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Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine shaking hands

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Order Number	00110770
Title	Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine shaking hands
Collection ID	Herald Examiner Collection
Location/Accession	HE box 5324
Date	1942
Physical Description	1 photographic print :b&w ;21 x 26 cm.
Notes	Title supplied by cataloger.; Original photograph has a crease on the lower left side.
Historical Data	Olivia de Havilland was born to English parents on July 1, 1916 in Tokyo, Japan. Her parents separated and her mother Lillian took Olivia and her sister Joan, born in 1917, to California to live. In 1925, after her divorce, Lillian remarried George M. Fontaine whose last name Joan would later take. The sisters developed a rivalry early on that would last the rest of their lives. De Havilland made her film debut in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in October 1935. After two more disappointing films, she was paired with Errol Flynn in "Captain Blood." The film was well received and the two became a popular box office draw. De Havilland starred in many other movies in her seven years with Warner Brothers, gaining two Academy Award nominations, including one for "Gone with the Wind" in 1939. In 1943, Warner Brothers sought to extend her seven-year contract for six months because of prior suspensions. De Havilland took the studio to court and won, resulting in California's "seven-year rule" also known as Labor Code Section 2855. Still known today as the De Havilland Law, it prevented studios from extending their employees' contracts beyond seven calendar years. This was a blow to the studios and led to a blacklisting of de Havilland for two years. Moving on to other studios, de Havilland received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in "To Each His Own" in 1946, and "The Heiress" in 1949, and she was praised for her roles in several other films. De Havilland was married twice, to Marcus Goodrich and Pierre Galante, and had two children, Benjamin Goodrich and Gisele Galante. Her son died in 1991. De Havilland has lived in Paris since 1960.; Olivia de Havilland and her sister Joan Fontaine engaged in a rivalry that lasted most of their lives. Even as children, both women would later recount, they could not get along and fought often. Instigated by their mother, who favored Olivia, the rivalry continued even after their successes in Hollywood. Their mother, by some accounts, forbid Joan to use the family name as actress and did not support her career. Born a year apart, Olivia began acting first, but Joan soon followed. Both were sought after actresses, known for their good looks and refined styles of acting. Joan was the first to win an Academy Award, for her role in Hitchcock's "Suspicion" in 1942. Joan admitted snubbing Olivia on her way to accept the award, leading Olivia to return the favor in 1946 when she won for her role in "To each his own." The sisters would reconcile infrequently and the feud reached its peak in 1975 with a disagreement over treatment for their mother's illness. When their mother passed away that same year, Joan accused Olivia of not inviting Joan to the funeral. The feud lasted until Joan's death in 2013. De Havilland and Fontaine are the only siblings to have won lead acting Academy Awards.
Description	De Havilland, left, is seated at a dining table and Fontaine is standing while they shake hands. A photographer is on the far right and others in the audience are looking on, smiling. The sisters are pictured at the 14th Annual Academy Awards ceremony held at the Biltmore Bowl in the Biltmore Hotel, Downtown Los Angeles. Photograph dated February 28, 1942.
Subject	De Havilland, Olivia. Fontaine, Joan,--1917-2013. Millennium Biltmore Hotel (Los Angeles, Calif.). Biltmore Bowl (Los Angeles, Calif.). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy Awards (Motion pictures). Motion picture actors and actresses--United States. Sisters--California--Los Angeles. Audiences--California--Los Angeles. Hotels--California--Los Angeles. Women--California--Los Angeles. Photographers--California--Los Angeles. Eating & drinking--California--Los Angeles. Handshaking--California--Los Angeles. Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.). Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs. Herald-Examiner Collection photographs.
Format	Photographic prints
Reproduction Information	Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Sub-Collection Name	Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection