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Rita Hayworth: Fred Astaire
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In Salvador Plascencia's The People of Paper, Rita Hayworth is a sad, disenfranchised character. In the novel, Rita Hayworth was made infamous for having sex with a lettuce picker. Quote by actor Joseph Cotten: "No matter how bad the film, when Rita danced it was like watching one of nature's wonders in motion." Rita was the first dancer to partner with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly on film - others being Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, Vera Ellen, and Leslie Caron. Fred Astaire in his autobiography says Rita "danced with trained perfection and individuality."
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Whether illuminating the screen with a song and dance or beaming from a magazine photo, Rita Hayworth was an unforgettable sight. Capitalizing on her inherited beauty and talent to become a legendary motion picture star, Hayworth captured the hearts of countless American servicemen during the 1940s. At her peak, she epitomized American beauty, and her career produced several memorable moments: dance routines with Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich (1941); a glamorous photo in Life magazine; a scandalous striptease in Gilda (1946); and mature sophistication in The Lady From Shanghai (1949). While Hayworth's death in 1987 saddened America, it alerted the nation to the plight of those threatened by Alzheimer's disease, the illness that slowly killed her.
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Rita Hayworth appeared alongside Fred Astaire in You'll Never Get Rich in 1941, and followed five years later with Gilda, her most successful film. Many regard Gilda as the pinnacle of Hayworth's career, and afterwards, her roles steadily declined in size and quality until 1960, when the early onset of Alzheimer's caused her to give up her screen career.
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While on loan to Fox Studios for Rouben Mamoulian's Blood and Sand (1941) starring Tyrone Power, Hayworth achieved stardom with her sizzling performance as the amoral and seductive Doña Sol des Muire. This Technicolor film forever branded her as one of Hollywood's most beautiful redheads. Gene Tierney was originally intended for the role but was dropped by Darryl F. Zanuck when she eloped with Oleg Cassini. Carole Landis was the next choice for the role, but refused to dye her blonde hair red. Fox then borrowed Hayworth from Columbia and dyed her dark brown hair auburn which soon became her best remembered feature. Her stardom was solidified when she made the cover of Time Magazine as Fred Astaire's new dancing partner in You'll Never Get Rich (1941).
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Rita had started as Margarita Cansino, the dancing daughter of Eduardo Cansino. Fred Astaire was later to say that Eduardo was a brilliant dancer and a friend he had known for years. Eduardo trained his daughter, and in 1936 Eduardo and Rita worked on the Hollywood movie "Dante's Inferno". Rita stayed in Hollywood, working for three years under a minor Columbia contract in a variety of B features. She got her big break opposite Cary Grant in "Only Angels Have Wings", directed by Howard Hawks. Her impact was so strong that all Hollywood took notice, including Columbia boss Harry Cohn who decided he would make Rita a star.
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Hayworth's fame as a beautiful redhead arose from this Technicolor film. The "love goddess" image was cemented with Bob Landry's Life magazine photograph of her (kneeling on a bed in a nightgown), which caused a sensation and became (at five million copies) one of the most requested wartime pinups. During World War II she ranked with Betty Grable, Dorothy Lamour, Hedy Lamarr, and Lana Turner as the pinup girls most popular with servicemen. Rita would soon become Columbia's biggest star of the 1940s, under the watchful eye of studio chief Harry Cohn. Hayworth's well-known films include the musicals that made her famous: You'll Never Get Rich (1941) and You Were Never Lovelier (1942) (both with Fred Astaire), My Gal Sal (1942) with Victor Mature, and her best known musical, Cover Girl (1944) with Gene Kelly. Although her singing voice was dubbed in her movies, Rita was one of Hollywood's best dancers, imbued with power, precision, and unearthly grace.
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