Rita hayworth

Of course, Glenn Ford didn’t find the little dance to the sound of “Put the Blame on Mame” so fascinating. Although, despite everything, his jealous attack meant nothing more than an immense passion for Gilda, the incarnation of the femme fatale that marked the life of Rita Hayworth.

The actress was born under the name of Margarita Carmen Cansino on October 17, 1918, in New York, and was the daughter of a Spaniard who had emigrated to North America and an Irish woman. Her father was a dancer and her daughter soon emulated her skills and hit the stage, first in Brooklyn and then in Hollywood. One day, while she was dancing with her father in a California joint, none other than the vice president of Fox noticed her and invited her to sit with her. From there, she went on to take various voice and image tests and later sign a contract with the powerful producer. She shone with it in La nave de satán , along with Spencer Tracy .

However, from 1935 the young actress was left without a contract. After a few months of hardships, Columbia took over her services, but not before she removed her paternal surname and replaced it with her maternal name and reduced her name to “Rita”. She also changed the color of her hair from black to red and it seems that she had to undergo some operation to enlarge her forehead. After this “tuning up” Rita Hayworth was born, who was to become the great sex symbol of the forties.

In 1939 he had a secondary role of category inOnly Angels Have Wings , by Howard Hawks . He later rose to stardom withBlood and Sand (1941), adaptation of the novel by Blasco Ibáñez and co-starring Tyrone Power and Anthony Quinn . His exceptional gifts for dancing give him roles of great interest for her career, such as the one she did with Fred Astaire inDancing love is born (1942) or with Gene Kelly inThe Models (1944). That was a time when Rita used posters and calendars that brightened the lives of soldiers fighting in World War II. And then came the bombshellGilda (1946). Impossible not to fall captive at the feet of that woman with no known past and dazzling beauty who swayed with exquisite sensuality –a two-piece white suit– while she sang “My Beloved”. After the delirium, Rita became a myth.

The following year, Orson Welles , then her husband, directed her inThe lady from Shanghai , where Rita, this time without blonde hair, once again inflamed the masses. Years later, Rita excelled inThe lady from Trinidad (1952), again with Glenn Ford, in Salome (1953) , with Stewart Granger , in that marvel directed by Delbert Mann calledSeparate Tables (1958), opposite Burt Lancaster , Deborah Kerr , and David Niven , and inThe Fabulous World of the Circus (1964), with John Wayne . His last movie wasThe Wrath of God (1972).

Sick of Alzheimer’s Rita died on May 14, 1987. “Few women managed to make the magic of cinema shine so bright. And none could shine as high and with such joie de vivre,” said Glenn Ford. But Rita, who had had five husbands and had not been able to keep any of them, had suffered with that ephemeral glory: “I have obtained too much from life,” the woman who had set the hearts of thousands of viewers on fire declared.