Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth (Margarita Carmen Cansino 1918-1987) was a film actress and dancer who performed publicly for the first time at the age of six with her father, dancer Eduardo Cansino, Sr. By the age of 8 she was featured in her first film for Warner Bros., and by age 16 was working with Dolores del Rio. The first performances of her career were under her birth name, Margarita Carmen Cansino, and Rita Cansino. In 1936, Harry Cohn, studio head for Columbia and her then-husband, Edward C. Judson began working on her physical transformation, which would be dramatic and prove to be fruitful. Rita had electrolysis to raise her hairline, changed her hair color to dark red, and changed her name to Rita Hayworth, taking on her mother's maiden name. The transformation complete, the exotic foreigner had now become a classic "American" pin-up. As Rita Cansino, she made fourteen pictures. As Rita Hayworth, she made fifty-one, and became one of the eras top stars, winning critical acclaim for many of her films. She was featured on the cover of Life magazine five times. Her personal life proved to be tumultuous from the beginning. Sadly, Hayworth struggled with alcohol throughout her life and had difficulty coping with the ups and downs of the business and with her personal life, causing her once stellar career to spiral downward. Unfortunately her alcoholism hid symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (discovered in 1980), which went undiagnosed for approximately 20 years. In February 1987, Hayworth lapsed into a semi coma. She died a few months later on May 14, 1987 from Alzheimer's disease, and was interred in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City.