Charles Boyer, Olivia deHavilland and James Cagney

Olivia de Havilland was born to Walter Augustus de Havilland (1872 - 1968) and Lilian Fontaine (1886 - 1975). Her father was born in London, England and her mother was born in Reading, England. She had one sister, Joan Fontaine (1917 - 2013), who was also an actress. Both Olivia and Joan were born in Japan, where their father was studying patent law. Olivia first married Marcus Aurelius Goodrich (1897 - 1991) in 1946 and they had one son, Benjamin Briggs Goodrich (1949 - 1991). After Marcus and she were divorced, she married Pierre Galante (1909 - 1998) in 1955. They had a daughter, Gisele Galante. Olivia de Havilland and her sister Joan Fontaine both became well known actresses and (sometimes) rivals. Olivia accomplished so much during her 104 years - you can read on for some of her role below, and see some of the reasons for the rivalry between her and her sister at Relationship with actress sister, Joan Fontaine.. Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland was an actress who had French, British, and American citizenship. She was well-known for her roles in movies from 1935 to 1988. She acted in 49 feature films and was considered one of the leading actresses of her time. She was also one of the few surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood Cinema until she passed away in 2020. Her sister, Joan Fontaine, was also an actress. De Havilland became famous for her on-screen partnership with Errol Flynn in adventure films like "Captain Blood" (1935) and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938). One of her most famous roles was as Melanie Hamilton in the classic film "Gone with the Wind" (1939), which earned her the first of her five Oscar nominations, the only one for Best Supporting Actress. In the 1940s, De Havilland moved away from ingénue roles and received critical acclaim for her performances in movies such as "Hold Back the Dawn" (1941), "To Each His Own" (1946), "The Snake Pit" (1948), and "The Heiress" (1949). She was nominated for Best Actress for each of these films and won the award for "To Each His Own" and "The Heiress." She also had success in theater and television. In the 1950s, De Havilland lived in Paris and received prestigious honors such as the National Medal of the Arts, the Légion d'honneur, and the title of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Besides her film career, De Havilland continued to work in theater, appearing on Broadway in "Romeo and Juliet" (1951), "Candida" (1952), and "A Gift of Time" (1962). She also acted in television, including the successful miniseries "Roots: The Next Generations" (1979) and "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna" (1986). Her performance in the latter earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Movie or Series. Throughout her film career, De Havilland received two New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress, and the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival. In recognition of her contributions to the film industry, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. See Olivia De Havilland: Obituary.

Charles Boyer, the suave, French-born actor who courted a bevy of leading ladies in films during the 1930s and 1940s and became one of Warner Bros.' top stars, died Saturday at a local hospital. His death came just two days after the death of his wife of 44 years, Pat. Boyer, who would have turned 79 on Monday, had been found unconscious at his home and was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital by paramedics. He died a short time later, a spokesman said. Dr. Thomas Jarvis, Maricopa County coroner, said he would conduct an autopsy today. A hospital spokesman said a heart attack was suspected. Boyer became the top-salaried star at Warner Bros. in 1945. During the 1930s and 1940s, he epitomized the Continental gallant-suave, impeccable of manner and dress. He played the polished lover to many of the movies' leading ladies, yet had the strength and authority to be convincing also as a man of action. Unlike many a romantic star, he moved easily into character parts with middle age. In one film, he portrayed the father of Leslie Caron. He had no vanity about his appearance and willingly played roles in which he looked older than he was, even at times appearing without his toupee if the character called for it. Perhaps he is best remembered for his role as the thief Pepe le Moko in "Algiers." Among his later films were "Is Paris Burning?," "How to Steal a Million," "Casino Royale" and "Barefoot in the Park." Boyer, who was born in Figeac, France, found himself at the age of 7, when he began getting major parts in school plays. The son of a farm machinery dealer, Boyer used his father's granary as a theater, and, at age 12, learned passages of long plays and rehearsed with self-written scripts. After studying at the Sorbonne and the Paris Conservatory, Boyer made his stage debut in Paris' Theatre Antoine in "La Bataille" and soon became a leading stage star. He made his film debut in 1920. Although French producers did not consider him photogenic, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer brought him to Hollywood to do French versions of successful English-language films when dubbing was unknown. Not until 1931 did he make his first major picture with an English-speaking role, "The Man From Yesterday," with Claudette Colbert. He also signed to do "The Red-Headed Woman" with Jean Harlow, but thought his imperfect English would hamper him, so he returned to France to polish it. He was brought back to Hollywood in 1934 and kept a date with success and the woman who later became his wife, British actress Pat Paterson. He met her on a studio lot and they were married that year. Leading ladies he courted in films as he rose to fame included Greta Garbo, Irene Dunne, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman, Jennifer Jones and Hedy Lamarr, as well as Miss Colbert.