Aubrey Dillon-Malone

Maureen FitzSimons was born in Dublin, Ireland on August 17, 1920. By the time of her twentieth birthday, she had been discovered by screen great Charles Laughton, renamed Maureen O'Hara, and, as they say: "the rest is history". Author Aubrey Malone gives readers a glimpse of Maureen's life, both on-screen and in her personal world, in "Maureen O'Hara: The Biography". Cinema buffs will enjoy the author's attention to details in his descriptions of Maureen's films, costars, and the undeniable lure of show business. The FitzSimons family was extremely close--a blend of musical theatricality and athleticism. Maureen was a tomboy, always strong and adventurous, but she had also inherited her mother's musicality--she had a lovely singing voice. Appearing alongside her mentor, Charles Laughton, in "The Hunchback of Notre dame" was an invaluable learning experience for the young actress, and it was the beginning of her long career as an indelible screen presence. A statuesque beauty with glorious red hair and a delightful accent, she was also an action film star capable of poignant performances in dramas and family films such as "Miracle on 34th street" and "The Parent Trap". It was her great on-screen chemistry and lifelong friendship with John Wayne that brought out the best in both of the stars. Their acting pairing in "The Quiet Man" is one of the best screen duos of all-time. In her private life, Maureen did not find romantic happiness until her third marriage. Aviator Charles Blair had been a longtime friend of Maureen and her family, and when when both of their life circumstances changed, that friendship turned to love. She helped him run his air boat company, and they remained contentedly married for ten years until his tragic death in a plane crash. After her husband's death, she took over the running of their business and became the first woman president of a commercial airline. One of the things that Maureen O'Hara enjoyed throughout her long life was detecting an element of Irish heritage--even the smallest trace--in her costars and others she met. Seeing this beautiful lass from Dublin on film with her strength, spirit, and determination to remain true to herself and her beliefs, and reading about her extraordinary life, will make us all long for a connection to the Emerald Isle.

Book Copy Gratis University Press of Kentucky… (meer)

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading this expecting a bit of substance. This book is about 100 pages. It is a long list of quotes from different people over the years. There are no categories, introductions, or visible order.

Though, as a public speaker, some of these quotes could be useful in future presentations. It will take a lot of searching and sifting through because there are no categories, but they can provide some inspiration.… (meer)

Jag köpte denna bok mest för att jag gillade omslaget; jag misstänkte att den skulle vara ganska långtråkig och intetsägande. Denna misstanke var till viss del ogrundad. Visserligen är innehållet för det mesta ganska poänglöst, men ibland glimmar de till; bland listor av typen »10 författare som adlats« och »40 namn bakom initialerna« kan man hitta guldkorn som »5 brevrelaterade anekdoter« (där man kan läsa Dr Johnsons svar till en förhoppningsfull författare: »Ditt manuskript är både bra och originellt. Men delarna som är bra är inte original, och delarna som är originella är inte bra«) eller »5 författare som anklagades av staten på grund av sina skrifter«, där man kan läsa om den danske patrioten Theodire Reinking som av svenska staten tvingades äta upp sitt mishagliga verk.

Så även om boken skulle tjänat på att gås över med motorsågen så finns det ändå liv nog i den för att den skall vara läsbar, och kanske kan den tjäna som inspiration om man behöver något att säga om en viss stjärna, men knappast mycket mer än det.… (meer)