People we love: Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland as Melanie Wilkes in Gone With the Wind

Olivia de Havilland was born on July 1, 1916 in Tokyo, Japan. Her British parents raised her in Califorinia. Her sister was born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland, but performed in films under the name Joan Fontaine. Stories of their feud over the same roles are the stuff of Hollywood legend.

She made her film debut in 1935 opposite Errol Flynn in Captain Blood and again in The Adventures of Robin Hood. Perhaps one of her most significant roles was as the long-suffering Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. She was nominated for best supporting actress in that role but that award went to Hattie McDaniel who was the first African American actress to win that award. Incidentially, McDaniel was able to receive the award but along with the other black performers had been barred from the premier in Atlanta.

But de Havilland later won Academy Awards for her performances in To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949).

As one of the last surviving cast members from Gone With the Wind, de Havilland has lived in Paris since the 1950s. She rarely

President George W. Bush presented de Havilland with the National Medal of Arts in November 2008.

make personal appearances. In 2008, she received the National Medial of Arts. In 2010, at the age of 94, Olivia de Havilland was appointed a Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur, a decoration awarded by the President of the French Republic.

Video of the Day: My Tribute

Andraé Crouch

Andraé Edward Crouch was born in San Francisco, California on July 1, 1942

When Andraé was eleven, his father began pastoring a church, he called Andrae to the front and asked “Andrae, if God gave you the gift of music to play and sing for him would you do it for his glory all your life?” Andraé replied, “Yeah daddy.” It seems cliche, but the rest is an amazing history of music composition and ministry.

Crouch formed The Disciples in 1965 while he was attending Valley Junior College in California. At the urging of Ralph Carmichael, Crouch began recording his work in 1968. The Disciples appeared on The Tonight Show in 1972 and later appeared at The Hollywood Bowl and Carnegie Hall.

He was a key figure in the Jesus Movement in the 1960s and 1970s and was instrumental in the development of contemporary Christian music.

Andraé Crouch has composed for Michael Jackson and Madonna and worked on The Lion King. Crouch has won several awards, including eight Grammy’s. One of his most famous songs, “My Tribute“, is included in the United Methodist Hymnal.

Following the death of his father in 1994, Andraé assumed the position as Senior Pastor at Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ in Pacoima, California.