Maureen O’Sullivan PRESS RELEASE
"Maureen O’Sullivan: No Average Jane" (Artist’s Press 2006, 450 pages, 100+ photos, $30)
The first full-length biography of the beloved Irish actress Maureen O’Sullivan will be published this fall by author David Fury, who has also written biographies of Burt Lancaster, Chuck Connors, and Johnny Weissmuller, Maureen’s jungle mate in six Tarzan pictures.
While O’Sullivan is remembered as Jane of the Tarzan pictures, she was a major star with MGM in the 1930s and had lead roles in many classic films including The Thin Man (1934), The Barretts of Wimpole Street (1934), David Copperfield (1935), A Day at the Races (1937), A Yank at Oxford (1938), and Pride and Prejudice (1940).. The talented actress starred in 70 films over a sixty year career, added radio acting to her repertory in the 1940s and television drama when the medium boomed in the 1950s.
In 1962 she made a critical career move to the legitimate stage in the hit comedy, Never Too Late, which ran for two years on Broadway. In 1965 the lead actors of O’Sullivan and Paul Ford starred in a screen version of the play. The actress stayed on the stage for over 30 years and had another Broadway success in 1980, Morning’s At Seven, which won the Tony Award for Best Revival. Maureen also was presented a special Drama Desk award for her performance.
After being off the big screen for twenty years, she made a strong comeback in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), with one of the finest portrayals of her career. Maureen landed another memorable character as Kathleen Turner’s grandmother in Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), and had featured roles in several additional dramas over the next few years.
Maureen was also a busy mother and had seven children with first husband John Farrow, who died of a heart attack in 1963. She married second husband Jim Cushing in 1983, and their very happy relationship lasted until her death in 1998. This biography follows her fascinating life after being discovered in Ireland at age 18 by director Frank Borzage, who brought her to Hollywood to star in Song O’ My Heart (1930) with the legendary tenor, John McCormack.
Her life became a storybook tale when she was chosen to co-star with Johnny Weissmuller in a series of Tarzan pictures, including Tarzan, the Ape Man (1932), the classic Tarzan and His Mate (1934), and four more jungle adventures. Maureen loved acting and never retired. She was still plying her trade as an octogenarian when her fellow actresses of the 1930s were long gone from the scene. In later years she accepted her legacy as Jane to Weissmuller’s Tarzan, but in this biography you will discover that she was "No Average Jane."
(Ship date: On or about December 10, 2006)
This would make a great Christmas present for fans of Maureen O'Sullivan & fans of David's books 
All of the above books are available on the Artist's Press Publishers website
updated 12/12/07 |