At 101, Olivia de Havilland still taking on the system
LOS ANGELES — In Hollywood, you’re never too old to sue.
At least not if you’re Olivia de Havilland, the much-beloved, twotime Oscar winner whose 1943 lawsuit against Warner Bros. resulted in the collapse of the binding long-term contract system and put the De Havilland Law on the books.
On Friday, on the eve of her 101st birthday, De Havilland, announced that she was suing FX and Ryan Murphy Productions over what she alleges was the unauthorized use of her identity in the recent miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan.
Many women have fought for equal footing in Hollywood for years; De Havilland has now, officially, been at it in two centuries.
Feud, which chronicles the longtime rivalry between actors Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, used De Havilland, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, as a commentator about the women, their relationship and Hollywood throughout the eight-episode show.
De Havilland, who resides in France, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming FX didn’t ask permission to use her name and identity and did not compensate her for the use.
According to a statement made by her attorneys, Suzelle M. Smith and Don Howarth, “the FX series puts words in the mouth of Miss de Havilland which are inaccurate and contrary to the reputation she has built over an 80-year professional life, specifically refusing to engage in gossip-mongering about other actors in order to generate media attention for herself.”
The suit accuses FX and its partners of placing the actor in “a false light to sensationalize the series,” noting that all the other real-life players who are featured in the series are dead.
FX declined to comment on the suit, and Murphy’s team did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
De Havilland’s team plans to file a motion seeking an expedited trial date because of De Havilland’s age, although the action would indicate that De Havilland is not going gently anywhere any time soon.
No matter how the suit turns out, it is a remarkable moment even in a highly remarkable life.
The winner of two Academy Awards, the living legend is best known for playing the demure Melanie Wilkes in the 1939 epic Gone With the Wind, as well as her numerous on-screen pairings with dashing leading man Errol Flynn, during Hollywood’s Golden Age. She’s also known for being half of one of Hollywood’s most-heated sibling rivalries — her younger sister is fellow Oscar winner Joan Fontaine.
The well-spoken pioneer’s chic coifs, expensive clothes and everpresent pearls are often noted.
De Havilland is also no stranger to legal proceedings. The acclaimed actor, who has worked in Hollywood since the 1930s, came up weathering Hollywood’s actor-studio contractual agreements long associated with early 20th century cinema — until she decided enough was enough.
Thanks in part to her 27-yearold self’s tenacity and levelling a landmark lawsuit against Warner Bros., the indentured servitude of the system began to collapse.
After a series of lawsuits and appeals in the 1940s, she put the De Havilland Law on the books and sought more substantial roles than those of the costume dramas for which she became known.
She then clinched Academy Awards for 1946’s To Each His Own and 1949’s The Heiress.
De Havilland was born in Tokyo on July 1, 1916, to British parents. Her father, Walter de Havilland, headed a patent law firm in Japan, while her actor mother, Lillian Ruse, taught choral music.
She was named after the beautiful, sought-after lady of William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, a nod to her mother’s training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.
De Havilland and sister Joan grew up in Northern California, where De Havilland made her stage debut in a 1933 community theatre production of Alice in Wonderland.