Wednesday, April 22, 2015

How did I miss this ?


In 1944 the movie “Gaslight”, a mystery-thriller starring Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman was a huge success. I was just eleven at the time but I do remember being fascinated and scared by it and from that time on I would always go to see any movie that featured Charles Boyer.

Although he was a retiring person off-screen, Boyer left female movie-goers swooning and, somewhat like Sean Connery today he seemed to get even more attractive with age. I thought I knew a lot about his life but it was a complete surprise to me this week when I came across an article referring to prominent actors and actresses who had committed suicide and he was among them. How did I miss this?

Then I saw that he died in 1978 and that was the year that we moved to North Carolina. So that explained how I missed hearing about his death but I was still amazed that it was a suicide. I knew that he had wed the British actress Pat Paterson in 1934 and that it was a happy and successful marriage. What I didn’t know was that he retired in the mid 70’s to care for his wife who was diagnosed with cancer. She died in 1978 and just two days later the grief-stricken actor took his own life.

I don’t know exactly why this affected me so much now. I guess it took me back to a simpler time when a girl on the brink of becoming a young lady could be totally enthralled with an older man with a throaty French accent …and then to find out that his actual life ended in tragedy “just like in the movies”.    So sad…



 

6 Comments:

Blogger Anvilcloud said...

I didn't know either. Mind you, I am not very knowledgeable about any actors: past or present. My daughter seems to know every one well although she doesn't even particularly try. It just seems to come to her.

3:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

They really where 'STARS' in those days. Today I can hardly tell one movie actor from another.

7:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Suicide is very sad and hurts most the folks who loved the departed.

1:22 PM  
Blogger possum said...

I guess I am up there with AC. I recognize the name from the past, but don't remember any movies.
But how sad... how sad.

3:40 AM  
Blogger Beatrice P. Boyd said...

While I cannot recall seeing manynof Boyers' films, I know that he was a gine and popular actor in his day. A sad ending for sure and apparently one resukting from much grief.

2:50 PM  
Blogger Syd said...

I think that suicides are sad. To have such deep despair is difficult for me to completely grasp. I suppose that he did not want to go on after his wife died.

8:41 AM  

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