Maureen O'Hara (1) (1920–2015)

This is a very readable memoir by one of the last surviving major Hollywood stars of the 1940s. O'Hara is sometimes shocking in her revelations, and she makes no bones about her feelings about the various people in her life. For a self-described tough dame, she let herself be pushed around by several very unpleasant men in her personal life, and one often has the desire to tell her to stand up for herself, for crying out loud! Yet as a movie star, she was indeed a tough cookie, and stood up to some of the biggest and most powerful men in the business. She writes movingly of her closest friendship, with John Wayne, and with startling revelations about John Ford that will blow up much of the conventional wisdom about their working and personal relationship. For fans of American movies, this will be a very pleasant and interesting reading experience.… (more)

First and foremost, let me say that Maureen O'Hara was a huge part of my childhood. I grew up in a household where Irish movies and music were a part of everyday life. Every year around St. Patrick's Day, my father would ensure he could see "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne and the incomparable Maureen O'Hara.

Maureen O'Hara was born in Dublin, Ireland into a theatre family. Maureen believed that she would be a theatre actress until a Hollywood agent noticed her and invited her to come to Hollywood for a test. O'Hara was quickly hired and went on to become one of the icons of Hollywood's Golden Age. While many people may recognize her from "Miracle on 34th Street" with Natalie Wood. She plays a Macy's executive who hires a Santa Claus for the season, only to have him claim that he REALLY is Santa.

One of O'Hara's favorite movies and the one she is most protective of is "The Quiet Man." This film starred John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, and a host of other Irish actors. Her character, Mary Kate Danaher is a tough Irish woman who takes no guff and makes her feelings known. This is just one of many movies that she would star in besides John Wayne.

I wanted to read this book for the longest time and had very high hopes for it. I loved every moment of this book and now further appreciate all that O'Hara went through in order to provide her family with the best life possible and her fans the movies they have come to love.
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While the book was fairly well-written, I have to say that I came away disappointed in the person of Maureen FitzSimons. I'm using her real name because this book was very much about who the person was/is and that person seemed to be the same whether on or off camera. I was mainly disappointed in the fact that she really was a naive person who made bad decisions that she never seemed to learn from. Yes, everyone makes silly mistakes as a young person. However, she was in the position to remove herself from maaaannnyyy of the situations she stayed in and chose not to. Some would say she stayed in relationships with people like John Ford or her husband Will for reasons of compassion, but I don't think so. I think she 1. didn't want bad press, 2. had too much pride, 3. enjoyed, in some sick way, the attention---negative as it was. I'm interested in hearing how others feel about that---but read the WHOLE book first before you flip out at me. :)

That said, someone should have thrown John Ford in jail. What a total sicko. I do have to say that I sensed a bit of sensationalism in some of the things she wrote about her experiences. Sometimes "standing up for your rights and not backing down" or "being stubborn" is actually just being a belligerent and spoiled person. This is the impression I got from her.

Still, she exemplified excellent loyalty to her friends, family, and countries---as well as true patriotism---so I guess I've got to give her that. I do hope I forget most of what I read here though, as I'd really like to see more of her movies and keep that enjoyment of her as an actress that I had before reading this.… (more)