Maureen O’Hara was a true movie star. From her debut in 1938 until the early 1970s, she made over fifty films. She starred opposite such big names as Charles Laughton, Tyrone Power and, of course, John Wayne. Maureen and Wayne appeared in five films and became lifelong friends. Wayne once remarked, “She’s a great guy. I’ve had many friends, and I prefer the company of men. Except for Maureen O’Hara.”  The feeling was mutual as Maureen sank into a deep depression after Wayne’s death in 1979.

Maureen was feisty, outspoken and stood by her convictions. Her relationship with commanding director John Ford was definitely of the “love-hate” variety. Although he praised her work, Ford never offered that praise to her face. As a matter of fact, he often berated her. During a scene when Maureen was sitting in a speeding cart, the wind kept blowing her hair across her face. Ford hollered “Open your damn eyes!,” to which Maureen replied, “What would a baldheaded son of a bitch like you know about hair lashing across his eyeballs!” However. Maureen always suspected that Ford was secretly in love with her.

In the 1940s, Maureen earned the nickname “The Queen of Technicolor.” With her fiery red hair, creamy complexion and piercing green eyes, she was the best advertisement for the film process. Technicolor’s developers agreed. Technicolor, it seemed, was actually detrimental to Maureen’s career, as she was viewed as just a beauty and not taken seriously as a talented actress.

In the 1960s, Maureen tried to steer away from the Westerns and adventure films with which she had become so associated, although she starred in director Sam Peckinpah’s debut The Deadly Companions. She played against type in a role as a weak and vulnerable woman. The film was panned and Maureen said Peckinpah was “one of the strangest and most objectionable people I had ever worked with.” Soon after, she appeared in Walt Disney’s The Parent Trap. Although the film was a hit and critically acclaimed, Maureen was involved in a contract dispute and never worked for Disney again. As the 60s came to an end and the 70s began, Maureen grew to dislike the current Hollywood trends, commenting on “making dirty pictures” of which she wanted no parts.

She was coaxed out of her 20-year retirement by a script from writer-director Chris Columbus. The film was Only the Lonely and she was instantly enchanted by her co-star John Candy. She said Candy reminded her of Charles Laughton. Maureen went on to make a few television movies and then retired a second time. This time for good.

After suffering a stroke, followed by a diaginosis of short-term memory loss, family members made claims that 92-year old Maureen was a victim of elder abuse at the hands of visiting social workers. For protection, she moved to her grandson’s farm in Idaho where she lived out her remaining years.

Maureen passed away in 2015 at the age of 95.

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Věra Helena Hrubá competed in figure skating the 1936 Winter Olympics, representing her native Czechoslovakia. She placed 17th. During the games, she met Adolf Hitler, who asked her if she would like to “skate for the swastika.” Věra looked him right in the eye and replied that she’d rather skate on the swastika. The Führer was not amused.

In the early 1940s, Vera moved to the United States, settling in Hollywood, with hopes of using her Olympic notoriety to become an actress. Soon, she was signed to a contract by Republic Pictures. Now using the more Americanized name “Vera Ralston,” she was relegated to small roles, mostly immigrants, due to her limited English. She did, however, costar with such notable actors as Fred MacMurray and John Wayne.

Vera married Republic studio head Herbert Yates, who was 40 years her senior. Yates left his wife and children to marry Vera and began securing roles for her, however, Vera’s acting abilities left a lot to be desired. Studio shareholders sued Yates for using company assets to promote his wife. Yates passed away in 1966, leaving his widow Vera over eight million dollars in assets. She was hospitalized, however, for a nervous breakdown. Later, she remarried and lived quietly out of the spotlight until her death in 2003 at age 83. Reportedly, only two of her films were profitable, though she does have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The authors of the book The Golden Turkey Awards nominated Vera for the dubious honor of “The Worst Actress of All Time,” along with Candice Bergen and Mamie Van Doren. They all lost to Raquel Welch.

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There were a few things that were unclear about Herb Jeffries, the handsome actor/singer/songwriter, whose career spanned seven decades. His year of birth was given, at various times, as either 1913 or 1914. He often told conflicting stories about his father — whether he was French or Sicilian or of African descent. It was also unclear if Herb, Hollywood’s first black singing cowboy, was, in fact, black.

Young Herb Jeffries was singing in a Detroit speakeasy. His beautifully-toned voice caught the attention of legendary jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong. He embraced the young Herb and recommended him to fellow musician Erskine Tate as a featured vocalist in his all-black band. He told Herb if anyone questions his race, he should explain that he is Southern Creole from Louisiana. After a regular stint with Tate’s band in Chicago (at a club allegedly owned by mobster Al Capone), Herb toured the southern United States with Earl “Fatha” Hines.

While travelling through segregated areas of the country, Herb was distressed by the restrictions to which blacks were subjected. Performances were relegated to tobacco warehouses and “blacks only” theaters. Taking a cue from the popularity of Western stars like Tom Mix and  Jack Holt, Herb decided to produce his own Western films, specifically for black audiences. He hired a B-movie director named Jeb Buell. Herb secured the N.B. Murray Dude Ranch in Apple Valley, California for the setting. He wrote original songs, with help from Spencer Williams (famous for writing “Basin Street Blues”, “I Ain’t Got Nobody” and “Everybody Loves My Baby”), who also would co-star in the film. With his experience with horses from time spent on his grandfather’s farm, Herb cast himself as the main character, a mellow-voiced, smiling “good guy.” The first film, released in 1937, was called Harlem on the Prairie. Its popularity spawned subsequent features, each with a similar premise and an original musical score by Herb.

Herb often enhanced his naturally light complexion with darker makeup. He regularly darkened his skin for the movies, as well as public appearances. He earned himself the nickname “The Bronze Buckaroo” and was notable as a true Western movie star, his name often mentioned in the same breath as Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.

He was quite a ladies’ man, having married four times, including a union with noted stripper Tempest Storm. Curiously, he identified as “Caucasian” on each of his marriage licenses.

In the 1960s, Herb was featured in the Western TV series The Virginian, as well as guest appearances in episodes of I Dream of Jeannie and Hawaii 5-0. He also regularly performed at benefits for autism and music education. He was active until his death in 2014 at age 100. Although he championed for equal rights and racial equality, he never fully confirmed his true ethnicity.

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Statuesque Tamara Dobson participated in a few fashion shows while attending the Maryland Institute College of Art. Working her way towards a degree in fashion illustration, she began modeling and was soon appearing in commercials. After graduation, she moved to New York, where she modeled, appearing regularly in Vogue and Essence magazines. She represented high fashion brands like Revlon, Fabergé, and Chanel in commercials.

After a few bit parts, Warner Brothers Studios was banking on Tamara becoming the next Pam Grier. In the style of hits like Coffy and Foxy Brown, Tamara was cast in the title role in 1973’s blaxplotation classic Cleopatra Jones and its sequel Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold.  While she wasn’t able to top Ms. Grier’s popularity, she did achieve a dubious distinction. At 6 feet, 2 inches tall, Tamara was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “Tallest Leading Lady in Film.”

She was featured in a dozen episodes of the Saturday morning sci-fi series Jason of Star Command, alongside a post-Star Trek James Doohan (taking a role meant for Jonathan Harris) and the villainous Sid Haig. After the series’ cancellation, she starred in Chained Heat, a “women in prison” film with Linda Blair, Sybil Danning and Stella Stevens. Her final screen appearance was in Amazons, a made-for-TV cautionary tale about powerful women taking over society from men. The film, directed by Starsky & Hutch‘s Paul Michael Glaser, debuted around the time that Geraldine Ferraro was announced as Walter Mondale’s Vice-Presidential running mate.

Tamara retired from show business after a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. She lived out of the spotlight until her death in 2006 at the age of 59.

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