Charles Trueheart, an American Scholar contributing editor, former Washington Post correspondent in Europe, and a former director of the American Library in Paris, wrote a tribute to Olivia de Havilland who recently passed away at the age of 104. She lived in Paris for over half of her life. Following is an excerpt from the article.
To her Paris friends, many of them from years of connection to the American Cathedral, the American Library, and the American University, Olivia de Havilland’s glorious past and distinctive screen persona were hard to forget. I knew her as a generous and garrulous woman whom people naturally adored. A visit to her townhouse in the 16th arrondissement (next door to former president Valery Giscard d’Estaing) always meant champagne, beginning at any time of day, served by a maid with foie gras and toast points. This could go on for hours, I am told, even though I would have to excuse myself long before a bottle, or Olivia, was done. She was hardy.
Read more via theamericanscholar.org: La Havilland