88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Olivia Hussey | |
|---|---|
.png) Hussey c. 1978 | |
| Born | Olivia Osuna 17 April 1951 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Died | 27 December 2024 (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Alma mater | Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1964–2018 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3, including India Eisley |
| Website | oliviahussey |
| Signature | |
 | |
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Olivia Hussey (née Osuna; 17 April 1951 – 27 December 2024) was a British actress. Her awards included a Golden Globe Award and a David di Donatello Award. The daughter of Argentine tango singer Osvaldo Ribó, Hussey was born in Buenos Aires but spent most of her early life in her mother's native England. She aspired to become an actress at a young age and studied drama for five years at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts in London.
Hussey began acting professionally as an adolescent. She appeared in a 1966 London production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, opposite Vanessa Redgrave; this led to her being scouted for the role of Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Hussey received widespread acclaim and international recognition for her performance. In 1974, she appeared as the lead character Jess Bradford in the cult slasher film Black Christmas. Hussey reunited with Zeffirelli in the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth (1977) as Mary and appeared as Rosalie Otterbourne in John Guillermin's Agatha Christie adaptation Death on the Nile (1978).
She appeared in several international productions throughout the 1980s, including the Japanese production Virus (1980) and the Australian dystopian action film Turkey Shoot (1982). In 1990 she appeared in two horror productions, Stephen King's It and Psycho IV: The Beginning, in which she portrayed Norman Bates' mother. She also worked as a voice actress, providing voice roles in Star Wars video games including Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (1998), Star Wars: Force Commander (2000), and Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011).
Early life and education
[edit]Hussey was born Olivia Osuna on 17 April 1951[1] in Buenos Aires, Argentina,[2] the first child of Argentine tango singer Andrés Osuna (stage name Osvaldo Ribó), and Joy Hussey, a legal secretary.[3] Her mother was from England, of Scottish and English descent.[4] Her parents were Roman Catholics, and she was raised in that denomination.[5] Hussey recalled, "I grew up with a mini-altar at home that she had; a candle was always alight on it. She always had a great love for God, and she instilled that in me."[5] Hussey was fascinated by acting from a young age, and as a child, would dress up as a nun.[6]
At age seven, she moved with her mother and younger brother Andrew to London.[3] There, Hussey was accepted into the Italia Conti Academy drama school, which she attended for five years, taking modeling and walk-on parts to help pay her fees.[7] At 13, she began acting professionally on stage, assuming her mother's maiden name as her stage name. In 1964, she appeared in an episode of the television series Drama, followed by minor roles in two films the following year: The Battle of the Villa Fiorita and Cup Fever.[8][3][9]
Career
[edit]Breakthrough with Romeo and Juliet
[edit].png)
Hussey appeared in a West End production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, playing Jenny opposite Vanessa Redgrave.[10] Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli noticed her performance because "she was the only choice mature enough with experience and natural beauty to play Juliet while still looking 14."[11] She was chosen out of 500 actresses to star in Zeffirelli's film, opposite 16-year-old Leonard Whiting's Romeo.[12][13] Her performance won her a special David di Donatello Award and the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress in 1969.[14]
After the success of Romeo and Juliet, Hollywood producer Hal B. Wallis offered her the title role in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and the co-starring role with John Wayne in True Grit (1969).[15] In her 2018 memoir, Hussey recalled that she had "mumbled something about being interested in Anne of the Thousand Days" but that she "couldn't see herself with Wayne", concluding that this "adolescent and opinionated" remark ended her professional relationship with Wallis, who immediately withdrew his offer.[16]
Nude scene controversy
[edit]In an August 2018 interview for Fox News to promote the release of her autobiography Girl on the Balcony, Hussey discussed filming the controversial nude scene in Romeo and Juliet: "We shot it at the end of the film. So by that time...we've become one big family. It wasn't that big of a deal. And Leonard wasn't shy at all! In the middle of shooting I just completely forgot I didn't have clothes on."[17][18] In another 2018 interview with Variety, Hussey defended the nude scene, saying, "Nobody my age had done that before," adding that Zeffirelli shot it tastefully. "It was needed for the film. Everyone thinks they were so young they didn't realize what they were doing. But we were very aware. We both came from drama schools and when you work you take your work very seriously."[19][20]
However, on 30 December 2022, Hussey and Whiting filed a $500 million lawsuit against Paramount Pictures for sexual exploitation, sexual harassment, and fraud, regarding the scene. In their court filing, the two actors stated that they had suffered emotional damage and mental anguish for decades.[21][22] The complainants stated that director Franco Zeffirelli, who died in 2019, initially said they would wear flesh-coloured undergarments and be positioned in a way that would not show nudity, but that Whiting's bare buttocks and Hussey's bare breasts are nonetheless briefly shown during the scene, in violation of California state and federal laws against indecency and the exploitation of children.[23]
The case was dismissed in Los Angeles Superior Court on 25 May 2023.[24]
Subsequent screen roles and voice work
[edit]
In 1971, Hussey appeared in the British drama All the Right Noises, followed by The Summertime Killer (1972),[8] and the musical Lost Horizon.[25] In 1974, Hussey played the lead role of Jess Bradford in the Canadian horror film Black Christmas (1974), which became influential as a forerunner of the slasher film genre of horror films.[26] She played Mary, the mother of Jesus, in the 1977 television production of Jesus of Nazareth (her second work for director Zeffirelli).[27] In 1978, she played Rosalie Otterbourne in Death on the Nile with Peter Ustinov,[2] and appeared in The Cat and the Canary (1979).[28]
She starred as Marit in the Japanese film Virus (1980),[29] and played Rebecca of York in the 1982 remake of Ivanhoe (1982); the same year, she had a lead role in the Australian horror film Turkey Shoot (1982).[30]
.jpg)
In 1987, Hussey, along with several well-known actors, made a cameo appearance in a clip for the Michael Jackson video "Liberian Girl".[31]
In 1990, Hussey played Norma Bates, the mother of Norman Bates, in Psycho IV: The Beginning, a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960),[32][33] and appeared in the miniseries It, an adaptation of the Stephen King novel.[34] These two roles along with Black Christmas earned her the label of scream queen.[35][36]
Hussey played the lead in Mother Teresa of Calcutta (2003), a biographical film about Mother Teresa, for which she was presented with a Character & Morality in Entertainment Award on 12 May 2007 in Hollywood.[2] She stated in an interview that it had been her dream to portray the role of Mother Teresa of Calcutta ever since she finished her role as the Virgin Mary in Jesus of Nazareth.[37] Hussey later reunited with Whiting as on-screen partners in the film Social Suicide (2015), the only film that they both appeared in since Romeo and Juliet. In the project, Hussey's daughter, actress India Eisley, played their fictional daughter, Julia Coulson.[38]
Hussey also worked as a voice actress, and was nominated for "Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Female Performer in an Animated Television Production" at the Annie Awards for her work in the DC Animated Universe as Talia al Ghul. She voiced the character of Kasan Moor in the PC/Nintendo 64 game, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron (1998)[39] and was also in the massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars: The Old Republic (2011) as Jedi Master Yuon Par.[40] She also lent her voice to Star Wars: Force Commander in 2000.[41]
Hussey was slated to reprise her role as Jess Bradford in the Black Christmas fan film It's Me, Billy: Chapter 2, but withdrew from the project in November 2023 due to health reasons.[42][43][44]
Personal life and death
[edit]
Hussey had agoraphobia, which was aggravated by the fame she achieved after Romeo and Juliet.[3]
She briefly dated Leonard Whiting in 1968. They remained friends throughout her life, reportedly communicating "at least once every 10 days."[45]
Hussey also dated actor Christopher Jones in 1968 but ended the relationship due to his being abusive towards her. The following year, Jones allegedly attacked, raped, and impregnated Hussey, who underwent an abortion.[45][6]
In 1971, Hussey married Dean Paul Martin, the son of Dean Martin. They had one son, writer and actor Alexander Gunther Martin (born 1973). They divorced in 1978 but remained friends.[46] Martin died in 1987 when the National Guard F-4 Phantom jet fighter he was piloting crashed.[47]
From 1980 to 1989, Hussey was married to Japanese singer Akira Fuse. They had one son, Maximillian Hussey Fuse (born 1983).[48]
In 1991,[49] she married American musician David Glen Eisley, the son of actor Anthony Eisley. They had one daughter, actress India Eisley.[50]
Hussey was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008,[51] and underwent a double mastectomy.[51] After being in remission for nearly a decade, the breast cancer returned in 2017, with Hussey undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment to remove a small tumour growing between her heart and lungs.[51]
Hussey's memoir, The Girl on the Balcony: Olivia Hussey Finds Life After Romeo and Juliet, was published on 31 July 2018.[52]
Hussey died at her home in Los Angeles on 27 December 2024, at the age of 73, following a recurrence of breast cancer.[53][54][55] Later that day, Whiting released a statement: "Rest now my beautiful Juliet no injustices can hurt you now. And the world will remember your beauty inside and out forever".[56]
Filmography
[edit] | This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2024) |
Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | The Battle of the Villa Fiorita | Donna | |
| Cup Fever | Jinny | ||
| 1968 | Romeo and Juliet | Juliet | [6] |
| 1971 | All the Right Noises | Val | |
| H-Bomb | Erica | ||
| 1972 | The Summertime Killer | Tania Scarlotti | |
| 1973 | Lost Horizon | Maria | |
| 1974 | Black Christmas | Jess Bradford | |
| 1978 | Death on the Nile | Rosalie Otterbourne | |
| The Cat and the Canary | Cicily Young | ||
| 1980 | Virus | Marit | |
| The Man with Bogart's Face | Elsa | ||
| 1982 | Turkey Shoot | Chris Walters | |
| 1987 | Distortions | Amy Marks | |
| 1989 | The Jeweller's Shop | Thérèse | |
| 1990 | Undeclared War | Rebecca Ecke | |
| 1993 | Quest of the Delta Knights | The Mannerjay | |
| 1994 | Save Me | Gail | |
| 1995 | Ice Cream Man | Nurse Wharton | Direct-to-video |
| Bad English I: Tales of a Son of a Brit | |||
| 1996 | The Lord Protector: The Dark Mist | Voice of the Ancients | Voice |
| 1998 | The Gardener | Mrs. Carter | |
| Shame, Shame, Shame | Therapist | ||
| 2000 | Bloody Proof | Laura | |
| 2001 | Island Prey | Catherine Gaits | |
| 2005 | Headspace | Dr. Karen Murphy | |
| 2006 | Seven Days of Grace | Jewel | |
| 2007 | Tortilla Heaven | Petra | |
| 2008 | Three Priests | Rachel | |
| I Am Somebody: No Chance in Hell | Mrs. Duncan | ||
| 2015 | Social Suicide | Mrs. Coulson | Final on-screen role |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Drama 61-67 | Mrs. Ken's daughter | Episode: "Studio '64 – The Crunch" |
| 1977 | Jesus of Nazareth | Mary, mother of Jesus | Miniseries[57] |
| 1978 | The Bastard | Alicia | Miniseries |
| The Pirate | Leila | Television film | |
| 1979 | The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther | Esther | |
| 1982 | Ivanhoe | Rebecca | |
| 1984 | The Last Days of Pompeii | Ione | Miniseries |
| Murder, She Wrote | Kitty Trumbull | Episode: "Sing a Song of Murder" | |
| 1985 | The Corsican Brothers | Annamarie de Giudice | Television film |
| 1990 | Psycho IV: The Beginning | Norma Bates | |
| It | Audra Phillips Denbrough | Miniseries | |
| 1994 | Lonesome Dove: The Series | Olivia Jessup | 3 episodes |
| 1996 | Dead Man's Island | Rosie | Television film |
| 1997 | Boy Meets World | Prudence Curtis | Episode: "A Long Walk to Pittsburgh" |
| 1998 | Pinky and the Brain | Queen Gertrude | Voice, episode: "Melancholy Brain"[58] |
| 1999 | Superman: The Animated Series | Talia al Ghul | Voice, episode: "The Demon Reborn"[58] |
| 2000 | Batman Beyond | Voice, episode: "Out of the Past"[58] | |
| 2003 | Mother Teresa of Calcutta | Mother Teresa | Television film[59] |
Video games
[edit]| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Star Wars: Rogue Squadron | Kasan Moor[58] |
| 2000 | Star Wars: Force Commander | AT-AA Driver, Abridon Refugee 2 |
| 2011 | Star Wars: The Old Republic | Jedi Master Yuon Par[58] |
Stage
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Location | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie | Jenny | Wyndham's Theatre | [60] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Famous birthdays for April 17–Jennifer Garner, Olivia Hussey". United Press International. 17 April 2021. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Staff (4 March 2002). "Part of me thinks I am Juliet". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d Podolsky, J. D. (16 March 1992). "Forever Juliet – For Olivia Hussey, Life After Romeo and Juliet Brought Sweetness and Sorrow". People. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Hussey 2018, p. 8.
- ^ a b Conte, Mario (23 January 2004). "God & I: Olivia Hussey". St. Anthony Messenger. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ a b c Nicholson, Amy (1 August 2018). "Olivia Hussey, star of Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet: 'I was wild'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 November 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
- ^ "Olivia Hussey—Romeo and Juliet Interview—01/10/08". grouchoreviews.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Olivia Hussey". British Film Institute (BFI). Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ Olivia Hussey, talks about her life and career at the Festival Shakespeare Buenos Aires, Fundación Romeo, 25 April 2021, retrieved 7 January 2023 – via YouTube
- ^ Redgrave 1991, p. 128.
- ^ "Franco Zeffirelli Interview (1983)". The Seventh Art.
- ^ Rapf, Maurice (6 September 1968). "Generation Gap in Verona". Life. p. 10. Archived from the original on 24 March 2018.
- ^ "Romeo Himself". Daily Mirror. 26 May 1967. p. 5. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- ^ "Olivia Hussey". Golden Globes. Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ Groucho. "Groucho Reviews: Interview: Olivia Hussey—Romeo and Juliet". Groucho Reviews. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
- ^ Hussey 2018, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Nolasco, Stephanie (3 August 2018). "Olivia Hussey recalls controversial 'Romeo and Juliet' role at 16, reveals personal tragedies". Fox News. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "What Romeo & Juliet actors said about 1968 film before suing". Newsweek. 4 January 2023.
- ^ King, Susan (7 October 2018). "'Romeo & Juliet' at 50: Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting on Viewers' Big Question". Variety. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ "Romeo and Juliet: Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting sue over 1968 film's 'sexual abuse'". BBC News. 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
- ^ Bella, Timothy; Timsit, Annabelle (24 January 2023). "'Romeo and Juliet' stars sue for sexual abuse over 1968 film's nude scene". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Maddaus, Gene (3 January 2023). "'Romeo and Juliet' Stars Sue Paramount for Child Abuse Over Nude Scene in 1968 Film". Variety. Archived from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ Dalton, Andrew (3 January 2023). "Romeo & Juliet Stars Sue Over 1968 Film's Nude Scene When They Were Teens". Time. Archived from the original on 31 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
- ^ "Actors lose Romeo & Juliet nude scene lawsuit". BBC.com. 26 May 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
- ^ "Lost Horizon Found". Film Brain. 19 May 2006. Archived from the original on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ^ Hassenger, Jesse (23 December 2024). "The Best Christmas Horror Movies To Make It a Dark Winter's Night". GQ. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ Boyle, Donna-Marie Cooper (9 June 2014). "An Iconic Screen Presence". Catholic World Report. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
- ^ Mayo 2013, p. 397.
- ^ Sussex Publishers, LLC (February 1990). "Go East, Old Actors". Spy: 38.
- ^ "A Film that Makes Viewers Dream of Escape". Philadelphia Daily News. Newspapers.com. 6 September 1983. p. 44.
- ^ Donovan, Frank (24 February 2015). "The 50 Most WTF Celebrity Cameos in Music Video History". MTV. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
- ^ Hinman, Catherine (15 July 1990). "Whirlwind Affair: 'Psycho Iv' Wraps Up". Orlando Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
- ^ Mayo 2013, p. 288.
- ^ Mayo 2013, p. 435.
- ^ "10 Iconic Scream Queens (& Their Highest Rated Movie on Rotten Tomatoes)". Screen Rant. 25 December 2020.
- ^ Shaw, Gabbi (20 January 2022). "THEN AND NOW: 10 of Hollywood's most iconic scream queens". Business Insider.
- ^ Cooper Boyle, Donna-Marie. "An Iconic Screen Presence". thecatholicworldreport.com. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2015.
- ^ Ford, Rebecca (29 September 2014). "Romeo and Juliet Stars Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey Reuniting for 'Social Suicide'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
- ^ Factor 5 (3 December 1998). Star Wars: Rogue Squadron. Electronic Arts, LucasArts.
- ^ BioWare (20 December 2011). Star Wars: The Old Republic. Electronic Arts, LucasArts. Scene: closing credits, 11:07 in, English Cast.
- ^ Howard, Brandon (11 November 2024). "Olivia Hussey's 10 Best Movies & TV Shows". ScreenRant. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ Romanchick, Shane (1 May 2023). "Black Christmas Star Olivia Hussey Returns for Fan-Made Sequel". Collider. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ Squires, John (1 May 2023). "Original Black Christmas Star Olivia Hussey Returns in Fan Film Sequel It's Me, Billy: Chapter 2". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
- ^ Squires, John (13 August 2024). "Jess Bradford Returns in Fan Film Sequel It's Me, Billy: Chapter 2". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
- ^ a b Nolasco, Stephanie (3 August 2018). "Olivia Hussey recalls controversial 'Romeo and Juliet' role at 16, reveals personal tragedies". Fox News. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
- ^ "Dean Martin's Son is dead in Jet". The New York Times. 27 March 1987. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
- ^ "Actor, Athlete and Dashing Pilot, Dean Paul Martin Dies When His Jet Crashes on a Mountainside". Peoplemag. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ "Olivia Hussey eisley on Instagram: "34 years ago today I had my second son Maximillian Hussey Fuse..." Instagram. 1983. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Olivia Hussey, 'Romeo & Juliet' Star, Dies at 73". People.com. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ Doty, Meriah (9 May 2012). "Girl cast as young Angelina Jolie has more in common than looks". Yahoo Entertainment. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ a b c Sheridan, Peter (15 August 2018). "Shakespearean tragedies of a Hollywood teen star". Daily Express. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- ^ Nihas, Aili (25 July 2018). "Romeo and Juliet's Olivia Hussey Reveals She Was Raped in the Charles Manson Murder Home". People. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
- ^ Tapp, Tom (28 December 2024). "Olivia Hussey Eisley Dies: 'Romeo and Juliet' actress was 73". Deadline.
- ^ "Olivia Hussey, 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Black Christmas' Star, Dies at 73". Variety. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ^ "Olivia Hussey, Star of a Renowned 'Romeo and Juliet,' Dies at 73". The New York Times. 30 December 2024. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
- ^ "Olivia Hussey, star of the 1968 film 'Romeo and Juliet,' dies at 73". National Public Radio. 28 December 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Jesus of Nazareth (1977) Credits". www.screenonline.org.uk. British Film Institute. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Olivia Hussey (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 23 October 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
- ^ Greydanus, Steven D. (2 March 2012). "Mother Teresa (2003)" (Archived by the Wayback Machine). DecentFilms.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012.
- ^ Shulman, Milton (6 May 1966). "What a teacher!–and what a performance from Miss Redgrave!". London Evening Standard. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
Sources
[edit]- Daileader, Celia R. (8 October 2001). "Nude Shakespeare in film and nineties popular feminism". In Alexander, Catherine M.S.; Stanley Wells (eds.). Shakespeare and Sexuality. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-80475-2.
- Hussey, Olivia (2018). The Girl on the Balcony. London: Kensington Books. ISBN 978-1-496-71707-8.
- Mayo, Mike (2013). The Horror Show Guide: The Ultimate Frightfest of Movies (2 ed.). Visible Ink Press. ISBN 978-1-578-59420-7.
- Redgrave, Vanessa (1991). Vanessa Redgrave: An Autobiography. New York City, New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-679-40216-9.
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
88888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
On late Saturday night, while scrolling through the channels to find something to watch, I came across a PBS special highlighting the music of Englebert Humperdinck and, by "coincidence", just as I joined the program this song was playing
When chains are torn by courage born of a love that's free
A time when dreams so long denied
Can flourish as we unveil the love we now must hide
A life worthwhile for you and me
We will endure as we pass surely through every storm
A time for us, some day there'll be a new world
A world of shining hope for you and me
We will endure as we pass surely through every storm
A time for us, some day there'll be a new world
A world of shining hope for you and me
8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888
Olivia Hussey, Teen Star of a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ on Film, Dies at 73
Her passionate portrayal of Juliet in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 adaptation won enduring acclaim. In 2023, she sued over the circumstances of a nude scene.
Olivia Hussey, whose performance as the female lead in a 1968 film adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” became its own Shakespearean tale, encompassing glory improbably achieved, helplessness with newfound power and memories that darkened over the years, died on Friday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 73.
The cause was breast cancer, her publicist, Natalie Beita, said.
Ms. Hussey’s lifelong association with Juliet came from how rapturously that movie was received. Much of the reaction concentrated on the decision of its director, Franco Zeffirelli, to cast two unknown teenagers as his leads. Ms. Hussey was 15 when filming began; her co-star, Leonard Whiting, was 17.
It was standard at the time to give the roles of the desperate lovers to established stars. Leslie Howard, for one, was 43 when he made his debut as Romeo in a 1936 adaptation.
What Ms. Hussey and Mr. Whiting lacked in practiced elocution they more than made up for in emotional intensity, suggesting an identification with their characters.
Advertisement
Mr. Whiting sprinted from Juliet’s bedroom with a wild but innocent exuberance. When Juliet’s nursemaid (Pat Heywood) counseled that Juliet go through with a pragmatic marriage to a man other than Romeo, Ms. Hussey responded with an extraordinary facial expression — wide-eyed, horrified, stupefied — suggesting that it was her first encounter with the possibility of betraying love.
In a review for The Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert wrote, “I believe Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ is the most exciting film of Shakespeare ever made.” He credited the film with “the passion, the sweat, the violence, the poetry, the love and the tragedy in the most immediate terms I can imagine.”
The movie grossed nearly $39 million at the domestic box office (about $350 million today) and it won Academy Awards for cinematography and costumes.
A featurette on the making of the film captures the tenor of Ms. Hussey and Mr. Whiting’s stardom. “These are the most talked-about teenagers in the world today,” the narrator says.
Advertisement
Ms. Hussey traveled widely promoting the film. At one point, in Britain, she did so much dancing at a dinner with Prince Charles that she took her shoes off, stretched her legs across his lap and received a royal foot massage.
Yet in the years to come Ms. Hussey did not have another big role that earned both box-office success and critical acclaim. She spent much time commemorating her role as Juliet.
One part of the movie was remembered for something other than artistry: a brief scene in which Romeo and Juliet wake up nude in bed together. The camera lingers on Mr. Whiting’s buttocks and registers a flash of Ms. Hussey’s breasts.
Mr. Ebert castigated those who were scandalized by the scene — “A lot of fuss has been made about the brief, beautiful nude love scene,” he wrote — and Ms. Hussey seemed initially to feel the same way, describing Mr. Zeffirelli as a father figure whom she would have liked to work with on all of her movies.
But in her 2018 memoir, “The Girl on the Balcony,” she was more ambivalent.
With Mr. Zeffirelli’s assurance, she wrote, she had thought that she would be clothed in the scene, until she found herself having makeup applied “head to toe,” prompting what she called a “small panic attack.” One “dirty old man” on the crew, she wrote, had to be removed from the set.
“Nobody my age had done that before,” she told Variety in 2018, referring to the nude scene. Yet she added, “It was needed for the film.”
Advertisement
During her press tour for the book, she told Fox News that the scene “was done very tastefully” and “wasn’t that big of a deal.” Mr. Zeffirelli wrote an adoring foreword to the book.
Ms. Hussey’s attitude took another turn in December 2022, when she and Mr. Whiting sued Paramount Pictures, the film’s distributor, seeking damages of up to $500 million, claiming that they had been forced to appear nude and that the movie constituted “child pornography.” The suit was prompted by a California law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations on claims of child sexual abuse.
A judge threw out the suit in May 2023, ruling that the scene was not pornographic.
New York magazine reported that at the time of the suit Ms. Hussey was $22,000 in debt. In an interview with Variety, she said that she and Mr. Whiting had each received only 1,500 British pounds (roughly $35,000 today) for their performances.
“Looking back on all of that, Leonard and I, we felt exploited throughout,” she said.
Olivia Osuna was born on April 17, 1951, in Buenos Aires to Andreas and Joy Hussey. Her father was a tango singer. Her parents divorced when Olivia was 2, and her mother took her and Olivia’s brother, Andrew, to her native England, where she worked as a legal secretary in London. The children used their mother’s surname.
Joy Hussey was an observant Roman Catholic, and Olivia would walk around her home with a towel on her head, pretending to be a nun, she recalled. She realized that what she liked was not the idea of being a nun but the pretending to be one. She started attending drama school as a little girl.
Advertisement
In 1966, Olivia starred in a stage adaptation of Muriel Spark’s novel “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” alongside Vanessa Redgrave. She got the role of Juliet after two auditions.
Ms. Hussey played the Virgin Mary in another Zeffirelli film, “Jesus of Nazareth” (1977), and the titular role in “Mother Teresa,” a 2003 television biopic. She also starred in “Black Christmas” (1974), a horror movie that was panned at the time but that later earned Ms. Hussey the reputation as the “prototype” of the last female survivor of a slasher film, as The New York Times reported in 2015.
In later interviews, she said that the success and hoopla surrounding “Romeo and Juliet” had exhausted her, causing her to turn down movie roles opposite John Wayne and Richard Burton and to focus instead on her personal life.
Ms. Hussey’s first three marriages ended in divorce. She is survived by her husband, David Eisley; a son, Alexander Martin, from her first marriage, to Dean Paul Martin, the son of the singer Dean Martin; another son, Maximillian Fuse, from her third marriage, to Akira Fuse, a Japanese pop star; a daughter, India Eisley; her brother; and a grandson. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.
Mr. Whiting, a lifelong friend of Ms. Hussey’s, once sent her a darkly comic screenplay he wrote in which Romeo and Juliet live on after their youth. Ms. Hussey responded that she could not play the part, she told Variety in 2018, for the same reason that she never went out in sweatpants: She wished to keep alive the public image of herself as Shakespeare’s Juliet.
Advertisement
That was how she met Mr. Eisley. He saw her at a delicatessen and introduced himself as someone who had seen her performance in “Romeo and Juliet” 50 times. He turned out to know every line of the play.
“I couldn’t resist him,” Ms. Hussey told the British newspaper The Telegraph in 2002. “I am such a die-hard romantic. I guess a part of me thinks I am Juliet.”
No comments:
Post a Comment