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Rita Hayworth (bornMargarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918 – May 14, 1987) was an Americanactress,dancer, andpin-up girl.[1][2] She achieved fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of theGolden Age of Hollywood, and appeared in 61 films in total over 37 years. The press coined the term "The Love Goddess" to describe Hayworth, after she had become the most glamorous screen idol of the 1940s. She was the toppin-up girl forGIs duringWorld War II.[3]
In 1980, Hayworth was diagnosed withearly-onset Alzheimer's disease, which contributed to her death in 1987 at age 68. The public disclosure and discussion of her illness drew attention to Alzheimer's, and helped to increase public andprivate funding for research into the disease.
Her mother,Volga Hayworth, was an American of Irish and English descent who had performed with theZiegfeld Follies.[10]: 281 The couple married in 1917. They also had two sons: Eduardo Jr. and Vernon.[10][11] Her maternal uncleVinton Hayworth was an actor.[12]
Eduardo Cansino wanted his daughter to become a professional dancer, while her mother hoped that she would become an actress.[13] Her paternal grandfather,Antonio Cansino, was renowned as a classical Spanish dancer. He popularized thebolero, and his dancing school inMadrid was world-famous.[14] Antonio Cansino instructed Rita Hayworth in her first dance lesson.[15] Hayworth later recalled, "From the time I was three and a half... as soon as I could stand on my own feet, I was given dance lessons."[16]: 67 She noted "I didn't like it very much... but I didn't have the courage to tell my father, so I began taking the lessons. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse, that was my girlhood."[17]: 16
She attended dance classes every day for a few years in aCarnegie Hall complex, where she was taught by her uncle Angel Cansino.[10] Before her fifth birthday she was one of the Four Cansinos featured in the Broadway production ofThe Greenwich Village Follies at theWinter Garden Theatre.[18][19] In 1926, at the age of eight, she was featured inLa Fiesta, a short film forWarner Bros.[10]
In 1927, her father took the family toHollywood. He believed that dancing could be featured in the movies and that his family could be part of it. He established his own dance studio,[10] where he taught such stars asJames Cagney andJean Harlow.[20]: 253
In 1931, Eduardo Cansino partnered with his 12-year-old daughter to form an act called the Dancing Cansinos.[21]: 14 Her hair was dyed from brown to black to give her a more mature and "Latin" appearance.[22] Since under California law Margarita was too young to work in nightclubs and bars, her father took her with him to work across the border inTijuana, Mexico. In the early 1930s, it was a popular tourist spot for people fromLos Angeles.[10][23] Because she was working, Cansino never graduated from high school, but she completed the ninth grade atHamilton High in Los Angeles.
Hayworth later confided to Orson Welles that her father began to sexually abuse her as a child when they were touring together as the Dancing Cansinos.[22][24] Her biographer,Barbara Leaming, wrote that her mother may have been the only person to know of the abuse; she slept in the same bed as her daughter to try to protect her. Leaming wrote that the abuse experienced by Hayworth as a young girl contributed to her difficulty in relationships as an adult.[23]
Cansino took a bit part in the filmCruz Diablo (1934) at age 16, which led to another bit part in the filmIn Caliente (1935) with the Mexican actressDolores del Río.[10] She danced with her father in such nightspots as the Foreign and the Caliente clubs.Winfield Sheehan, the head of theFox Film Corporation, saw her dancing at the Caliente Club and quickly arranged for Hayworth to do a screen test a week later. Impressed by her screen persona, Sheehan signed her to a six-month contract at Fox under the name Rita Cansino, the first of two name changes during her film career.[citation needed]
During her time at Fox, Hayworth was billed as Rita Cansino and appeared in unremarkable roles, often cast as the exotic foreigner. In late 1934, aged 16, she performed a dance sequence in theSpencer Tracy filmDante's Inferno (1935), and was put under contract in February 1935.[21]: 27 She had her first speaking role as an Argentinian girl inUnder the Pampas Moon (1935).[21]: 28–30 She played an Egyptian girl inCharlie Chan in Egypt (1935), and a Russian dancer inPaddy O'Day (1935). Sheehan was grooming her for the lead in the 1936 Technicolor filmRamona, hoping to establish her as Fox Film's newDolores del Río.[21]: 29–31
By the end of her six-month contract, Fox had merged into20th Century Fox, withDarryl F. Zanuck serving as the executive producer. Dismissing Sheehan's interest in her and givingLoretta Young the lead inRamona, Zanuck did not renew Cansino's contract.[21]: 32–33 Sensing her screen potential, salesman and promoter Edward C. Judson, with whom she would elope in 1937,[21]: 36 got freelance work for her in several small-studio films and a part in theColumbia Pictures featureMeet Nero Wolfe (1936). Studio headHarry Cohn signed her to a seven-year contract and tried her out in small roles.[21]: 34–35
Cohn argued that her image was too Mediterranean, which limited her to being stereotyped in "exotic" roles that were fewer in number. He was heard to say her last name sounded too Spanish. Judson acted on Cohn's advice: Rita Cansino became Rita Hayworth when she adopted her mother's maiden name, to the consternation of her father.[21]: 36 Therefore, Cohn argued, people were more likely to regard her as a classic "American". With Cohn and Judson's encouragement, Hayworth also changed her hair color to ginger red hair and hadelectrolysis to raise her hairline and broaden the appearance of her forehead.[10]
Hayworth appeared in five minor Columbia pictures and three minor independent movies in 1937. The following year, she appeared in five ColumbiaB movies. In 1939, Cohn pressured directorHoward Hawks to use Hayworth for a small, but important, role as a man-trap in the aviation dramaOnly Angels Have Wings, in which she played oppositeCary Grant andJean Arthur.[10]
She returned in triumph to Columbia Pictures, and was cast in the musicalYou'll Never Get Rich (1941) oppositeFred Astaire in one of the highest-budgeted films Columbia had ever made.[10] The picture was so successful, the studio produced and released another Astaire-Hayworth picture the following year,You Were Never Lovelier.[10] Astaire's biographerPeter Levinson writes that the dancing combination of Astaire and Hayworth was "absolute magnetism on the screen".[26] Although Astaire made 10 films withGinger Rogers, his other main dancing partner, Hayworth's sensuality surpassed Rogers' cool technical expertise. "Rita's youthful exuberance meshed perfectly with Fred's maturity and elegance", says Levinson.[26]
When Astaire was asked who his favorite dance partner was, he tried not answering the question, but later admitted it was Hayworth: "All right, I'll give you a name", he said. "But if you ever let it out, I'll swear I lied. It was Rita Hayworth."[26] Astaire commented that "Rita danced with trained perfection and individuality ... She was better when she was 'on' than at rehearsal." Biographer Charlie Reinhart describes the effect she had on Astaire's style:
There was a kind of reserve about Fred. It was charming. It carried over to his dancing. With Hayworth there was no reserve. She was very explosive. And that's why I think they really complemented each other.[26][27]
Iconic 1941 photograph of Hayworth forLife magazine
In August 1941, Hayworth was featured in an iconicLife photo in which she posed in a negligee with a black lace bodice.[28][29] Bob Landry's photo made Hayworth one of the top two pin-up girls of the World War II years; the other wasBetty Grable, in a 1943 photograph. For two years, Hayworth's photograph was the most requested pin-up photograph in circulation.[30][31] In 2002, the satin nightgown Hayworth wore for the photo sold for $26,888.[32]
Hayworth had top billing in one of her best-known films, theTechnicolor musicalCover Girl, released in 1944.[36] The film established her as Columbia's top star of the 1940s, and it gave her the distinction of being the first of only six women to dance on screen with both Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.[37] "I guess the only jewels of my life", Hayworth said in 1970, "were the pictures I made with Fred Astaire ... AndCover Girl, too."[38]
For three consecutive years, starting in 1944, Hayworth was named one of the top movie box-office attractions in the world. She was adept inballet,tap,ballroom, and Spanish routines. Cohn continued to showcase Hayworth's dance talents. Columbia featured her in the Technicolor filmsTonight and Every Night (1945) withLee Bowman andDown to Earth (1947) withLarry Parks.
Her sexy, glamorous appeal was most noted inCharles Vidor'sfilm noirGilda (1946) withGlenn Ford, which caused censors some consternation. The role, in which Hayworth woreblack satin and performed a legendary one-glove striptease, "Put The Blame On Mame", made her into a cultural icon as afemme fatale.[10]
WhileGilda was in release, it was widely reported that an atomic bomb that was scheduled to be tested atBikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean'sMarshall Islands would bear an image of Hayworth, a reference to herbombshell status. Although the gesture was undoubtedly meant as a compliment,[39] Hayworth was deeply offended. Orson Welles, then married to Hayworth, recalled her anger in an interview with biographerBarbara Leaming: "Rita used to fly into terrible rages all the time, but the angriest was when she found out that they'd put her on the atom bomb. Rita almost went insane, she was so angry.... She wanted to go to Washington to hold a press conference, but Harry Cohn wouldn't let her because it would be unpatriotic." Welles tried to persuade Hayworth that the whole business was not a publicity stunt on Cohn's part, that it was simply homage to her from the flight crew.[21]: 129–130
Glenn Ford and Hayworth inGilda (1946)
On the June 30, 1946, broadcast ofOrson Welles Commentaries, Welles said of the imminent test, "I want my daughter to be able to tell her daughter that grandmother's picture was on the last atom bomb ever to explode."[40]
The fourth atomic bomb ever to be detonated was decorated with a photograph of Hayworth cut from the June 1946 issue ofEsquire magazine. Above it was stenciled the device's nickname, "Gilda" - the name of the film in which she was starring at the time - in two-inch black letters.[41]
Hayworth inThe Lady from Shanghai (1947)
In 1947, Hayworth's new contract with Columbia provided a salary of $250,000 plus 50% of films' profits.[42]
Hayworth's performance in Welles' 1947 filmThe Lady from Shanghai was critically acclaimed.[10] The film's failure at the box office was attributed in part to Hayworth's famous red hair being cut short and bleached platinum blonde for the role. Cohn had not been consulted and was furious that Hayworth's image was changed.[43]: 221
Also in 1947, Hayworth was featured in aLife cover story byWinthrop Sargeant that resulted in her being nicknamed "The Love Goddess".[44] The term was adopted and used later as the title of a biopic and of a biography about her. In a 1980s interview, Hayworth said, "Everybody else does nude scenes, but I don't. I never made nude movies. I didn't have to do that. I danced. I was provocative, I guess, in some things. But I was not completely exposed."[17]: 234
Hayworth's next film,The Loves of Carmen (1948) with Glenn Ford, was the first film co-produced by Columbia and Hayworth's production company, The Beckworth Corporation (named for Rebecca, her daughter with Welles). It was Columbia's biggest moneymaker that year. She received a percentage of the profits from this and all her subsequent films until 1954, when she dissolved Beckworth to pay off debts.[45]
In 1948, at the height of her fame, Hayworth metAly Khan. They were married on May 27, 1949. Hayworth left Hollywood and sailed for France, breaking her contract with Columbia. An Ismaili Muslim suggested that Rita take the local name ofRehmat Khanum, meaning "Lady of the Blessings of the Almighty".[46]
In 1951, Columbia alleged it had $800,000 invested in properties for her, including the film that she had walked out on that year.[47] A 1951 article in the British periodicalThe People called for a boycott of Hayworth's films:
Hollywood must be told its already tarnished reputation will sink to rock bottom if it restores this reckless woman to a place among its stars."[48]
After the collapse of her marriage to Khan, Hayworth returned to Hollywood to star in her "comeback" picture,Affair in Trinidad (1952) which again paired her with Glenn Ford. DirectorVincent Sherman recalled that Hayworth seemed "rather frightened at the approach of doing another picture". She continued to clash with Columbia boss Harry Cohn and was placed on suspension during filming.[citation needed] Hayworth refused to report for work because she objected to the script.[47] In 1970, she said,
I was in Switzerland when they sent me the script forAffair in Trinidad and I threw it across the room. But I did the picture, andPal Joey, too. I came back to Columbia because I wanted to work and first, see, I had to finish that goddamn contract, which is how Harry Cohnowned me!"[38]
Nevertheless, the picture was highly publicized.Affair in Trinidad ended up grossing $1 million more than her previous blockbuster,Gilda.[49]
Hayworth continued to star in a string of successful pictures. In 1953, she had two films released:Salome withCharles Laughton andStewart Granger, andMiss Sadie Thompson withJosé Ferrer andAldo Ray. She was off the big screen for another four years, mainly because of a tumultuous marriage to the singerDick Haymes. During her marriage to Haymes, she was involved in much negative publicity, which significantly lessened her appeal.[citation needed] In 1955, she sued Columbia Pictures to be released from her contract, but asked for her $150,000 salary, alleging that the filming failed to start onJoseph and His Brethren (1961) when agreed. The film was later filmed in 1961 by a foreign company asThe Story of Joseph and His Brethren (film).[50] Harry Cohn expressed his frustration with Hayworth in a 1957 interview withTime magazine:
Hayworth might be worth ten million dollars today easily! She owned 25% of the profits with her own company and had hit after hit and she had to get married and had to get out of the business and took a suspension because she fell in love again! In five years, at two pictures a year, at 25%! Think of what she could have made! But she didn't make pictures! She took two or three suspensions! She got mixed up with different characters! Unpredictable!"[51]: 163
By the time Hayworth returned to the screen forFire Down Below (1957) withRobert Mitchum andJack Lemmon,Kim Novak had become Columbia's top female star. Her last musical wasPal Joey (1957) withFrank Sinatra and Novak (Hayworth hadtop billing in both pictures but actually played a supporting role inPal Joey). Hayworth then left Columbia for good.
Hayworth received good reviews for her performances inSeparate Tables (1958), withBurt Lancaster andDavid Niven,They Came to Cordura (1959) withGary Cooper andThe Story on Page One (1960). She was meant to be inSummer of the Seventeenth Doll with Lancaster but both withdrew after the original play failed on Broadway.[52] She continued working throughout the 1960s. In 1962, her planned Broadway debut inStep on a Crack was cancelled for undisclosed health reasons.[53] In 1964Circus World was released, in which John Wayne was her co-star and for which she received a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in a dramatic role.The Money Trap (1965) paired her, for the last time, with good friend Glenn Ford.
Even after Harry Cohn had died, Hayworth still resented her treatment by both him and Columbia. She spoke bluntly in a 1968 interview:
I used to have to punch a time clock at Columbia. Every day of my life. That's what it was like. I was under exclusive contract, like they owned me ... I think he had my dressing room bugged ... He was very possessive of me as a person, he didn't want me to go out with anybody, have any friends. No one can live that way. So I fought him ... You want to know what I think of Harry Cohn? He was a monster.[54]
Hayworth resented the fact that the studio had failed to train her to sing or even to encourage her to learn how to sing.[51]: 103
Hayworth was a top glamour girl in the 1940s, a pin-up girl for military servicemen and a beauty icon for women. At 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) and 120 lb (54 kg),[55] she was tall enough to be a concern for dancing partners such as Fred Astaire. She reportedly changed her hair color eight times in eight movies.[56]
In 1949, Hayworth's lips were voted best in the world by the Artists League of America.[57] She had a modeling contract withMax Factor to promote its Tru-Color lipsticks and Pan-Stik make-up.[citation needed]
Hayworth's two younger brothers, Eduardo Cansino Jr. and Vernon Cansino, both served inWorld War II. Vernon left the United States Army in 1946 with several medals, including thePurple Heart, and later married Susan Vail, a dancer. Eduardo Jr. followed Hayworth into acting; he was also under contract with Columbia Pictures. In 1950, he made his screen debut inThe Great Adventures of Captain Kidd.[58]
In 1941, Hayworth said she was the antithesis of the characters she played: "I naturally am very shy ... and I suffer from aninferiority complex."[59] Her provocative role inGilda, in particular, was responsible for people expecting her to be what she was not. Hayworth once said, with some bitterness, "Men go to bed with Gilda, but wake up with me."[21]: 122 She said, "Basically, I am a good, gentle person, but I am attracted to mean personalities."[60]
Hayworth married and divorced five times in twenty-four years. She had affairs with several of her leading men, most notably withVictor Mature in 1942, during the filming ofMy Gal Sal.[61]
Hayworth had two daughters and two grandsons, one by each daughter. Her older daughter, Rebecca Welles, was born on December 17, 1944 and was the daughter of her second husband, Orson Welles.[62] Rebecca had a son, Marc McKerrow, in 1966; Marc was placed for adoption at birth, by some accounts, at Hayworth's urging.[63] Rebecca Welles died in 2004.[63] McKerrow had three children and died at age 44 as a result of complications from a nocturnal seizure related to a serious car accident that he had when he was 21 years old.[64] Marc is featured in the 2008 documentaryProdigal Sons.[citation needed]
Hayworth's younger daughter,Yasmin Aga Khan, was born on December 18, 1949 and is the daughter of Aly Khan.[62] Khan had one son, Andrew Ali Aga Khan Embiricos, who died unmarried at age 25.[65]
Edward Judson and Hayworth featured inPhotoplay, 1942
In 1936, at age 18, Hayworth married Edward C. Judson, an oilman turned promoter who was more than twice her age. They married in Las Vegas. Judson, who helped launch her acting career, was a shrewd businessman, but domineering. "He helped me with my career", Hayworth conceded after they divorced, adding "and helped himself to my money." She alleged that Judson compelled her to transfer a considerable amount of her property to him, and she promised to pay him $12,000 under threats that he would do her "great bodily harm".[66]
Hayworth filed for divorce from him on February 24, 1942, with a complaint of cruelty. She noted to the press that his work took him toOklahoma andTexas while she lived and worked in Hollywood. Judson was as old as her father, who was enraged by the marriage, which caused a rift between Hayworth and her parents until the divorce. Judson had failed to tell Hayworth before they married that he had previously been married twice.[51]: 62 When she left him, she had no money.
Wedding ofOrson Welles and Hayworth, with best manJoseph Cotten, 1943Daughter Rebecca Welles and Hayworth (December 23, 1946)
Hayworth marriedOrson Welles on September 7, 1943, during the run ofThe Mercury Wonder Show.[67] None of her colleagues knew about the planned wedding (before a judge) until she announced it the day before. For the civil ceremony, she wore a beige suit, a ruffled white blouse, and a veil. A few hours after they got married, they returned to work at the studio. They had a daughter, Rebecca, who was born on December 17, 1944, and died at the age of 59 on October 17, 2004. They struggled in their marriage, with Hayworth saying that Welles did not want to be tied down:
During the entire period of our marriage, he showed no interest in establishing a home. When I suggested purchasing a home, he told me he didn't want the responsibility. Mr. Welles told me he never should have married in the first place; that it interfered with his freedom in his way of life.[68]
On November 10, 1947, she was granted a divorce that became final the following year. The divorce was civil and they remained friendly afterwards.[69]
Hayworth (left) and Glenn Ford on the filming set ofGilda
Hayworth also had an intermittent, long-term relationship withGlenn Ford, which started during the filming ofGilda in 1945, and continued through each other's numerous marriages.[70] Their relationship is documented in the 2011 biographyGlenn Ford: A Life by Ford's son,Peter Ford. Peter revealed in his book that Hayworth became pregnant during the filming ofThe Loves of Carmen and traveled to France to get an abortion.[71] Ford later moved next door to her in Beverly Hills in 1960, and they continued their relationship until the early 1980s.[72][73][74][75][76]
Hayworth andAly Khan in Paris in 1952, before their divorce
In 1948, Hayworth left her film career to marry Aly Khan, a son ofSultan Mohammed Shah, Aga Khan III, the leader of theIsmaili community of Shia Islam. They were married on May 27, 1949.
Aly Khan and his family were heavily involved inhorse racing, owning and racing horses. Hayworth had no interest in the sport, but became a member of theDel Mar Thoroughbred Club anyway. Her filly, Double Rose, won several races in France and finished second in the 1949Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.[77]
In 1951, while still married to Hayworth, Khan was spotted dancing with the actressJoan Fontaine in the nightclub where he and Hayworth had met. Hayworth threatened to divorce him inReno, Nevada. In early May, Hayworth moved to Nevada to establish legal residence to qualify for a divorce. She stayed atLake Tahoe with their daughter, saying there was a threat the child would be kidnapped. Hayworth filed for divorce from Khan on September 2, 1951, on the grounds of "extreme cruelty, entirely mental in nature".[78]
Hayworth once said she might convert to Islam, but did not.[79] During the custody fight over their daughter,Yasmin Aga Khan, born(1949-12-28)December 28, 1949, Aly said he wanted her to be raised as aMuslim; Hayworth wanted the child to be raised as a Christian.[80] Hayworth rejected his offer of $1 million if she would rear Yasmin as a Muslim from age seven and allow her to go to Europe to visit with him for two or three months each year, stating:
Nothing will make me give up Yasmin's chance to live here in America among our precious freedoms and habits. While I respect the Moslem faith, and all other faiths, it is my earnest wish that my daughter be raised as a normal, healthy American girl in the Christian faith. There isn't any amount of money in the entire world for which it is worth sacrificing this child's privilege of living as a normal Christian girl here in the United States. There just isn't anything else in the world that can compare with her sacred chance to do that. And I'm going to give it to Yasmin regardless of what it costs.[81]
In January 1953, Hayworth was granted a divorce from Aly Khan on the grounds of extreme mental cruelty. Her daughter Yasmin, only three years old, played about the court while the case was being heard, finally climbing on to the judge's lap.[82]
Hayworth andDick Haymes obtaining their marriage license in Las Vegas, 1953
When Hayworth and Dick Haymes first met, he was still married and his singing career was waning. Haymes was desperate for money because two of his former wives were taking legal action against him for unpaid child support. His financial problems were so bad that when he tried to return to California, he was arrested.[83]
On July 7, 1954, his ex-wifeNora Eddington got a bench warrant for his arrest, because he owed her $3,800 in alimony. Less than a week earlier, his other ex-wife,Joanne Dru, also got a bench warrant because she said he owed $4,800 in child support payments for their three children.[84] Hayworth ended up paying most of Haymes's debts.[citation needed]
Haymes was born in Argentina and did not have solid proof of American citizenship. Not long after he met Hayworth, U.S. officials initiated proceedings to have him deported to Argentina for being an illegal alien. He hoped Hayworth could influence the government and keep him in the United States. When she assumed responsibility for his citizenship, a bond was formed that led to marriage. The two were married on September 24, 1953, at theSands Hotel, Las Vegas, and their wedding procession went through the casino.
From the start of their marriage, Haymes was deeply in debt to theInternal Revenue Service (IRS). When Hayworth took time off from attending his comeback performances inPhiladelphia, audiences sharply declined. Haymes's $5,000 weekly salary was attached by the IRS to pay a $100,000 bill, and he was unable to pay his pianist. Haymes's ex-wives demanded money while Hayworth publicly bemoaned her own lack of alimony from Aly Khan. At one point, the couple was effectively imprisoned in a hotel room for 24 hours inManhattan at the Hotel Madison while sheriff's deputies waited outside, threatening to arrest Haymes for outstanding debts.
At the same time, Hayworth was fighting a severe custody battle with Khan, during which she reported death threats against their children. While living in New York, Hayworth sent the children to live with their nanny inWestchester County. They were found and photographed by a reporter fromConfidential magazine.[citation needed]
After a tumultuous two years together, Haymes struck Hayworth in the face in 1955 in public at the Cocoanut Grove nightclub in Los Angeles. Hayworth packed her bags, walked out, and never returned. The assault and crisis shook her, and her doctor ordered her to remain in bed for several days.[85]
Hayworth was short of money after her marriage to Haymes. She had failed to gain child support from Aly Khan. She sued Orson Welles for back payment of child support, which she claimed had never been paid. This effort was unsuccessful and added to her stress.[citation needed]
Hayworth began a relationship with film producerJames Hill, whom she went on to marry on February 2, 1958. He put her in one of her last major films,Separate Tables. This film was popular and highly praised, althoughThe Harvard Lampoon named her the worst actress of 1958 for her performance.[86] On September 1, 1961, Hayworth filed for divorce, alleging extreme mental cruelty. Hill later wroteRita Hayworth: A Memoir, in which he suggested that their marriage collapsed because he wanted Hayworth to continue making movies, while she wanted them both to retire from Hollywood.[citation needed]
In his autobiography,Charlton Heston wrote about Hayworth's brief marriage to Hill. One night, Heston and his wife Lydia joined the couple for dinner at a restaurant in Spain with the directorGeorge Marshall and the actorRex Harrison, Hayworth's co-star inThe Happy Thieves. Heston wrote that the occasion "turned into the single most embarrassing evening of my life", describing how Hill heaped "obscene abuse" on Hayworth until she was "reduced to a helpless flood of tears, her face buried in her hands". Heston wrote that the others sat stunned, witnesses to a "marital massacre", and, though he was "strongly tempted to slug him" (Hill), he left with his wife Lydia after she stood up, almost in tears. Heston wrote, "I'm ashamed of walking away from Miss Hayworth's humiliation. I never saw her again."[87]
Orson Welles noted Hayworth's problem withalcohol during their marriage, but he never believed that her problem wasalcoholism. "It certainly imitated alcoholism in every superficial way", he recalled in 1983. "She'd fly into these rages, never at me, never once, always at Harry Cohn or her father or her mother or her brother. She would break all the furniture and she'd get in a car and I'd have to get in the car and try to control her. She'd drive up in the hills suicidally. Terrible, terrible nights. And I just saw this lovely girl destroying herself. I admire Yasmin so much."[88]: 129–130
Yasmin Aga Khan spoke of her mother's long struggle with alcohol:
I remember as a child that she had a drinking problem. She had difficulty coping with the ups and downs of the business ... As a child, I thought, 'She has a drinking problem, and she's an alcoholic.' That was very clear, and I thought, 'Well, there's not much I can do. I can just, sort of, stand by and watch.' It's very difficult, seeing your mother, going through her emotional problems and drinking and then behaving in that manner ... Her condition became quite bad. It worsened and she did have an alcoholic breakdown and landed in the hospital.[89]
In 1972, the 54-year-old Hayworth wanted to retire from acting, but she needed money. At the suggestion ofRobert Mitchum, she agreed to filmThe Wrath of God. The experience exposed her poor health and her worsening mental state. Because she could not remember her lines, her scenes were shot one line at a time.[21]: 337–338 In November, she agreed to complete one more movie, the British filmTales That Witness Madness,[21]: 343 but because of her worsening health, she left the set and returned to the United States. She never returned to acting.[90]
In March 1974, both of her brothers died within a week of each other, which caused her great sadness and led to heavy drinking. In January 1976, atLondon'sHeathrow Airport, Hayworth was removed from a TWA flight after having an angry outburst while traveling with her agent. The event attracted much negative publicity; a photograph where she looked disheveled was published in newspapers the next day.[91] Hayworth's alcoholism hid symptoms of what was eventually understood to beAlzheimer's disease.[92]
Yasmin Aga Khan spoke of her mother's disease:
It was the outbursts. She'd fly into a rage. I can't tell you. I thought it was alcoholism – alcoholic dementia. We all thought that. The papers picked that up, of course. You can't imagine the relief just in getting a diagnosis. We had a name at last, Alzheimer's! Of course, that didn't really come until the last seven or eight years. She wasn't diagnosed as having Alzheimer's until 1980. There were two decades of hell before that.[93]
Biographer Barbara Leaming wrote that Hayworth aged prematurely because of her addiction to alcohol and also because of the manystresses in her life. "Despite the artfully applied make-up and shoulder-length red hair, there was no concealing the ravages of drink and stress", she wrote of Hayworth's arrival in New York in May 1956 in order to begin work onFire Down Below, her first film in three years. "Deep lines had crept around her eyes and mouth, and she appeared worn, exhausted – older than her thirty-eight years."[21]: 322
Alzheimer's disease had been largely forgotten by the medical community since its discovery in 1906. Medical historianBarron H. Lerner wrote that when Hayworth's diagnosis was made public in 1981, she became "the first public face of Alzheimer's, helping to ensure that future patients did not go undiagnosed ... Unbeknownst to her, Hayworth helped to destigmatize a condition that can still embarrass victims and their families."[94]
In July 1981, Hayworth's health had deteriorated to the point that a judge in Los Angeles Superior Court ruled that she should be placed under the care of her daughter, Yasmin Aga Khan of New York City.[95] Hayworth lived in an apartment atThe San Remo onCentral Park West adjoining that of her daughter, who arranged for her mother's care during her final years.[21]: 359 When asked how her mother was doing, Yasmin replied, "She's still beautiful. But it's a shell."
In 1983, Rebecca Welles arranged to see her mother for the first time in seven years. Speaking to his lifelong friend Roger Hill, Orson Welles expressed his concern about the visit's effect on his daughter. "Rita barely knows me now," Welles said. He recalled seeing Hayworth three years before at an event that the Reagans held forFrank Sinatra. "When it was over, I came over to her table, and I saw that she was very beautiful, very reposed looking, and didn't know me at first. After about four minutes of speaking, I could see that she realized who I was, and she began to cry quietly."[88]: 129
In an interview that he gave the evening before his death in 1985, Welles called Hayworth "one of the dearest and sweetest women that ever lived".[96]
Hayworth lapsed into asemicoma in February 1987. She died at age 68, from complications associated with Alzheimer's disease, on May 14, 1987, at her home in Manhattan.[39][101][102] PresidentRonald Reagan, who was one of Hayworth's contemporaries in Hollywood (and who went on to also suffer from Alzheimer's in his final years), issued a statement:
Rita Hayworth was one of our country's most beloved stars. Glamorous and talented, she gave us many wonderful moments on stage and screen and delighted audiences from the time she was a young girl. In her later years, Rita became known for her struggle with Alzheimer's disease. Her courage and candor, and that of her family, were a great public service in bringing worldwide attention to a disease which we all hope will soon be cured.Nancy and I are saddened by Rita's death. She was a friend who we will miss. We extend our deep sympathy to her family.[103]
The public disclosure and discussion of Hayworth's illness drew international attention to Alzheimer's disease, which was little known at the time,[39] and it helped to greatly increase federal funding for Alzheimer's research.[94]
The Rita Hayworth Gala, a benefit for theAlzheimer's Association, is held annually in Chicago and New York City.[111] The program was founded in 1985[112] by Yasmin Aga Khan, in honor of her mother. She is the hostess for the events and is a major sponsor of Alzheimer's disease charities and awareness programs. As of August 2017[update], a total of more than $72 million had been raised through events in Chicago, New York, andPalm Beach, Florida.[111][113][114]
On October 17, 2016, a press release from the Springer Associates Public Relations Agency announced that Rita Hayworth's former manager and friend, Budd Burton Moss, initiated a campaign to solicit theUnited States Postal Service to issue a commemorative stamp featuring Hayworth. Springer Associates also announced that theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences would be lobbied in hopes of having an honoraryAcademy Award issued in memory of Hayworth.[115] The press release added that Hayworth's daughter, Yasmin Aga Khan, the Alzheimer's Association of Greater Los Angeles, and numerous prominent personalities of stage and screen were supporting the Moss campaign. The press release stated the target date for fulfillment of the stamp and Academy Award to be on October 17, 2018, the centennial of Hayworth's birth.
In theBaptiste episode "Shell", Baptiste talks to Kim about Hayworth in an attempt to gain information from her about Natalie after noticing that she has several DVDs of Hayworth's films; the Dream Room has a poster ofGilda.[117]
Hayworth's name can be heard in theMadonna hit from 1990, "Vogue", ("Rita Hayworth gave good face") among other artists fromclassical Hollywood cinema. Her name is also mentioned inTom Waits's song "Invitation to the Blues", from his 1976 albumSmall Change.
In the Sicilian scenes of the filmThe Godfather, the bodyguard ofMichael Corleone is heard shouting the name "Rita Hayworth" to GI's passing by in jeeps.
Hayworth is the main topic of the song, "Take, Take, Take"[118] by theWhite Stripes and also referenced in "White Moon";[119] both from theirGet Behind Me Satan album, released in 2005. In a 2005 interview withRolling Stone,Jack White said, "Rita Hayworth became an all-encompassing metaphor for everything I was thinking about while making the album."[120]
The filmThe Shawshank Redemption was adapted from aStephen King novella, "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption", from his 1982 collectionDifferent Seasons. A succession of posters, starting with one of Rita Hayworth, hides a hole in a jail cell wall in the novella. In the film, a poster of Rita Hayworth was used for the first third of the film, then changed to a poster ofMarilyn Monroe for the middle third, thenRaquel Welch for the last third. The film also includes a scene where the prison movie night shows Rita Hayworth's filmGilda.
In the filmMulholland Drive, an amnesiac character who cannot remember her real name gives herself the name Rita. She sees the name on a poster for Hayworth’s filmGilda that hangs in the room where she’s standing at the time she’s first asked her name.
^Dick, Bernard F. (1993).The Merchant Prince of Poverty Row: Harry Cohn of Columbia Pictures. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky. p. 130.ISBN978-0813118413.
^Jordan, David M. (September 2, 2011).FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944. Indiana University Press. p. 232 – via Internet Archive.Rita Hayworth Hollywood Democratic committee.
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