Rita Hayworth

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Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth (October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987), was an American actress who attained fame during the 1940s

1940s

The 1940s decade, known as the forties, ran from 1940 to 1949....
not only as one of the era's top musical stars, but also as the era's defining sex symbol

Sex symbol

A sex symbol is a celebrity of either gender, typically an actor, musician, Supermodel, teen idol, or sports star who is found to be sexual attraction by the public or by a substantial niche audience....
, most notably in the 1946 film

Film

Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the film industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects....
Gilda
Gilda

Gilda is a black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' sexy wardrobe for Hayworth , and choreographer Jack Cole's staging of "Put the...
. She is listed as one of American Film Institute's (AFI) Greatest Stars of All Time.

argarita Carmen Cansino, better known as Rita Hayworth, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Spanish flamenco dancer

Flamenco

Flamenco is a Spain term that refers both to a musical genre, known for its intricate rapid passages, and a dance genre characterized by its audible footwork....
Eduardo Cansino (Sr.)

Eduardo Cansino (Sr.)

Eduardo Cansino was an accomplished dancer and actor, the brother of Spanish dancer Elisa Cansino, and the father of three children, two of whom became famous as actors....
and English/Irish-American Ziegfeld girl

Ziegfeld girl

Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical spectaculars known as the Ziegfeld Follies which were based on the Folies Berg?res of Paris....
Volga Hayworth

Volga Hayworth

Volga Cansino n?e Haworth ,American dancer best known as Volga Hayworth, was a popular showgirl on Broadway theater, an actress, and mother of actress Rita Hayworth, who took her movie name from her mother's maiden name....
.

Hayworth was on stage by the age of six as a member of The Cansinos, a famous family of Spanish dancers working in vaudeville

Vaudeville

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Encyclopedia

Rita Hayworth (October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987), was an American actress who attained fame during the 1940s

1940s

The 1940s decade, known as the forties, ran from 1940 to 1949....
not only as one of the era's top musical stars, but also as the era's defining sex symbol

Sex symbol

Film

Early career

Margarita Carmen Cansino, better known as Rita Hayworth, was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Spanish flamenco dancer

Flamenco

Flamenco is a Spain term that refers both to a musical genre, known for its intricate rapid passages, and a dance genre characterized by its audible footwork....
Eduardo Cansino (Sr.)

Eduardo Cansino (Sr.)

Ziegfeld girl

Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls from Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical spectaculars known as the Ziegfeld Follies which were based on the Folies Berg?res of Paris....
Volga Hayworth

Volga Hayworth

Vaudeville

Vaudeville was a genre of a variety show prevalent on the theatre in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. It developed from many sources, including the concert saloon, minstrel show, freak shows, dime museums, and literary burlesque....
. Also, her father had performed in a dancing duo with his sister, and later revived the duo with his daughter Rita as his dancing partner, performing in nightclubs in California

California

California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
and the Foreign Club in Tijuana

Tijuana

Tijuana , is the largest city of the Mexican state of Baja California, situated on the United States?Mexico border adjacent to its sister city of San Diego, California....
, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
. At age sixteen, she attracted the attention of film producers as part of "The Dancing Cansinos" and was signed by Fox Studios

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, or simply Fox, is one of the six Worldwide major film studios....
in 1935.

From Cansino to Hayworth

After her option

Real option

In corporate finance, real options analysis or ROA applies put option and call option valuation techniques to capital budgeting decisions....
was not renewed by Fox, Rita Cansino freelanced at minor film studios before signing with Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an United States film production company and distribution company. It was one of the so-called studio system among the eight major film studios of Hollywood Cinema of the United States#Golden Age of Hollywood....
in 1937.

In 1937, Margarita Carmen Cansino became Rita Hayworth. After two more years of minor roles, she gave an impressive performance in Howard Hawks

Howard Hawks

Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, Film producer and writer of the Classical Hollywood cinema. He died in Palm Springs, California, California, after a fall....
' Only Angels Have Wings
Only Angels Have Wings

Only Angels Have Wings is a movie directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. It is generally regarded as being among Hawks' finest films, particularly in its portrayal of the professionalism of the pilots, its atmosphere, and the flying sequences....
(1939), as part of an ensemble cast headed by Cary Grant

Cary Grant

Archibald Alec Leach , better known by his stage name, Cary Grant, was a British-born American actor. With his distinctive yet not quite placeable accent, he was noted as perhaps the foremost exemplar of the debonair leading man, handsome, virile, charismatic and charming....
. Her sensitive portrayal of a disillusioned wife sparked the interest of other studios. Between assignments at Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an United States film production company and distribution company. It was one of the so-called studio system among the eight major film studios of Hollywood Cinema of the United States#Golden Age of Hollywood....
, she was borrowed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer for George Cukor

George Cukor

'George Cukor' was an Academy Award-winning United States film director. His career flourished at RKO and later MGM, where he directed a string of impressive films including What Price Hollywood? , A Bill of Divorcement , Dinner at Eight , Little Women , Personal History, Adventures, Experience, and Observation of David Copp...
's Susan and God
Susan and God

Susan and God is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford and Fredric March in a story about a matron who finds religion....
(1940) with Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford

Joan Crawford After an absence of nearly two years from the screen, Crawford staged a comeback by starring in Mildred Pierce , for which she won the Academy Award for Academy Award for Best Actress....
and Warner Brothers for Raoul Walsh

Raoul Walsh

Raoul Walsh was an United States film director, actor, founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the brother of silent screen actor George Walsh....
's The Strawberry Blonde
The Strawberry Blonde

The Strawberry Blonde was a 1941 in film Warner Brothers feature film starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1941 for Academy Award for Original Music Score....
(1941) with James Cagney

James Cagney

James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American film star. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of roles, he is best remembered for playing "tough guy"s....
.

While on loan to Fox Studios

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, or simply Fox, is one of the six Worldwide major film studios....
for Rouben Mamoulian

Rouben Mamoulian

Rouben Mamoulian was an Armenians-United States film director and theatre director....
's Blood and Sand
Blood and Sand (1941 film)

Blood and Sand is a Technicolor produced by 20th Century Fox, directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, and Alla Nazimova....
(1941) starring Tyrone Power

Tyrone Power

'Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr.' , usually credited simply as 'Tyrone Power' and known sometimes as "'Ty Power'", was an United States film and Theatre actor who appeared in dozens of films from the 1930s to the 1950s, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads such as The Mark of Zorro , The Black Swan , Prince of Foxes , T...
, Hayworth achieved stardom with her sizzling performance as the amoral and seductive Doña Sol de Miura. This Technicolor

Technicolor

Technicolor is the trademark for a series of Color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation , now a division of Thomson SA....
film forever branded her as one of Hollywood's most beautiful redheads

Red hair

Red hair varies from a deep orange-red through orange #Burnt orange to bright copper . It is characterized by high levels of the reddish pigment Melanin#Melanin in humans and relatively low levels of the dark pigment Melanin#Melanin in humans....
. Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney

Gene Tierney was an United States film and Theatre actor. Acclaimed as one of the great beauties of her day, she is best-remembered for her performance in the title role of Laura and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Academy Award for Best Actress in Leave Her to Heaven ....
was originally intended for the role but was dropped by Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl Francis Zanuck was an Academy Award-winning Film producer, writer, actor, Film director, and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors ....
when she eloped with Oleg Cassini

Oleg Cassini

Oleg Cassini was a France United States fashion designer noted for being chosen by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to design her state wardrobe in the 1960s....
. Carole Landis

Carole Landis

Carole Landis was an American film actor....
was the next choice for the role, but refused to dye her blonde hair red and was replaced by Rita Hayworth prior to filming. Fox then borrowed Hayworth from Columbia and dyed her dark brown hair auburn

Auburn (color)

Auburn is a light brown or reddish brown hair color , and may be described as somewhere between brown hair, blond, and red hair. Auburn comes Old French alborne, which meant blond, from Latin alburnus, "off-white." The first recorded use of auburn in English language was in 1430....
which soon became her best remembered feature. Her stardom was solidified when she made the cover of Time Magazine

Time (magazine)

Time is a weekly United States newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report. A European edition is published from London....
as Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire was an United States Academy Award-winning film and Broadway theatre dance, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of seventy-six years, during which he made thirty-one musical films....
's new dancing partner in You'll Never Get Rich
You'll Never Get Rich

You'll Never Get Rich is a 1941 Hollywood musical film comedy film with a wartime theme starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, Cliff Nazarro, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter....
(1941). She co-starred with him again in You Were Never Lovelier
You Were Never Lovelier

You Were Never Lovelier is a 1942 Hollywood musical film comedy film, set in Buenos Aires. It starred Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou and Xavier Cugat, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Johnny Mercer....
(1942). Although Fred Astaire was more than pleased with Hayworth's dancing and considered her an excellent partner, he declined to have her appear in any more pictures with him. He did not want to be linked up with a single partner again, as he was with Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers was an Academy Awards-winning United States film and stage actor, dancer and singer. In a film career spanning 50 years, she made a total of 73 films, and is now principally celebrated for her role as Fred Astaire's romantic interest and dancing partner in a series of ten Hollywood musical films that revolutionized the genre....
and earlier with his sister Adele Astaire

Adele Astaire

Lady Charles Cavendish , better known as Adele Astaire, was an United States dancer and entertainer. She was Fred Astaire elder sister. Her birthdate was often given as 1897 or 1898, but the 1900 U.S....
.

Career success

The "love goddess" image was cemented with Bob Landry's 1941 Life magazine photograph of her (kneeling on her own bed in a silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from Pupa#Cocoons made by the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity ....
and lace

Lace

Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric....
nightgown), which caused a sensation and became (at over five million copies) one of the most requested wartime pinups. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
she ranked with Betty Grable

Betty Grable

Betty Grable was an American dancer, singer, and actress.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era....
, Dorothy Lamour

Dorothy Lamour

Dorothy Lamour was an United States film actor. She is probably best-remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies co-starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby....
, Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-born United States actress and scientist. Though known primarily for her acting , she also co-invented an early form of spread spectrum, a key to modern wireless communication....
, and Lana Turner

Lana Turner

Lana Turner was an Academy Awards-nominated American film and occasionally television actress. On-screen, she was well-known for the glamour and sensuality she brought to almost all her movie roles....
as the pinup girls most popular with servicemen. Rita Hayworth would also become Columbia's biggest star of the 1940s, under the watchful eye of studio chief Harry Cohn

Harry Cohn

Harry Cohn was the American president and production director of Columbia Pictures....
, who recognized her value. After she made Tales of Manhattan
Tales of Manhattan

Tales of Manhattan is a 1942 in film black-and-white anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier.Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Moln?r, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart worked on the six stories in this film, three of which were released....
(1942) at Twentieth Century Fox opposite Charles Boyer

Charles Boyer

Charles Boyer was a four-time Academy Award-nominated France-born actor. Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in European and Hollywood movies during the 1930s, and continued to act in films, television and theatre over the next several decades....
, Cohn would not allow Hayworth to be lent to other studios.

Hayworth's well-known films include the musicals that made her famous: You'll Never Get Rich
You'll Never Get Rich

You'll Never Get Rich is a 1941 Hollywood musical film comedy film with a wartime theme starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, Cliff Nazarro, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter....
(1941

1941 in film

The year 1941 in film involved some significant events....
) and You Were Never Lovelier
You Were Never Lovelier

You Were Never Lovelier is a 1942 Hollywood musical film comedy film, set in Buenos Aires. It starred Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou and Xavier Cugat, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Johnny Mercer....
(1942

1942 in film

The year 1942 in film involved some significant events, in particular the release of a film consistently rated as one of the Films considered the greatest ever, Casablanca .....
) (both with Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Victor Mature

Victor Mature was an United States film actor....
, and her best known musical, Cover Girl
Cover Girl (1944 film)

Cover Girl is a 1944 in film United States musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. The film tells the story of a chorus girl given a chance at stardom when she's offered an opportunity to be a highly-paid cover girl....
(1944

1944 in film

The year 1944 in film involved some significant events....
) with Gene Kelly

Gene Kelly

Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an United States dancer, actor, singer, film director, Film producer, and choreographer.A major exponent of 20th century filmed dance, Kelly was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style, his good looks and the likeable characters that he played on screen....
. Although her singing voice was dubbed

Dubbing (filmmaking)

In film production, dubbing or looping is the process of recording or replacing voices for a motion picture. The term most commonly refers to voices recorded that do not belong to the original actors and speak in a different language from the one in which the actor is speaking....
in her movies, Hayworth was one of Hollywood's best dancers, imbued with power, precision, tremendous enthusiasm, and an unearthly grace. Cohn continued to effectively showcase Hayworth's talents in Technicolor films: Tonight and Every Night
Tonight and Every Night

Tonight and Every Night is a 1945 in film musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Lee Bowman, about wartime romance and tragedy in a London music hall that was determined not to miss a single performance during the Blitz....
(1945) with Lee Bowman

Lee Bowman

Lee Bowman was an United States film and television actor.Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Bowman began his film career playing a bit part in Swing High, Swing Low ....
, and Down to Earth
Down to Earth (1947 film)

'Down to Earth' is a musical comedy starring Rita Hayworth and Larry Parks, and directed by Alexander Hall. It is a sequel to the 1941 film Here Comes Mr....
(1947), with Larry Parks

Larry Parks

Larry Parks , was an United States Theater and movie actor. His birth name is believed to have been Samuel Klusman Lawrence Parks. His career was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been a member of a Communist Party USA cell, an admission that led to his blacklisting by all Hollywood studios....
. Her erotic appeal was most notable in Gilda
Gilda

Gilda is a black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' sexy wardrobe for Hayworth , and choreographer Jack Cole's staging of "Put the...
(1946

1946 in film

The year 1946 in film involved some significant events....
), a black-and-white

Black-and-white

Black-and-white is a number of monochrome forms in visual arts. Most forms of visual technology start out in black and white, then slowly evolve into color as technology progresses....
film noir
Film noir

Film noir is a film term used primarily to describe stylish cinema of the United States Crime film, particularly those that emphasize moral ambiguity and sexual motivation....
directed by Charles Vidor

Charles Vidor

Charles Vidor was a film director.Born Vidor K?roly to a Jewish family in Budapest, Hungary, he served in the Hungarian Army during World War I....
, which encountered some difficulty with censors. This role — in which Hayworth in black satin

Satin

Satin is a cloth that typically has a glossy surface and a dull back. It is a warp -dominated weaving technique that forms a minimum number of interlacings in a fabric....
performed a legendary one-glove striptease — made her into a cultural icon as the ultimate femme fatale
Femme fatale

A femme fatale is an alluring and Seduction woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations....
. Alluding to her bombshell

Bombshell

The term bombshell is a forerunner to the sex symbol and originally used to describe popular female sex icons....
status, in 1946 her likeness was placed on the first nuclear bomb to be tested after World War II

World War II

Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
in the Marshall Islands

Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands , officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands , is a Micronesian island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator....
, as part of Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads

Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States and nuclear weapons at Bikini Atoll in the summer of 1946....
. Hayworth performed one of her best remembered dance routines, the samba

Samba

Samba is a Brazilian musical genre derived from African and European roots. It is worldwide recognized as a symbol of Brazil and Brazilian Carnival....
from 1945's Tonight and Every Night
Tonight and Every Night

Tonight and Every Night is a 1945 in film musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Lee Bowman, about wartime romance and tragedy in a London music hall that was determined not to miss a single performance during the Blitz....
, while pregnant with her first child, Rebecca Welles (daughter of Orson Welles

Orson Welles

George Orson Welles , better known as Orson Welles, was an Academy Award-winning United States actor, director, writer and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio....
). Hayworth was also the first dancer to partner both Fred Astaire

Fred Astaire

Gene Kelly

Judy Garland

Judy Garland was an American actress and alto singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years, Garland attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage....
, Cyd Charisse

Cyd Charisse

Cyd Charisse was an American dancer and actress.After recovering from polio as a child, and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s....
, Vera Ellen, and Leslie Caron

Leslie Caron

Leslie Claire Margaret Caron is a two-time Academy Award-nominated French film actress and dancer. She was one of the most famous Hollywood Musical film stars in the 1950s....
.

Hayworth gave one of her most acclaimed performances in Orson Welles's The Lady from Shanghai
The Lady from Shanghai

The Lady from Shanghai is a black-and-white film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, his then-estranged wife Rita Hayworth, and Everett Sloane....
(1948), though it failed at the box office. The failure was in part attributed to the fact that director/co-star Welles had Hayworth's famous red locks cut off and the rest dyed blonde for her role. This was done without Harry Cohn's knowledge or approval, and he was furious over the change. Her next film, The Loves of Carmen
The Loves of Carmen

The Loves of Carmen is a Technicolor film starring Rita Hayworth as the gypsy Carmen and Glenn Ford as her doomed lover Don Jos?. It was directed by Charles Vidor and released by Columbia Pictures....
(1948) with Glenn Ford

Glenn Ford

Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford was a Canada-born United States actor from Classical Hollywood cinema's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades....
, was the first film co-produced by Columbia and Rita's own production company, The Beckworth Corporation (named for her daughter Rebecca). It was Columbia's biggest moneymaker for that year. She received a percentage of the profits from this and all of her subsequent films until 1955, when Hayworth dissolved Beckworth to pay off debts she owed to Columbia.

Marriage to Prince Aly Aga Khan, and later career

(1945)]] Rita left her film career in 1948 to marry Prince Aly Khan
Prince Aly Khan

Prince Ali Solomone Aga Khan , known as Aly Khan, was a vice president of the United Nations General Assembly representing Pakistan, for which he served as U.N....
, the son of the Aga Khan, the leader of the Ismaili sect of Shia Islam. Initially Hayworth and Prince Aly had tryst
Tryst

Tryst may refer to:*A meeting of two lovers, as in courtship*Tryst , a book by Elswyth Thane*Tryst , a play by Karoline Leach*A nightclub at the Wynn_Las_Vegas#Tryst hotel...
s at the Pontchartrain Hotel
Pontchartrain Hotel

The Pontchartrain Hotel is a historic hotel building on St. Charles Avenue in Uptown New Orleans New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Named after Louis Ph?lypeaux of the court of Louis XVI, the Pontchartrain Hotel commenced operations in March, 1927....
in New Orleans. The couple moved to Europe, causing a media frenzy. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an United States Academy Award-winning film director, screenwriter, and film producer....
, in writing and directing 1954's The Barefoot Contessa

The Barefoot Contessa

The Barefoot Contessa is a 1954 film about the life and loves of fictional Spanish sex symbol Maria Vargas. It was written and directed by Joseph L....
, was said to have based his title character, Maria Vargas (played on film by Ava Gardner
Ava Gardner

Ava Lavinia Gardner was an Academy Award-nominated United States actress. She is listed as one of the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years......
), on Hayworth's life and her marriage to Aly Khan.

After the marriage collapsed in 1951, Hayworth returned to America with great fanfare to film a string of hit films: Affair in Trinidad

Affair in Trinidad

Affair in Trinidad is a film produced by Hayworth's Beckworth Corporation, released by Columbia Pictures, and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford....
(1952) with favorite co-star Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford

Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford was a Canada-born United States actor from Classical Hollywood cinema's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades....
, Salome

Salome (1953 film)

Salome is a Sword and sandal epic film made in Technicolor by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by Buddy Adler from a screenplay by Harry Kleiner and Jesse Lasky Jr....
(1953) with Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton was an England Academy Award-winning Theatre and film actor, screenwriter, Film producer and one-time Film director.While best known for his historical roles in films, he started his career as a remarkable stage actor....
and Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger

Stewart Granger , born James Lablache Stewart, was an England film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the 1960s....
, and Miss Sadie Thompson

Miss Sadie Thompson

Miss Sadie Thompson is a musical film drama film 3-d film starring Rita Hayworth, Aldo Ray, Jose Ferrer, and released by Columbia Pictures....
(1953) with Jose Ferrer
José Ferrer

Jos? Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintr?n was a Puerto Rican people Theatre director, Director director and actor. He received one Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three Tony Awards, besides multiple nominations....
and Aldo Ray
Aldo Ray

Aldo Ray, born Aldo DaRe Aldo Ray was born Aldo DaRe on September 25, 1926 to an Italian American family of five brothers and one sister....
, for which her performance won critical acclaim. Then she was off the big screen for another four years, due mainly to a tumultuous marriage to singer Dick Haymes
Dick Haymes

Dick Haymes was an actor and one of the most popular Singing of the 1940s and early 1950s....
. In 1957, after making Fire Down Below

Fire Down Below (1957 film)

Fire Down Below is a 1957 in film drama film starring Rita Hayworth, Jack Lemmon and Robert Mitchum....
with Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum

Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an Academy Award-nominated United States film actor, author, composer and singer. Mitchum is largely remembered for his starring roles in several major works of the film noir style, and is considered a forerunner of the anti-heroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s....
and Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon

'John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III' was an United States actor known principally for his comedic roles. He starred in over 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Days of Wine and Roses , Irma La Douce, The Odd Couple , The Out-of-Towners , Glengarry Glen Ross , The China Syndrome and JFK ....
, and her last musical Pal Joey

Pal Joey

Pal Joey is a 1939 epistolary novel by John O'Hara, which became the basis of the 1940 stage Pal Joey and 1957 in film motion picture of the same name....
with Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra

Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an United States singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great success in the early to mid-1940s, being the idol of the "bobby soxers"....
and Kim Novak
Kim Novak

Kim Novak is an United States actor who was one of her nation's most popular movie stars in the late 1950s. She is best known for her performance in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo ....
, Rita Hayworth finally left Columbia. She got good reviews for her acting in such films as Separate Tables

Separate Tables

Separate Tables is the collective name of two one-act plays written by Sir Terence Rattigan, both taking place in the Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, a seaside town on the south coast of England....
(1958) with Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster

Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an United States film actor and star, noted for his athletic physique, distinct smile and, later, his willingness to play roles that went against his initial "tough guy" image....
and David Niven
David Niven

James David Graham Niven was an English people Academy Award for Best Actor-winning actor probably best known for his roles as the punctuality-obsessed adventurer Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and the suave cat burglar Sir Charles Litton in The Pink Panther ....
, and The Story on Page One

The Story on Page One

"The Story on Page One" is an episode from the second season of the Fox Broadcasting Company List of animated television series Family Guy. It is the 26th episode of Family Guy....
(1960) with Anthony Franciosa
Anthony Franciosa

Anthony Franciosa, born Anthony George Papaleo, Jr., , was an United States actor, usually billed as Tony Franciosa during the height of his career....
, and continued working throughout the 1960s. In 1964 she appeared with John Wayne
John Wayne

John Wayne was an Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning United States film actor. He epitomized rugged masculinity and has become an enduring American icon....
in Circus World

Circus World

Circus World was a theme park built north of Haines City, Florida in Polk County, Florida, on the east corner of the intersection of U.S. Highway 27 and Interstate 4....
(UK title Magnificent Showman) and in 1972 she made her last film, The Wrath of God

The Wrath of God

The Wrath of God is an offbeat Western genre film released in 1972 and starring Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, Rita Hayworth and Victor Buono....
.

Personal life
Although Hayworth didn't like horses and thoroughbred horse racing
Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies....
, she became a member of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
Del Mar Racetrack

Del Mar Racetrack is an United states Thoroughbred horse racing track at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in the seaside city of Del Mar, California, 20 miles north of San Diego....
. Her husband Prince Aly Khan and his family were heavily involved in horse racing and Hayworth's filly Double Rose won several races in France and notably finished second in the 1949 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe
Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe

The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Conditions races Flat racing Horse racing in France which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older....
.

Naturally shy and reclusive, Hayworth was the antithesis of the characters she played. She once complained, "Men fell in love with Gilda, but they wake up with me." With typical modesty she later remarked that the only films she could watch without laughing were the dance musicals she made with Fred Astaire. She was close to her frequent costar and next-door neighbor Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford

Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford was a Canada-born United States actor from Classical Hollywood cinema's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades....
.

Hayworth was married five times:
1) Edward C. Judson (1937–1942)
2) Orson Welles
Orson Welles

George Orson Welles , better known as Orson Welles, was an Academy Award-winning United States actor, director, writer and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio....
(1943–1948, one daughter Rebecca Welles
Rebecca Welles

Rebecca Welles was the daughter of Film director, writer, actor and Film producer Orson Welles and Film actress Rita Hayworth. She was the half sister of Yasmin Aga Khan on her mother's side, and Chris Welles Feder and Beatrice Welles-Smith on her father's side....
)
3) Prince Aly Khan
Prince Aly Khan

Prince Ali Solomone Aga Khan , known as Aly Khan, was a vice president of the United Nations General Assembly representing Pakistan, for which he served as U.N....
(1949–1953, one daughter Princess Yasmin Aga Khan
Yasmin Aga Khan

Princess Yasmin Aga Khan is an United States Pakistani philanthropist known for raising public awareness in Alzheimer's disease.She is the second child of Rita Hayworth, the American movie actress, and Hayworth's third husband, Prince Aly Khan, a vice president of the United Nations General Assembly representing Pakistan, for which he serv...
),
4) Dick Haymes
Dick Haymes

Dick Haymes was an actor and one of the most popular Singing of the 1940s and early 1950s....
(1953–1955)
5) James Hill (1958–1961)

She also had a nephew named Richard Cansino
Richard Cansino

Richard Cansino is a voice actor. He is also known as Richard Hayworth because he is the nephew of the late Rita Hayworth....
, who is a voice actor in anime
Anime

is animation in Japan and considered to be "Japanese animation" in the rest of the world. Anime dates from about 1917.Anime, in addition to manga , is extremely popular in Japan and well known throughout the world....
and video games; he has done most of his work under the name "Richard Hayworth".

Barbara Leaming claims in "If this was happiness" that as a child and teenager, Rita was a victim of sexual and physical abuse by her father.

Final years

After about 1960, Hayworth suffered from extremely early onset of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease , also called Alzheimer disease, Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type or simply Alzheimer's, is the most common form of dementia....
, which was not diagnosed until 1980. She continued to act in films until the early 1970s and made a well-publicized 1971 appearance on The Carol Burnett Show

The Carol Burnett Show

The Carol Burnett Show is a sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Lyle Waggoner....
. Both of her brothers died within a week of each other in March 1974, saddening her greatly, and causing her to drink even more heavily than before. In 1976 in London, Hayworth was removed from a flight during which she had an angry outburst while traveling with her agent, an event which attracted much negative publicity. In 1977, Rita Hayworth was the recipient of the National Screen Heritage Award (see photo). Lynda Carter
Lynda Carter

Lynda Carter is an United States actor and singer. She is best known for the Amazons title role in the fantasy-adventure television series Wonder Woman which aired from 1975 to 1979....
starred in a 1983 biopic of her life. She lived in an apartment at the San Remo
The San Remo

The San Remo is a luxury co-operative apartment building in New York City located between 74th and 75th streets, about 1/10 of a mile north of the The Dakota building The San Remo is described by Glen Justice of the New York Times as "a dazzling two-tower building with captivating views of Central Park." As a housing cooperative, its...
in New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
.

Following her death from Alzheimer's disease in 1987 at age 68, she was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery
Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City

Holy Cross Cemetery is a Roman Catholic Church cemetery located at 5835 West Slauson Avenue in Culver City, California, that is operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles....
in Culver City, California
Culver City, California

Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2000 census, the city had a population of 38,816. The community is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also has a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County....
; location: Grotto, Lot 196, Grave 6 (right of main sidewalk, near the curb). Her marker includes the inscription "To yesterday's companionship and tomorrow's reunion."

One of the major fund raisers for the Alzheimer's Association is the annual Rita Hayworth Gala, which is held in New York City and Chicago. Hayworth's daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan
Yasmin Aga Khan

Princess Yasmin Aga Khan is an United States Pakistani philanthropist known for raising public awareness in Alzheimer's disease.She is the second child of Rita Hayworth, the American movie actress, and Hayworth's third husband, Prince Aly Khan, a vice president of the United Nations General Assembly representing Pakistan, for which he serv...
, has been the hostess for these events, which since 1985 have raised more than $42 million for the Association.

Filmography

As Rita Cansino

Anna Case in La Fiesta (Short subject, 1926, Unconfirmed)
Cruz Diablo aka The Devil's Cross (Uncredited, 1934)
In Caliente
In Caliente

In Caliente, also known as Viva Se?orita, is a 1935 film written by Ralph Block, directed by Lloyd Bacon, and starred Dolores del R?o....
(1935) (scenes deleted)
Under the Pampas Moon (1935)
Charlie Chan in Egypt (1935)
Dante's Inferno
Dante's Inferno (film)

Dante's Inferno is a 1935 motion picture loosely based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. It is primarily remembered for a 10-minute depiction of hell realised by director Harry Lachman, himself an established post-impressionism Painting....
(1935)
Paddy O'Day (1935)
Human Cargo (1936)
Meet Nero Wolfe
Meet Nero Wolfe

Meet Nero Wolfe is a 1936 in film mystery film based on the 1934 novel Fer-de-Lance , written by Rex Stout. Set in New York, the story introduced the detective genius Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin ....
(1936)
Rebellion (1936)
Old Louisiana (1937)
Hit the Saddle (1937)
Trouble in Texas (1937)

As Rita Hayworth

Criminals of the Air (1937)
Girls Can Play (1937)
The Game That Kills (1937)
Paid to Dance (1937)
The Shadow (1937)
Who Killed Gail Preston? (1938)
Special Inspector (1938)
There's Always a Woman (1938)
Convicted (1938)
Juvenile Court (1938)
The Renegade Ranger (1938)
Homicide Bureau (1939)
The Lone Wolf Spy Hunt (1939)
Only Angels Have Wings
Only Angels Have Wings

Only Angels Have Wings is a movie directed by Howard Hawks, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. It is generally regarded as being among Hawks' finest films, particularly in its portrayal of the professionalism of the pilots, its atmosphere, and the flying sequences....
(1939)
Music in My Heart (1940)
Blondie on a Budget (1940)
Susan and God
Susan and God

Susan and God is a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer feature film starring Joan Crawford and Fredric March in a story about a matron who finds religion....
(1940)
The Lady in Question (1940)
Angels Over Broadway (1940)
The Strawberry Blonde
The Strawberry Blonde

The Strawberry Blonde was a 1941 in film Warner Brothers feature film starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1941 for Academy Award for Original Music Score....
(1941)
Affectionately Yours (1941)
Blood and Sand
Blood and Sand (1941 film)

Blood and Sand is a Technicolor produced by 20th Century Fox, directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, and Alla Nazimova....
(1941)
You'll Never Get Rich
You'll Never Get Rich

You'll Never Get Rich is a 1941 Hollywood musical film comedy film with a wartime theme starring Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Robert Benchley, Cliff Nazarro, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter....
(1941)
My Gal Sal
My Gal Sal

My Gal Sal is a 20th Century Fox musical starring Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature. The film is a biopic of 1890s composer and songwriter Paul Dresser and singer, Sally Elliot....
(1942)
Tales of Manhattan
Tales of Manhattan

Tales of Manhattan is a 1942 in film black-and-white anthology film directed by Julien Duvivier.Thirteen writers, including Ben Hecht, Alan Campbell, Ferenc Moln?r, Samuel Hoffenstein, and Donald Ogden Stewart worked on the six stories in this film, three of which were released....
(1942)
You Were Never Lovelier
You Were Never Lovelier

You Were Never Lovelier is a 1942 Hollywood musical film comedy film, set in Buenos Aires. It starred Fred Astaire, Rita Hayworth, Adolphe Menjou and Xavier Cugat, with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Johnny Mercer....
(1942)
Show Business at War
Show Business at War

Show Business at War was a short film made in 1943 in film to tout the United States film industry's contribution to the Second World War war effort....
(1943) (short subject)
Cover Girl
Cover Girl (1944 film)

Cover Girl is a 1944 in film United States musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. The film tells the story of a chorus girl given a chance at stardom when she's offered an opportunity to be a highly-paid cover girl....
(1944)
Tonight and Every Night
Tonight and Every Night

Tonight and Every Night is a 1945 in film musical film starring Rita Hayworth and Lee Bowman, about wartime romance and tragedy in a London music hall that was determined not to miss a single performance during the Blitz....
(1945)
Gilda
Gilda

Gilda is a black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor. It stars Glenn Ford and Rita Hayworth in her signature role as the ultimate femme fatale. The film was noted for cinematographer Rudolph Mate's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis' sexy wardrobe for Hayworth , and choreographer Jack Cole's staging of "Put the...
(1946)
Down to Earth
Down to Earth (1947 film)

'Down to Earth' is a musical comedy starring Rita Hayworth and Larry Parks, and directed by Alexander Hall. It is a sequel to the 1941 film Here Comes Mr....
(1947)
The Lady from Shanghai
The Lady from Shanghai

The Lady from Shanghai is a black-and-white film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, his then-estranged wife Rita Hayworth, and Everett Sloane....
(1948)
The Loves of Carmen
The Loves of Carmen

The Loves of Carmen is a Technicolor film starring Rita Hayworth as the gypsy Carmen and Glenn Ford as her doomed lover Don Jos?. It was directed by Charles Vidor and released by Columbia Pictures....
(1948)
Champagne Safari (1952)
Affair in Trinidad
Affair in Trinidad

Affair in Trinidad is a film produced by Hayworth's Beckworth Corporation, released by Columbia Pictures, and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford....
(1952)
Salome
Salome (1953 film)

Salome is a Sword and sandal epic film made in Technicolor by Columbia Pictures. It was directed by William Dieterle and produced by Buddy Adler from a screenplay by Harry Kleiner and Jesse Lasky Jr....
(1953)
Miss Sadie Thompson
Miss Sadie Thompson

Miss Sadie Thompson is a musical film drama film 3-d film starring Rita Hayworth, Aldo Ray, Jose Ferrer, and released by Columbia Pictures....
(1953)
Fire Down Below
Fire Down Below (1957 film)

Fire Down Below is a 1957 in film drama film starring Rita Hayworth, Jack Lemmon and Robert Mitchum....
(1957)
Pal Joey
Pal Joey (film)

Pal Joey is a 1957 film, loosely adapted from the Pal Joey ; it stars Rita Hayworth , Frank Sinatra, and Kim Novak. The director is George Sidney and the choreographer is Hermes Pan ....
(1957)
Separate Tables
Separate Tables

Separate Tables is the collective name of two one-act plays written by Sir Terence Rattigan, both taking place in the Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, a seaside town on the south coast of England....
(1958)
They Came to Cordura
They Came To Cordura

They Came To Cordura is a 1959 in film Western film directed by Robert Rossen, starring Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Van Heflin, Tab Hunter, Richard Conte, Michael Callan, and Dick York....
(1959)
The Story on Page One (1959)
The Happy Thieves (1962)
Circus World
Circus World (film)

Circus World, also known as Samuel Bronston's Circus World, is a 1964 in film drama film made by the independent production company Samuel Bronston Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures....
(1964)
The Money Trap
The Money Trap

The Money Trap is a 1965 in film drama film starring Glenn Ford , Elke Sommer and Rita Hayworth and directed by Burt Kennedy.Tagline: This woman can change a tough cop into a tougher crook!...
(1965)
The Poppy Is Also a Flower
The Poppy Is Also a Flower

The Poppy Is Also a Flower is a 1966 in film American Broadcasting Company made-for-television spy and drug abuse film. The film was directed by Terence Young and starred Senta Berger, Stephen Boyd, Trevor Howard, Rita Hayworth, Angie Dickinson, Yul Brynner, and Marcello Mastroianni....
(1966)
L'Avventuriero (1967)
I Bastardi (1968)
The Naked Zoo (1971)
Road to Salina (1971)
The Wrath of God
The Wrath of God

The Wrath of God is an offbeat Western genre film released in 1972 and starring Robert Mitchum, Frank Langella, Rita Hayworth and Victor Buono....
(1972)

External links

November 10, 1941 Time Magazine cover story article.