Hollywood superstar Rita Hayworth was born on October 17, 1918 in a family of artists. Father, Eduardo Cancino - flamenco dancer, a native of the Spanish city of Seville. Mother, Volga Hayworth - singer of the choir from the Broadway show Florenza Siegfeld. It is known that artists are restless people, so the parents of the future movie star were constantly on the move, and Rita, waiting for their return, was in the circle of close relatives. She was quickly taught to dance, and it was obvious that the child was drawn to art. From morning till night, the girl danced in front of the mirror, and when she was asked to go to the store for bread, she followed the longest path, making elaborate steps for her with her children's legs. Later, when Rita grew up, she began to go with his father to his performances.
Carier start
The girl appeared on stage at age 12, dancing with her father in Spanish choreographic performances and in nightclubs. When Rita was seventeen years old, she was noticed by agents of the 20th Century Fox film studio and offered to act in films. The girl first played small episodic roles, but in 1939 the young actress was invited to sample the film "Only Angels Have Wings" directed by Howard Hawks. According to the role that Rita Hayworth received, she was to play along with such stars as Gene Arthur and Carey Grant, and her character was equalized with the leading actors in the course of the plot, and in some episodes even came to the fore. At first, the girl was lost from the neighborhood with such celebrities, but then she got used to it, feeling genuinely friendly disposition of both Gene Arthur and Carey Grant, who tried their best to support the young talent. Each of them remembered that in the same way he once began to act in films, and not always everything turned out.
Popularity
The Hawks film, as well as the subsequent paintings: Strawberry Blonde, Cover Girl, Blood and Sand, made Rita Hayworth a popular actress. And two films in the genre of musical comedy: "You've never been so amazing" and "Never get richer", where she played in tandem with Fred Aster - added to her fame. The dances that Rita learned as a child were useful to her. Natural grace and plasticity helped to cope with the role.
The girl danced beautifully, enthralling even such a master as Fred Astaire. However, the actress was shy to sing, although she had a good voice and a wonderful timbre. It got to the point that a professional singer was invited to the set, who dubbed Rita Hayworth. In the end, the young actress got used to it, stopped wheezing and losing her rhythm. And when she felt good irony on the part of her partner, she was completely emboldened. Films with Fred Aster paved the way for success in cinema in front of Rita. And not far off was the most important role in her creative life.
Finest hour
In 1946, Rita Hayworth, whose biography was then replenished with a new page, reached the peak of her popularity by playing the main character in Charles Widor's melodrama "Gilda". The film became the starry hour of the actress, after the release of the film for hire, she was elevated to the Hollywood Olympus and for many years turned into the unquestioned idol of American cinema. Waking up famous, Rita Hayworth for a long time could not get used to her new image. She was embarrassed when fans asked for an autograph on the street. I could not believe that her modest person can bring so much joy to people. And at the same time, Rita was not in any way threatened with star sickness: she remained the same modest girl who once came to the set for the first time.
Actress snapped up
In the future, actress Rita Hayworth played only the main roles, others did not offer her. She herself pondered the script for a long time before giving her consent to participate in the filming. If the directors started filming a new film, then, first of all, an actress named Rita Hayworth was considered the main female role.
"Gilda" became the favorite film of millions of Americans, and everyone wanted to see the actress in a new role. The Hollywood star received invitations in huge numbers, but she agreed to appear only in those films that suit her according to the level of intelligence inherent in the script. The actress rejected empty, superficial plots.
Hayworth and movie stagnation
Cinema in the USA in the fifties was experiencing a period of depression, like all of America in the mid-20th century. One after another, movie studios were closed, only the strongest survived: Metro Goldwin Mayer, 20th Century Fox, Paramount Pictures and some others. Rita Hayworth, films with the participation of which moviegoers were looking forward to, tried to star in several films at once. However, the actress could not grasp the immensity, and all she could do was play a major role in two films in one year.
How Hayworth starred in a movie without appearing on the set
Then the producers figured out how you can still use its popularity. An example of such resourcefulness can be traced on the example of the thriller "Shawshank Redemption". Rita Hayworth did not participate in the filming, and at the same time, her image appeared in the movie throughout the story. During the film, the protagonist, a prisoner, makes a dig for escape. The work takes exactly twenty years, and all this time he covers a hole in the wall with a portrait of the movie star Hayworth. It was a plastic poster depicting an actress. It was not difficult to convince the prison guards of the love of the popular movie star and thereby euthanize their vigilance.
In the same picture, “Escape from the Shawshank”, prisoners watch the film “Gilda” in the prison cinema with Rita Hayworth in the title role.
Hairstyle change
In the 1948 film "Lady from Shanghai", a change in the image of the actress was required. Rita Hayward approached the question too radically: she cut off her luxurious hair and dyed her blonde platinum. Thus, the actress ensured the film a tremendous failure - the public did not accept the metamorphosis of the appearance of her beloved Hayworth, and the picture failed miserably.
Meet the Aga Khan
This failure caused Rita an attack of melancholy, she refused further work and left for Europe. There, on the French Riviera, she met the Arab millionaire Aga Khan, and they began an affair. Aga Khan actually became Hayworth’s husband, but they could not register the marriage, since he was married, although he attempted to divorce.
Nevertheless, Rita Hayworth decided to finally break with the cinema and devote herself to family life. She came to Los Angeles and made a scandal at Columbia Pictures, demanding dismissal. But she still had to pay a contractual penalty in the amount of a quarter of a million dollars. After that, she defiantly left.
Inverse effect
Of course, such a passage could not be in vain, many turned away from the actress. And now she was sitting in four walls in splendid isolation, without work and without family, because Aga Khan retreated very quickly and, leaving Rita with their daughter Jasmine, went about some things on the side. And in 1951, an Arab playboy broke up with Hayworth.
In 1952, the actress went with an apology to Gary Cohn. She needed a job. He went to meet her, forgot the old grievances and identified Rita in the movie "Love on Trinidad." But Hayworth’s former popularity has already left, she immediately felt it. Moviegoers did not buy movie tickets with Rita Hayworth. Having failed once again her role, the actress fell into a depression. A new quarrel with Gary Kon ended with her departure from the studio.
Return
Two years later, Hayworth came again and was accepted again. She successfully starred in the movie "Buddy Joey." Her partners on the set were Kim Novak and Frank Sinatra. However, this success was the last for a fading movie star. Hayworth washed down, her condition inspired concern around. Consultations with a psychoanalyst began, and then treatment. But a mental illness quickly turned into a pathology, and the actress found signs of Alzheimer's disease.
Sickness and death
The ailment developed slowly, Rita Hayworth was in good memory, but over time, her coordination began to deteriorate. After a while, everything returned to normal, the actress was already able to move freely, as before. She occasionally starred, but by the beginning of the seventies, her memory began to change. On the set of the last film with her participation under the name "Wrath of the Gods" Rita could not independently conduct a dialogue with partners, she was prompted by the text.
I had to say goodbye to the cinema. The actress began to live with her daughter from her third marriage. Jasmine felt sorry and loved her mother, they lived relatively happily for sixteen years. Rita Hayworth died quietly on May 14, 1987 in her New York apartment in Manhattan.
Personal life
Rita Hayworth has been married five times. From the second husband, director Orson Welles , the actress had a daughter, Rebecca. Another daughter was born during the third marriage, the father was the Arab millionaire Aga Khan. The girl was named Jasmine. Rita Hayworth, whose children were brought up by governesses, towards the end of her life found peace with her youngest daughter.
Filmography
- 1926 - The Fiesta.
- 1939 - "Only angels have wings."
- 1940 - "Music in the Heart."
- 1940 - "Susan and the God."
- 1940 - The Budget Blonde.
- 1940 - The Search for the Woman.
- 1940 - "Broadway Angels."
- 1941 - "Strawberry Blonde.
- 1941 - "Blood and Sand."
- 1941 - "Never Become Rich."
- 1942 - "My Girl Sal."
- 1942 - "There is no one more charming."
- 1942 - "Tales of Manhattan."
- 1943 - "Show business during the war."
- 1944 - Cover Girl.
- 1945 - Every Night.
- 1946 - "Gilda".
- 1947 - "Lady from Shanghai."
- 1947 - From heaven to earth.
- 1948 - Carmen.
- 1952 - "Love in Trinidad."
- 1952 - Champagne Safari.
- 1953 - "Miss Sadie Thompson".
- 1953 - "Salome".
- 1957 - "Buddy Joey".
- 1957 - The Fire of the Underworld.
- 1958 - "At the individual tables."
- 1959 - "History on the front page."
- 1959 - "Arrival in Cordura".
- 1962 - The Happy Kidnappers.
- 1964 - The World of the Circus.
- 1965 - The Money Trap.
- 1966 - "Poppies are also flowers."
- 1967 - The Adventurer.
- 1971 - "The Road to Salina."
- 1971 - The Naked Zoo.
- 1972 - The Wrath of the Gods.