Monday, April 24, 2006

Academy Tribute to Olivia de Havilland Slated for 2006

Beverly Hills, CA — Oscar-winning screen legend Olivia de Havilland will be honored with an Academy Tribute on June 15, 2006, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The two-time Academy Award winner will travel from her home in France to the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills for the event, which will feature film clips of her most-admired performances and discussion with colleagues from throughout her career.

Born on July 1, 1916, in Tokyo to English parents, de Havilland made her screen debut as Hermia in Max Reinhardt’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 1935, a role that she had also played on stage at the Hollywood Bowl. Her pairing with Errol Flynn in “Captain Blood,” also in 1935, proved a great success and subsequently the two starred together in seven more films, helping to solidify her leading lady status.

De Havilland earned the first of her five Academy Award nominations for her supporting performance as Melanie Hamilton in “Gone with the Wind.” Two years later, in 1941, her lead performance as Emmy Brown in “Hold Back the Dawn” was nominated. She earned her first Oscar statuette for her portrayal of Jody Norris in “To Each His Own” (1946). “The Snake Pit” (1948), in which she played Virginia Stuart Cunningham, provided de Havilland with another nominated lead performance and in 1949 she took home her second Academy Award for her role as Catherine Sloper in “The Heiress.” Among the directors with whom she worked during this period and later in her career were Michael Curtiz, Victor Fleming, Lewis Gilbert, John Huston, Stanley Kramer, Mitchell Leisen, Anatole Litvak and William Wyler.

Tickets for An Academy Tribute to Olivia de Havilland will go on sale June 1, 2006, for $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. They will be available for purchase at the Academy during regular business hours or by mail. The Academy is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. For more information call 310-247-3600.

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