Olivia de Havilland Interview on the Set of Airport '77 (February 20, 1977)

Annotation Persons Appearing: Olivia De Havilland, Film(s) Discussed: Gone with the Wind, Airport '77, The Snake Pit, Olivia de Havilland is filmed indoors on the set of AIRPORT '77. She and Whaley talk about GONE WITH THE WIND being shown on television (HBO and network) and how that is a different experience from seeing it in a theatre. She also discusses THE SNAKE PIT.
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland DBE (/də ˈhævɪlənd/; July 1, 1916 - July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988.[1] She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. At the time of her death in 2020 at age 104, she was the oldest living and earliest surviving Academy Award winner and was widely considered as being the last surviving major star from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema. Her younger sister was Oscar-winning actress Joan Fontaine.
De Havilland first came to prominence with Errol Flynn as a screen couple in adventure films such as Captain Blood (1935) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). One of her best-known roles is that of Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind (1939), for which she received her first of five Oscar nominations, the only one for Best Supporting Actress. De Havilland departed from ingénue roles in the 1940s and later distinguished herself for performances in Hold Back the Dawn (1941), To Each His Own (1946), The Snake Pit (1948), and The Heiress (1949), receiving nominations for Best Actress for each and winning for To Each His Own and The Heiress. She was also successful in work on stage and television. De Havilland lived in Paris from the 1950s and received honors such as the National Medal of the Arts, the Légion d'honneur, and the appointment to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire at the age of 101.
In addition to her film career, de Havilland continued her work in the theatre, appearing three times on Broadway, in Romeo and Juliet (1951), Candida (1952), and A Gift of Time (1962). She also worked in television, appearing in the successful miniseries Roots: The Next Generations (1979) and Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna (1986), for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Movie or Series. During her film career, de Havilland also collected two New York Film Critics Circle Awards, the National Board of Review Award for Best Actress, and the Venice Film Festival Volpi Cup. For her contributions to the motion picture industry, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She and her sister remain the only siblings to have won major acting Academy Awards.

[@PaullyMiller]

How great that she talked about giving your subconscious time to work things out. This is hugely important for all creatives.

[@darthstarkiller1912]

The fact that she lived long enough to experience her 104th birthday just a few weeks before she died back in 2020, God really blessed her with a long life. Olivia was a Hollywood queen!

[@catlover34fl]

Olivia de Havilland's performance in The Heiress 1949 was outstanding. Surprised it was never discussed in this interview.

[@JHPine]

Absolutely superb film and probably her greatest performance!

[@martinmintman5279]

I always love the way she spoke SO eloquently like this in interviews. Makes me hang onto every. WORD. she says!

[@carrieheffernan1685]

Such a classy lady, an international treasure.

[@cadicorniche]

Such and elegant and poised woman. All of her performances - even in films that are not great (although I can’t think of one) - are master classes in acting.

[@psusanwestlake5510]

Great interviewer and a great lady

[@isabellas.c.scanderbeg2670]

Fantastic insights about Olivia de Havilland, her acting techniques, her films, showing her personality and unique elegance ✨✨✨

[@marychocolatefairy]

Great to see this! The Snake Pit is one of my favorite films of hers, and her performance was certainly Oscar worthy. I've always been impressed with how they were able to maintain the realism while also having a happy ending- that is, the ending didn't feel forced or out of place. And considering how Olivia's character has been through the wringer, she certainly deserves her happiness at the end.

[@jazminratzlaff5357]

Thank you for posting all three interviews from different years of Olivia De Havilland , I will never get tired of her talent, charm, natural classy chic beauty and yes such a cutie. The way she speaks, her mannerisms absolutely are a treasure and enchantment in itself. Adore what she’s wearing here. One of of the reasons I watch both airport films is because she stars in it.

[@akashmukhopadhyay9335]

Always amazing Olivia.

[@Casca-su3ty]

Wauuuuu a real lady haven't seen one since my mother passed !

[@barryspurr9577]

Same here.

[@ColleenDaumen2]

Lovely, thank you very much.

[@Stevebaby123]

What a nice interview

[@nellzach667]

I just found this. Why does it not come up under Olivia deHavilland videos, but nonetheless, it is wonderful and Jim Whally is quite the gentleman. Thank you for posting!

[@kthx1138]

Gone With the Wind: My favorite scene with Oli as Melanie is when Scarlett shows up to Melanie's party, Melanie knows Scarlett is madly in love with her husband, yet she hugs Scarlett with kindness, cloaking her sins for her.

[@LorenaWinner]

Pretty Olivia ❤

[@stuartmenziesfarrant]

Quite a catch!

[@JamesMcCown-yf3qf]

Class act. Not from nobility, but from the English landed gentry.

[@samcad-ho3ze]

How the heck did she look so amazing at 61???

[@thezmanchar]

We have very good inherited skin from the De Haviland side.

[@texan903]

In 1955, she moved to France, where she lived a much slower paced life, focused on her marriage, raising her children, and largely retired from the industry. Once she moved overseas, she was selective about the projects she undertook after her court case.

[@shirleyfrost9909]

She lived to 99 and still looked gorgeous

[@richardlonsdale1992]

She lived to 104. Her sister Joan Fontaine lived to 96​@@shirleyfrost9909

[@avenger67]

@@shirleyfrost9909she was 104 when she died in 2020

[@kthx1138]

Classy lady. "Right now, gentleman, the name of the game is poker. 5 card stud with a $10 ante, no aces and nothings wild. Any objections, boys?"

[@lynntownsend4457]

Crawford was asked to be in it but unfortunately she was way too ill

[@stuartmenziesfarrant]

Who is Olivia Whaley?

[@angieb5704]

Its actually the last name of the interviewer

[@benfisher1376]

She was so charming, but I don't believe alot of the sentiments she has, especially about her role in Airport 77. She was another of thise golden era stars who were so trained in PR that they often seemed phoney and not genuine in interviews.

[@sarahgodwin-xd1wr]

Oh , she was genuine , believe me. She was British so her manner of speaking is different but lovely !!

[@avenger67]

I agreed. I think she was being very gracious. I love Airport 77 but her role wasn’t as interesting as Jennifer Jones in Inferno or Shelley Winters in Poseidon