Few women made the kind of impression that Ava Gardner did on the world. Born on Christmas Eve on 1922, Ava Lavinia Gardner rose to fame in 1946 with a career-making role as femme fatale Kitty Collins in Robert Siodmak’s noir classic The Killers. From that moment on the skies were the limit for Ava, and with her extraordinary good looks and often overlooked talent she became one of the great Hollywood stars of the late forties and fifties.
Ava was discovered in 1941 when a picture of her displayed in the window of her brother-in-law’s photography studio led to her being signed to a seven-year contract with MGM. Once in Hollywood the studio went to work grooming Ms. Gardner to be a star. During this time she also caught the attention of Mickey Rooney, whom she married soon after her arrival. A year later they divorced, and she became involved for a brief time with Howard Hughes and later married bandleader Artie Shaw. While on contract to MGM in the early stages of her career she was cast in bit parts, and spent a great deal of time posing for cheesecake pin-up photos for the studio. Although, Ava’s photos never found the popularity of the iconic Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth pictures, her stunning beauty made them something special.
Once her career took off after The Killers, and her marriage to Artie Shaw ended, Ava had many affairs with some of her famous leading men. However it was her legendary affair and marriage to Frank Sinatra that immortalized Ava Gardner in the annals of great Hollywood beauties. Theirs was a relationship of great intensity, made up of passionate love and volatile fighting. Ultimately their marriage ended in 1957 after their long history of violent blow-ups had taken their final toll. It is said that Ava was the great love of Sinatra’s life and he carried a torch for her up until his death. The same has been said for Ava, who never remarried.
After her break-up with Sinatra, Ava left Hollywood for Spain where she befriended Ernest Hemmingway, became an avid fan of bullfighting (and bullfighters), took to drinking and dancing all night with bands of Gypsies, and became known for a wide range of bad behavior. By the early sixties she was appearing in fewer pictures, and once Spain had lost its appeal she moved to London where she lived until her death in 1990.
Some of Ava’s most famous films include Showboat, Snows of Kilimanjaro, Night of the Iguana, and Mogambo, for which she earned her only Oscar nomination. Those who knew her loved her for her warmth, quick wit and salty language. She was truly a bombshell for the ages.
The Alberta Film Society is currently holding an eight film retrospective for famed director John Ford. His 1952 film, Mogombo, staring Ava Gardner will be featured on October 18, 2010. For more information visit their site at http://www.royalalbertamuseum.ca/events/movies/movies.cfm.
