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maureen o hara interview - 2004 galway film fleadh

Use the above player to listen to the interview, it is a Flash based Player.

Interview courtesy of Radio Telefis na hÉireann.

about maureen o hara

Maureen O Hara - Saturday July 11th 2004 | Town Hall Main | 16.00

Maureen O’Hara’s first Hollywood film was the classic Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1939 (screened at this years Fleadh); this was the beginning of a career that has spanned over 60 years.

Maureen has an enviable string of all-time classics to her credit that include Miracle on 34th Street, Sitting Pretty, The Quiet Man, the Parent Trap and Mc Lintock! Add to this the distinction of being voted one of the five most beautiful women in the world and you have a film star who is as famed for her beauty as for her talent. Not only had she a wonderful, lyrical soprano voice, but she could also use her inherent athletic ability to perform physical feats, from fencing to fisticuffs, that most actresses couldn’t begin to attempt.

In her career Maureen has starred with some of Hollywood’s most dashing leading men including Tyrone Power, John Payne, Rex Harrison, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Sir Alec Guinness and of course ‘The Duke’ – John Wayne. Maureen starred in five films with Wayne, the most beloved being The Quiet Man, which will be screened at the fleadh.

In addition to famed director John Ford, Maureen was also fortunate to have worked with some of the greatest directors in the business: Alfred Hitchcock, Henry Hathaway, Henry King, John M. Stahl, Walter Lang, George Sherman, Carol Reed and Chris Columbus.

Maureen retired from films in 1973 after making the TV Movie the Red Pony that won the prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence with Peter Fonda. Fortunately she was coaxed out of retirement several times; once in 1991 to star with John Candy in Only the Lonely, and again in 1998 on a made for TV movie, The Christmas Box for CBS. In the spring of 1998 Maureen O’Hara accepted the second of what would be three projects for Polson Productions and CBS –Cab to Canada – and in October 2000, The Last Dance.

Maureen’s dynamic Irish beauty, combined with her innate acting ability and str4ong screen presence have produced a legacy of all time classic films. Maureen O’Hara is still gorgeous, still performing, and waiting for that perfect script that will challenge her seasoned talent.

The Galway Film Fleadh is honoured to pay tribute to Maureen O’Hara.