Not long ago Maureen O'Hara was leaving the church after attending Mass in New York City  when some children came up behind her and one tugged on her coat and asked, "Are you the lady who knows Santa Claus?"  She smiled and replied, "Yes, I know him very well." It's been a long time since Maureen starred in "Miracle on 34th Street," but it has kept her center stage every Christmas season since the film was released in 1947. How wonderful it must be to be a part of this kind of legacy!

The Irish born Maureen O'Hara seems to have a knack for chalking up all-time classics to her roster of films, beginning with her first movie in the United States, "Hunchback of Notre Dame." This was soon followed by the John Ford classic, "How Green Was My Valley." "Miracle on 34th Street" wasn't the only timeless classic with a holiday theme that Maureen made very special.  "The Quiet Man" is a universally treasured film that makes St. Patrick's Day (or any day) a chance to reminisce in a fairy tale Ireland and the romance of Mary Kate Danaher and Sean Thornton that Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne made legendary.

 <>In 1968, after her marriage to famed pilot, Gen. Charles F. Blair, Maureen retired from films to St. Croix in the Caribbean where she and her husband managed a seaplane commuter service in the Virgin Islands, "Antilles Airboats."  She served on the Board of Directors of that airline but was quite content publishing and writing a column for the magazine "Virgin Islander."  Tragically, in 1978, Blair was killed in a plane crash.  Though devastated, Maureen took over the airline ownership and became the first woman in aviation history to own and manage a scheduled airline.  Her late husband, Charles Blair held many aeronautic trophies.  One of the most notable is being the first to fly solo over the North Pole in 1951.  Today his P-51 plane is show-cased at the National Air Museum in Washington D.C.  Later in his career he became a senior pilot for Pan American Airlines.  One of his personally owned sea planes, "Queen of the Skies" was restored and dedicated to the New England Air Museum. 

In 1991 director Chris Columbus coaxed Maureen out of retirement to star in "Only the Lonely" with John Candy. Her huge fan base welcomed her back!  In an appearance on Johnny Carson Show to promote that film, Johnny asked her who she felt about having all these wonderful holiday films to her credit.  She laughed and said, "A hundred years from now, long after I'm nailed into the box, you'll still be seeing Maureen O'Hara every Christmas and St. Patty's Day."

In 1995 another script with a Christmas theme "The Christmas Box" came her way. Maureen O'Hara proceeded to make it her own, and another classic was born. This TV movie premiered on CBS Christmas day 1995, and continues to be shown during the Christmas season every year.  In this film the inspiration of an Angel guides a young family and a lonley widow in a search for the true meaning of Christmas. There are some heavy duty scenes of sadness in this one, so you need to keep the tissue box handy. One scene in particular is reminiscent of the classic O'Hara. As the widow Parkin she is now receptive to the love that surrounds her and she watches the young family decorate the Christmas tree. The camera zooms in on that famous O'Hara face; that timeless image with huge eyes glowing and for her many fans the real nostalgia hits. She is once again the beautiful Katherine Yorke in "Rio Grande," or is it Mary Kate Danaher in "The Quiet Man?"  No matter - she is here - she is O'Hara - and she's great!  How could she not be?  Anyone who has known Santa Claus for over 50 years has got to feel pretty good about everything!

 

Essay Copyright 1997(revised 12-2007) by June Parker Beck