Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Ann Rutherford, R. I. P.

ABC News: Ann Rutherford, the demure brunette actress who played the sweetheart in the long-running Andy Hardy series and Scarlett O'Hara's youngest sister in "Gone With the Wind," has died. She was 94.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I knew Olivia de Havilland was still alive but...As of 2012, there were four surviving credited cast members from the film. Alicia Rhett (born February 1, 1915), who played India Wilkes, is the oldest surviving cast member. Also surviving are Olivia de Havilland (born July 1, 1916), who played Melanie Wilkes; Mary Anderson (born April 3, 1920), who played Maybelle Meriweather; and Mickey Kuhn (born September 21, 1932), who played Beau Wilkes.

/end daily trivia


Jeff

mybillcrider said...

And note that Rutherford's friend Ann Jeffreys is still with us, too.

Anonymous said...

I was a huge Topper fan as a kid. I wonder if that is on DVD.

Yes it is, and not expensive at all.


Jeff

Cap'n Bob said...

Sounds like you stood a better chance at longevity by being cast as a Wilkes.

Deb said...

In the novel, Ann's character, Careen O'Hara, becomes a nun after her fiance's death on the battlefield. I don't know if they kept that in the movie.

/The word is, Olivia de Havilland and her sister, Joan Fontaine, hate each other so much that neither wants to be the first one to die. So scrappiness, if nothing else, is keeping them both alive.

Brent McKee said...

"Sounds like you stood a better chance at longevity by being cast as a Wilkes."

Not if your name was Ashley Wilkes. Leslie Howard was the first major cast member to die, in 1943, just four years after the film was made. Something else to hat the Nazis for.

Anonymous said...

Deb, apparently they haven't spoken in decades. Some claim the feud began when the less experienced Joan was the first to win the Oscar, but judging from families I have known (ahem) I'd guess it goes back to childhood.

Olivia is 95 (will turn 96 on July 1) and Joan is 94.

That's a long time to hate. Families.


Jeff

Deb said...

Yeah, my grandparents were marrid for 65 years and hated every minute of it. My Dad used to say that it was only the desire not to be the first one to go that kept them both going. However, when my grandmother finally died (not long after breaking her hip), my grandfather did not live long afterwards.

/As you say, families....

Cap'n Bob said...

Nevertheless, Brett, there are more ex-Wilkes portrayers extant than any other characters from GWTW..