Molly (1938) as Eileen O'Shea
Jamaica Inn (1939) as Mary
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame (1939) as Esmeralda
A Bill Of Divorcement (1940) as Sydney Fairfield
They Met In Argentina (1941) as Lolita O'Shea
How Green Was My Valley (1941) as Angharad
To The Shores Of Tripoli (1942) as Lt. Mary Carter
Ten Gentlemen From West Point (1942) as Carolyn Bainbridge
The Black Swan (1942) as Lady Margaret Denby
Immortal Sergeant (1943) as Valentine Lee
This Land Is Mine (1943) as Louise Martin
The Fallen Sparrow (1943) as Toni Donne
Buffalo Bill (1944) as Louise Frederici Cody
The Spanish Main (1945) as Contessa Francesca
Sentimental Journey (1946) as Julie Beck/ Weatherly
Do You Love Me (1946) as Kitten Hilliard
Sinbad The Sailor (1947) as Shireen
The Homestretch (1947) as Leslie Hale
Miracle On 34th Street (1947) as Doris Walker
The Foxes Of Harrow (1947) as Odalie "Lilli" D'Arceneaux
Sitting Pretty (1948) as Tacey King
The Forbidden Street (1949) as Addie Culver
Father Was A Fullback (1949) as Elizabeth Cooper
Bagdad (1949) as Princess Marjan
Comanche Territory (1950) as Katie Howard
Tripoli (1950) as Countess D'Arneau
Rio Grande (1950) as Mrs. Kathleen Yorke
Flame Of Araby (951) as Princess Tanya
At Sword's Point (1952) as Claire - Daughter Of Athos
Kangaroo (1952) as Dell McGuire
The Quiet Man (1952) as Mary Kate Danaher
Against All Flags (1952) as Prudence "Spitfire" Stevens
The Redhead From Wyoming (1953) as Kate Maxwell
War Arrow (1953) as Elaine Corwin
Malaga (1954) as Joanna Dana
The Long Gray Line (1955) as Mary O'Donnell
The Magnificent Matador (1955) as Karen Harrison
Lady Godiva of Coventry (1955) as Lady Godiva
Everything But The Truth (1956) as Joan Madison
Lisbon (1956) as Sylvia Merrill
The Wings Of Eagles (1957) as Min Wead
Our Man In Havana (1959) as Beatrice Severn
Mrs. Miniver (1960-TV) as Mrs. Miniver
The Deadly Companions (1961) as Kit Tilldon
The Parent Trap (1961) as Maggie McKendrick
Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation (1962) as Peggy Hobbs
Spencer's Mountain (1963) as Loivia Spencer
McLintock (1963) as Katherine Gilhooly McLintock
A Cry Of Angels (1963-TV) as Susanna Cibber
The Battle Of the Villa Fiorita (1965-TV) as Moira
The Rare Breed (1966) as Martha Price
How Do I Love Thee ? (1970) as Elsie Waltz
Big Jake (1971) as Martha McCandles
The Red Pony (1973-TV) as Ruth Tiffin
Only The Lonely (1991) as Rose Muldoon
The Christmas Box (1995) as Mary Parkin
Cab To Canada (1998-TV) as Katherine Eure
The Last Dance (2000) as Helen Parker
Ms. O'Hara played in many westerns and some of her co stars were John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Jeff Chandler. She was paired with The Duke several times.
Ms. O'Hara was married three times. Her last husband was General Charles Blair and the marriage lasted from 1968 until his death in 1978.
Ms. O'Hara passed way on October 24, 2015 at age 95 from natural causes
I particularly enjoyed Ms. O'Hara in the films The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Black Swan, Sinbad The Sailor, The Spanish Main, McLintock, The Quiet Man, Miracle On 34th St., The Redhead From Wyoming, How Green Was My Valley, The Rare Breed, This Land Is Mine, The Flame Of Araby, On Wings Of Eagles and The Parent Trap.
Louie The Movie Buff