Today is the 112th birthday of the actress Merle Oberon. Her beauty was undeniable, her heritage was unacceptable, her story is of what legends are made of. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.
NAME: Merle Oberon
DATE OF BIRTH: February 19, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH: Bombay, India
DATE OF DEATH: November 23, 1979
PLACE OF DEATH: Malibu, CA
REMAINS: Buried, Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, CA
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME: 6200 block of Hollywood Boulevard
BEST KNOWN FOR: Merle Oberon was an Anglo-Indian actress. She began her film career in British films as Anne Boleyn in The Private Life of Henry VIII.
Actress Merle Oberon’s dark, ageless beauty brought her fame in such films as “Wuthering Heights” and “The Scarlet Pimpernel.”
Oberon — who admitted to using false ages throughout her career — claimed to be the daughter of a British army officer who was born in Tasmania and educated in India. After her death, her secret was revealed. She was born a humble Bombay Anglo-Indian, a half-caste who because of the prejudices of her day forced her to conceal her mixed blood if she was to make her way in either show business or society.
In 1928, Oberon went to England, where she found work as a dance hostess, then as an extra and bit player in films.
During lunch at the British and Dominion Studios, she met Hungarian director Alexander Korda, who became the first of her five husbands. As Anne Boleyn in Korda’s “The Private Life of Henry VIII,” Oberon won critical acclaim.
Douglas Fairbanks selected her for his leading lady in “The Private Life of Don Juan.” After finishing “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” she came to Hollywood. Her first American picture was “Folies Bergere de Paris.”
In 1939, she made “Wuthering Heights,” her most famous film. Her costar was Laurence Olivier.
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Interval (28-Feb-1973)
Hotel (19-Jan-1967) · The Duchess
The Oscar (4-Mar-1966) · Herself
The Epic That Never Was (1965) · Herself
Of Love and Desire (11-Sep-1963)
The Price of Fear (13-Mar-1956) · Jessica Warren
Deep in My Heart (9-Dec-1954) · Dorothy Donnelly
Desirée (17-Nov-1954)
Affair in Monte Carlo (10-Sep-1952)
Berlin Express (1-May-1948) · Lucienne
Night Song (10-Nov-1947) · Cathy
Temptation (2-Dec-1946)
Night in Paradise (3-May-1946) · Delarai
This Love of Ours (31-Oct-1945)
A Song to Remember (18-Jan-1945) · George Sand
Dark Waters (21-Nov-1944)
The Lodger (19-Jan-1944) · Kitty Langley
First Comes Courage (29-Jul-1943) · Nicole Larsen
Stage Door Canteen (24-Jun-1943) · Herself
Forever and a Day (21-Jan-1943)
Lydia (18-Sep-1941) · Lydia McMillan
Affectionately Yours (10-May-1941) · Sue Mayberry
That Uncertain Feeling (17-Apr-1941) · Jill
‘Til We Meet Again (13-Apr-1940) · Joan Ames
The Lion Has Wings (3-Nov-1939) · Mrs. Richardson
Over the Moon (19-Oct-1939) · Jane Benson
Wuthering Heights (13-Apr-1939) · Cathy
The Cowboy and the Lady (24-Nov-1938) · Mary Smith
The Divorce of Lady X (1-Jan-1938) · Leslie
Beloved Enemy (25-Dec-1936)
These Three (18-Mar-1936) · Karen
The Dark Angel (5-Sep-1935) · Kitty Vane
Folies Bergère (22-Feb-1935)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (23-Dec-1934) · Lady Blakeney
The Broken Melody (30-Oct-1934)
The Private Life of Don Juan (28-Aug-1934) · Antonita, a Dancer of Passionate Temperament
Thunder in the East (Apr-1934)
The Private Life of Henry VIII (17-Aug-1933) · Anne Boleyn
Wedding Rehearsal (1-Oct-1932)
Waldina 