by Lola Rossi-Meza
Hollywood Star, Margaret O’Brien launches The 2012 Legends at Lyons Series.
In association with Chi-Chi Productions, Lyons English Grille located at 233 East Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs, will launch “The Legends at Lyons” series on Sunday, October 21, with the delightful Hollywood Oscar winning actress, Margaret O’Brien. The Dinner Seating begins at 5 p.m. with Showtime at 7 p.m. The cost for this “Halloween Evening” is $64.95. Reservations are required by calling (760) 327-1551.
For anyone, like myself, who attended the appearance of Baby Rose Marie at Lyons, you will enjoy this series immensely! On that evening, I met the sophisticated Margaret O’Brien, who was there to support her dear friend of many years, sitting quietly with admiration, as Rose Marie signed autographs.
Miss O’Brien appeared at Lyons in January and wanted her fans to know this appearance will be different than the last one. “We are a small intimate venue and were unable to accommodate all of the calls for reservations,” said producer David Christopher. “Miss O’Brien agreed to make another appearance at the beginning of the new season with more stories and memories of her illustrious Hollywood career.”
Born on January 15, 1937, Angela Maxine O’Brien, was destine to follow in the footsteps of her show business parents. Her father Lawrence O’Brien was a circus perform, who died before she was born. Her mother, Gladys Flores, a well-known Flamenco dancer of that time, who performed with her sister, Marissa.
Recognizing her daughter’s talent, she had the little one working as a model at three years old. O’Brien made her first appearance in “Babes on Broadway” in 1941 at the age of four. When she was the ripe age of five, she changed her name to Margaret after acting in “Journey For Margaret” where she was praised for her acting abilities. She was considered a big star at the age of six, with a cameo appearance in the all-military show finale of “Thousands Cheer” topping it all off with her most memorable role as Tootie in “Meet Me In St. Louis” starring Judy Garland. It was in this movie, O’Brien added singing and dancing to her achievements and was rewarded with an Academy Juvenile Award the following year as the “Outstanding Child Actress of 1944.”
If you research Margaret O’Brien on the internet, you’ll find so much fascinating information about her, as well as, a complete Filmography. One of the most interesting was the story about her stolen Oscar. Mourning the death of her mother when she was only 17, material things weren’t important. Several months later and realizing her Oscar was stolen, only added to her loss. Although O’Brien was offered a copy of the award by the Academy, she refused with hopes of finding the original one. She searched for it by attending memorabilia shows and antique shops; never giving up the hope of one day recovering it.
She continued with her career and married her first husband, Harold Allen, Jr. in 1959. The marriage ended in divorce almost 10 years later. She married her second husband, Roy Thorsen in 1974 and they have one daughter, Mara Tolene Thorsen, who was born in 1977.
While attending a flea market, memorabilia collectors, Steve Neimand and Mark Nash saw a small Oscar with Margaret O’Brien’s name on it. They bought it and later had it photographed for an upcoming auction catalogue. By the Grace of God, the executive director of the Academy at that time, Bruce Davis, happened to see the statuette in the catalogue and through a mutual friend, contacted O‘Brien with the surprising news. On February 7, 1995, the Academy held a special ceremony in Beverly Hills to return the stolen award.
Upon being reunited with her award, the always gracious and beautiful Margaret O’Brien told the attending journalists, “For all those who have lost or misplaced something that was dear to them, as I have, never give up the dream of searching. Never let go of the hope that you’ll find it, because after all these many years, at last, my Oscar has been returned to me.”
Now that is a great ending to only one of the hundreds of stories she has to tell. So make your reservations because seating is limited. You won’t want to miss meeting this movie legend.
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