On Monday, August 17, legendary actress, and most famous redhead of them all, Maureen O’Hara celebrated her 95th birthday at a small gathering of friends and family hosted by her grandson, Conor, and his wife, Elga FitzSimons in Boise, Idaho. To honor the occasion, fans who frequent the Maureen O’Hara Magazine on Facebook website were encouraged to pay tribute to the star by making 30-second videos that were uploaded to YouTube. More than sixty videos were submitted from all over the world, including Ireland, Belgium, Australia, Israel and the U.S. Irish singer-songwriter Cathy Maguire and Ralna English of The Lawrence Welk Show were also a part of this heartwarming tribute. The videos were shown to Maureen at her party.
Generations of fans spoke of how Maureen had touched their lives, and thanked her for the many years of joy and inspiration she had brought them. June Parker Beck, editor of Maureen O’Hara Magazine, said it brought tears to her eyes to see all of the submissions. “We were quite thrilled to be a part of it,” she said. “It was an incredible experience seeing this cross-section of fans – some as young as 15 and spanning three generations – tell Maureen how she has inspired them over the years.”
Some fans sang to O’Hara, some talked about their favorite movies, and still others praised her for her tenacity both on and off the screen. The videos were a fitting tribute to a grand lady. ♦
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