Irish screen legend Maureen O’Hara has spoken about her early life in Ireland and her career in an interview with actor Robert Osborne.
The interview took part at the 2014 Turner Classic Movies festival. A classic O’Hara movie – How Green Was My Valley – was screened at the festival.
O’Hara was in fine form and the audience were in awe as she entered the stage.
She joked: “It’s wonderful to be the age I am and have God still unable to put up with me. So he shoe-ed me back onto the stage… and I’m loving it!”
She went onto speak about her early life in Ireland, and getting into trouble with the nuns!
She showed her feisty side when the interviewer said he was sure she was an angel with her red hair and fiery Irish personality.
She turned and told him: “You’re talking a heap of rubbish!” Much to the delight of the audience.
After telling Osborne to get on with some work, he asked her about the early days of her career and she was full of praise for English actor and director Charles Lawton.
She said: “Charles Lawton signed me on my first contract. What more can somebody do for you than start you off?”
O’Hara also told how much she enjoyed working with Irish-American director John Ford. She said: “Ford loved being Irish and was thrilled when he could do something that involved him with Ireland.”
O’Hara also starred in five movies with Hollywood legend John Wayne. She said “You couldn’t meet a more wonderful guy. Who would prefer anybody to John Wayne?”
She didn’t get on with all of her co-stars. She didn’t like kissing all of her leading men because sometimes: “The person you had to kiss was a nasty human being.”
However, with a cheeky gleam in her eye, she did concede: “sometimes it wasn’t so bad.”
O’Hara did many of her own stunts in her films and loved really enjoyed that aspect of filming. She said: “I was a real tomboy and I loved doing the stunts.”
Take a look at the video below
