Highlights include a rare interview with the star's daughter, Yasmin Aga Kahn, as well as never-before-seen color home movie footage from the 1940s, 1960s and 1970s, rare family photographs and commentary from Hayworth herself throughout the program from an interview taped shortly before Alzheimer's ravaged her memory.
The documentary also includes interviews with actress Nicole Kidman, Hayworth's family members and a never-before-seen interview with her last husband, James Hill. The documentary also features footage of Hayworth from The Carol Burnett Show, footage of her weddings to Prince Aly Khan and Dick Haymes and more than 300 rare photographs.
Interviewees in the program also include her best friend, Ann Miller; co-stars Tab Hunter, Anthony Franciosa, Juanita Moore and Marc Platt; directors who worked with her, including Vincent Sherman, George Sidney and Delbert Mann; her nephew Richard Cansino; and her sister-in-law Theresa Cansino.
Born Marguerita Carmen Cansino on Oct. 17, 1918, in New York into a family of dancers, Marguerita and her family moved to Los Angeles in 1926 to seek their fortunes out West. By age 13, she was supporting her family with her talents as a dancer, teaming up with her father as a duo in The Dancing Cansinos. After being spotted by Hollywood talent scouts and convincing her father to allow her to try out for dancing in motion pictures, her career began. Soon, with a name change and push from first husband Edward C. Judson, she rose through the ranks of Hollywood stardom to become an icon of feminine sensuality.
Often shunning the spotlight in favor of privacy and family life, Hayworth nevertheless commanded Hollywood's attention, particularly with her sultry, sensual performance as Gilda (1946). Unfortunately, she would spend the remainder of her life trying unsuccessfully to separate her true persona from that character.
She died of Alzheimer's disease in 1987 at age 69, the first documented case of Alzheimer's in a celebrity. Since that time, daughter Yasmin has made the Alzheimer's Association a powerhouse organization that raises millions of dollars each year for medical research and currently serves as the honorary vice chair of the board of directors.
BW & C-60m.
