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Shirley O'Hara

{{Short description|American actress (1924–2002)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Shirley O'Hara

| image = Shirley O'Hara in The Chase (cropped).jpg

| caption = O'Hara in The Chase (1946)

| birth_name = Shirley Har

| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|8|15}}

| birth_place = Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2002|12|13|1924|8|15}}

| death_place = Calabasas, California, U.S.

| occupation = Actress

| years_active = 1943–1995

| spouse = Jimmy McHugh Jr. (divorced)
Milton Krims (m. ?–1988; his death)

| children = 1

}}

Shirley O'Hara (born Shirley Har;{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Will |title='Shadow Girl', husband reflect on decades in Hollywood |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=32611513&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjE4MTk5MTQ0NCwiaWF0IjoxNjA3MTExNDM3LCJleHAiOjE2MDcxOTc4Mzd9.-zP-N3Sp96_0AismgoORamUpMobKZ1iZPK1RtCoz-28 |access-date=December 4, 2020 |newspaper=Star Tribune |date=July 20, 1982 |location=Minneapolis |page=13 |via=Newspapers.com}} August 15, 1924 – December 13, 2002) was an American actress. She appeared in numerous films from the 1940s to the 1980s.{{cite news| url=https://variety.com/2002/scene/people-news/shirley-o-hara-krims-1117877556/| title=Shirley O'Hara Krims| date=December 16, 2002| newspaper=Variety| access-date=September 19, 2020}}

Biography

O'Hara was born in Rochester, Minnesota in 1924 and graduated from Rochester High School{{cite news |last1=Weber |first1=Thomas |title=Then and Now: From Rochester to Hollywood |url=https://www.postbulletin.com/community/history/6753693-Then-and-Now-From-Rochester-to-Hollywood |access-date=December 4, 2020 |newspaper=Post-Bulletin |date=November 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201204194428/https://www.postbulletin.com/community/history/6753693-Then-and-Now-From-Rochester-to-Hollywood |archive-date=December 4, 2020 |location=Rochester, Minnesota |url-status=live}} in 1942. As a high school senior, she worked at three film theaters in downtown Rochester.

After graduation, O'Hara moved to Hollywood. Her job as an elevator operator at Saks Fifth Avenue brought her in contact with people who worked with films, and she signed with RKO Studios when she was 18 years old. She began her acting career in 1943. Her film debut was in the Kay Kyser musical Around the World (1943). Other films in which she appeared included Tarzan and the Amazons, The Chase, Higher and Higher and Ghost Ship (1952).

O'Hara's figure led to her role in Ghost Ship, as the result of a process that was featured in the September 13, 1943, issue of Life. RKO held a competition to find the "shapeliest 'shadow girl'" for the role, because the leading lady in the film was seen only in silhouette.{{cite news |title=Speaking of Pictures |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cVAEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22Shadow+Girl%22+Shirley&pg=PA18 |access-date=December 4, 2020 |magazine=Life |date=September 13, 1943 |pages=18–20}}

During World War II, she received the Support for America award, acknowledging her wartime efforts with the Hollywood Canteen.

She also appeared in several TV series during the 1950s, including Fireside Theatre, Gunsmoke, The Millionaire, Racket Squad and Dragnet. In 1970, O'Hara appeared as Mrs. Drew on the TV western The Virginian in the episode "The Mysterious Mr. Tate."

During the early 1970s, she was appointed director of public relations for The Burbank Studios. In 1973, she played Mrs. Malone, a night school teacher, on the season four episode "Two Wrongs Don't Make a Writer" on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She appeared on three episodes of the Bob Newhart Show as ditzy temporary secretary, Debbie Flett. She appeared in the films Duel (1971) and Rocky (1976). A member of the Publicists Guild, she retired in 1995.

Personal life

O'Hara was married to Jimmy McHugh Jr., and they lived in England, where he headed the London branch of MCA Inc. They had one son, Jimmy McHugh III, but later divorced. Her second marriage was to Milton Krims.

Death

On December 13, 2002, O'Hara died at the Motion Picture Hospital{{cite news |title=Obituaries: Shirley O'Hara Krims |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/235321658 |access-date=December 4, 2020 |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter |date=December 18, 2002 |page=16 |id={{ProQuest|235321658}} |via=ProQuest}} in Calabasas, California, from complications of diabetes at the age of 78.

TV and filmography

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References

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External links

{{Commons category}}

  • {{IMDb name|id=0641337|name=Shirley O'Hara}}
  • {{IBDB name|54884}}

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Category:1924 births

Category:2002 deaths

Category:American film actresses

Category:American television actresses

Category:People from Rochester, Minnesota

Category:Deaths from diabetes in California

Category:20th-century American actresses