Hannah HoweI’m researching Rita Hayworth for a forthcoming article and novel.
“I’m a good actress. I have depth. I have feeling. But they don’t care. All they want is the image.” - Rita Hayworth.
Hubbub - Vera 🕊️🇪🇺Really looking forward to reading both. Rita Hayworth had such a sad life in so many ways. Unlike the presented Hollywood dream image of so many Stars of that era. 🙏
@hubbub Thank you. Yes, that is the idea - to get beyond the image and understand the real person.
Revealing the Hollywood veneer, a lifetimes work. There are so many stars of that era that would be wonderful to research. Sometimes their actual life stories were more incredible than the image created by the Hollywood Star system. 🙏
@hubbub That’s right. There are so many stories. While looking at the ‘bigger picture’ I’m also focusing on individuals and looking at them through a combination of their ancestry, movies, contemporary articles, personal quotes, etc. Rita’s first husband promoted her as ‘the best dressed actress in Hollywood’. Her wardrobe was basic, so when a magazine wanted to interview her, Rita had to borrow clothes and jewellery. And so began the myth, the image that dominated her life.
I think that it would be very hard to live up to an image, an ideal falsely created, so many actors of that era must have found that and struggled mentally, you would have to be very grounded not to lose your way in life.
@hubbub That’s the aspect that interests me, the psychological aspect. Rita always regarded herself as Margarita and sighed her name with an M. She said, “I never think of myself as the least bit glamorous. If I want any glamour, I get it vicariously by reading stories about that other Rita Hayworth.”
Yes, the psychological aspect is fascinating.
That response shows that Rita had a depth of character, and I'm not the least bit surprised. To be able to separate the two worlds of fame and make believe, with the reality of everyday life and struggle, very impressive indeed.