HISTORY PAGES
А к т р и с а Ол и в и я д е Х э в и л л е н д,
которой в этом году исполнилось
103 года, является одной из немногих
представительниц кинематографа,
которой довелось своими глазами
увидеть «золотую эру» Голливуда.
Интересно, что обладательница двух
«Оскаров», исполнившая роль Мелани
Гамильтон в «Унесенных ветром»,
сыгра ла к лючевую роль в судьбе
коллеги по цеху Грейс Келли…
T
he story, which is not well-known,
happened in 1955 on a train heading
from Paris to the Côte d'Azur. Olivia,
newly married to «Paris Match» editor Pierre
Galante, went with her husband to Cannes.
The small French town was then preparing
to host the 8th Cannes Film Festival.
At the same time, Grace Kelly appeared on
the platform of the Gare de Lyon train sta-
tion. The young actress had been invited to
the festival due to her role in «The Country
Girl» and came along with the American
Olivia de Havilland, who turned
103 this year, is one of the few film
celebrities who has witnessed the
«golden era» of Hollywood. However,
the actress who appeared in «Gone
with the Wind» and received two
American Academy awards, played
a key role in the fate of her colleague
Grace Kelly…
Grace Kelly, Salle du Trône, Palais princier, Monaco
Monaco together with the editor-in-chief
of «Paris Match» Gaston Bonheur. The latter
immediately supported the idea. However,
it was not so easy...
WHEN GRACE KELLY
REFUSED TO MEET
THE PRINCE OF MONACO
A
ll that remained for them was to
persuade Grace to come to Mona-
co. Olivia de Havilland decided to
talk with the actress before arriving on the
AFTER THEIR FIRST MEETING ON MAY, 6TH, 1955,
GRACE AND RAINIER BEGAN A LONG CORRESPONDENCE.
delegation. For her role in the movie Grace
got an Academy Award for Best Actress.
According to Olivia de Havilland, the idea
to invite Grace Kelly to a photoshoot at the
Prince’s Palace came during lunch on the
train. When her husband found out that
Kelly was among the passengers, he offered
to take her to a meeting with the Prince of
Côte d'Azur. Despite the attractive offer,
Grace behaved professionally, saying that
she needed to coordinate the meeting in
Monaco with her studio, which sponsored
her trip to France.
Having received the consent of Grace to
meet with Prince Rainier, Pierre Galante
called the actress, saying that the Prince ex-
pected her by 4 o'clock. However, she... re-
fused. It turned out that at almost the same
time in Cannes she had to attend a cocktail
in honour of her movie. So the Princely Pal-
ace had to move the meeting back an hour,
and given that flexibility the actress agreed.
THE D-DAY
T
he fateful day, May 6th, 1955, when
Grace was supposed to meet her fu-
ture husband, did not start very well,
and then it became even worse. First, in
Cannes, the electricity was cut off due to a
strike. Grace found out about it only after
she washed her hair. The hair dryer did not
work, the iron neither. What to do? Grace
put on her wrinkle-free dress with a floral
print, attached some flowers to her hair and
Grace headed to the Principality.
When the actress arrived at the Palace, the
Prince was not there yet. Finally, Rainier ap-
peared, and they went for a walk around the
residence and the private zoo that belonged
to the Princely family. After the meeting,
Grace hurried to the cocktail party, noting,
however, that the Prince was «charming».
Olivia de Havilland believes that the meet-
ing was a success. The actress said that Grace
was charm itself, when she met the Prince of
Monaco again at a cocktail party in Cannes.
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