Joan Fontaine is 92

[nmartin]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 7:00am

Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland on October 22, 1917, in Tokyo.

[romantico]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 7:24am

Has the feud between her and her sister ever been resolved? So sad that two great actresses who are related and still alive don't speak to one another.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 7:52am

I wonder if either of them can even remember what it was about.

[madbrian]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 9:20am

"I wonder if either of them can even remember what it was about."

I believe Olivia held her hand in front of Joan's face and kept repeating, "I'm not touching you!"

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 9:22am

She's sort of the forgotten sister, too. I loved her as an actress. I always found her to be very real in her performances, almost out of place for her era.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 10:11am

Here's her What's My Line

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXsJYs9bVcc

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 10:34am

They were very competitive sisters. The feud goes back to the 1941 Academy Awards, when Joan was the first of the two to win an Oscar for Best Actress.

Sad, isn't it?

I had a friend (sadly departed) who was privy to a very venomous fight between the two of them. She said the hatred was pretty horrific.

Obviously. It's lasted almost 70 years.

Maybe they'll release a Blu-ray Disc of their big fights in 2011, in honor of the 70th Anniversary.

Updated On: 10/22/09 at 10:34 AM

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 11:29am

Here's a story that came out of "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte." Don't know how true it is.

One day Bette Davis was being difficult with Olivia de Havilland. Olivia said, "You could be working with Joan Crawford." Bette Davis replied back, "You could be working with Joan Fontaine."

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 11:39am

LOL

Also, even though the Oscar thing really kicked their feud into high gear, they had pretty much been at each other's throats their whole lives.

Updated On: 7/11/13 at 11:39 AM

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 11:52am

I've always found Fontaine to be a complete cipher on screen. De Havilland, on the other hand, is among my favorite actresses.

[nealb1]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 11:53am

Very sad. And, what does a feud accomplish.......nothing but wasted time and regrets.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 12:26pm

Fontaine spent the early part of her career in her sister's shadow, but eventually eclipsed her stardom

I don't know about this. Maybe at the time but I think history views Olivia as the bigger star now. I believe she is the better known of the two.

She is reportedly not on speaking terms with her two daughters, because they are on speaking terms with their Aunt Olivia.

Ouch.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 12:29pm

How about this:

A pay per view with DVD release of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine singing "Sisters, sisters, there was never such devoted sisters." If Liz Taylor and Debbie Reynolds can perform together then think how much bigger the Liv and Jo Show would be.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 1:07pm

Olivia is definitely the bigger star. She was in the public eye at the top of her game for much longer.

But "back in the day" when they were both starting out in the mid to late 1930s, they were more or less equals. Both had started out in supporting roles and quickly became leading ladies and stars. They were fiercely competitive even then.

Things got worse when a "political move" to get Olivia an Oscar for Supporting Actress in Gone With the Wind (so she would be out of direct competition with Vivien Leigh) backfired, and she lost that Oscar to the first "colored" winner, Hattie McDaniel.

It's no secret, and it's been recounted in books and articles, that Olivia was noticeably displeased when she heard the news. Incidentally, it was "leaked" to the press and attendees just prior to the announcement of the awards. Olivia burst into tears and stormed angrily into the ladies lounge. Then, depending on who's telling the story, Norma Shearer followed her, and in an attempt to "calm her down," slapped her across the face. She told her to "Get back in that room and congratulate Hattie! This is her big moment. You will have plenty of them coming."

Olivia was just 23 years old, and she went on to win two Oscars for Best Actress (in 1946 and 1949).

But Joan was the FIRST of the sisters to get the award (in 1941) for Hitchock's "Suspicion." And apparently that sent them into the knock-down-drag-out feuds that, to this day, have not been reconciled.

My friend went to a huge Elsa Maxwell-hosted Hollywood party in 1945 to raise money for the liberation of France. Every big star from every studio was there. My friend (who was an up-and-coming star herself back then) was in the powder room when the two sisters came roaring in, ripping each other apart (at least verbally). She said it turned her blood cold to think that there could be that much animosity between them.

Updated On: 10/22/09 at 01:07 PM

[StageManager2]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 1:15pm

"Also, even though the Oscar thing really kicked their feud into high gear, that had pretty much been at each other's throats their whole lives."

That's what I thought. I remember reading that their mother had always favored Olivia and refused to let Joan to use the "de Havilland" name, so she opted for "Fontaine," which I later learned had been her mother's stage surname, so I don't know.

Updated On: 10/22/09 at 01:15 PM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 2:12pm

Maybe the next time Reginald Tresilian gets into one of his "moods," I should slap him across the face and yell at him "Get back in that room and congratulate Hattie!"

Good idea, Reggie?

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 2:44pm

LOL

Bring a camera with you!

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 2:48pm

Joan Fontaine winning an Oscar for her snooze-fest performance in the lackluster picture, Suspicion and Olivia de Havilland not winning one for her perfectly riveting performance in the always fascinating picture, The Snake Pit, are just two examples of how pointless and off-the-mark the Oscars really are.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 2:55pm

Everyone knows she SHOULD have won for Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 3:06pm

The Snake Pit was written by Arthur Laurents. Or rewritten. Or not written.

The story has more twists and turns than the plot does.

Arthur is either villain--or the victim. Or maybe both.

It's a great movie.

[nealb1]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 3:08pm

Does anyone remember the name of the tv movie that Olivia did back in the 70's.........she found a woman buried in the garden, and was trying to convince people to about it, but no one took her seriously.

I'll google it...."The Screaming Woman."
Updated On: 10/22/09 at 03:08 PM

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 3:49pm

I love that movie. It's one of about a hundred I wish were released on DVD!

And Arthur Laurents is ALWAYS the villain, as far as I'm concerned!

THE SCREAMING WOMAN Updated On: 10/22/09 at 03:49 PM

[nealb1]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 5:41pm

I remember seeing it when I was a kid, and was kinda scared by it. It's not on dvd? That's too bad.

But, I'm sure there are bootleg copies on ebay and the like.

[nmartin]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 6:15pm

Best, I love that Shearer story.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/22/09 at 8:03pm

I love Norma Shearer.

She was a rare one! Fiercely competitive in her youth, then openly realistic and decent to everyone later in life. After the death of hubby Irving Thalburg. She turned down (yes!) the roles of Scarlett O'Hara and Mrs. Miniver, because she said she wasn't right for them. She "discovered" Janet Leigh and helped her get her contract at MGM. And she was unwaveringly loyal to all of her friends, no matter the consequences or popular opinion.

But that's for another thread, all about Norma!

Now back to The Screaming Woman.