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Celebrating television's This Is Your Life

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THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Olivia de Havilland, actress, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews outside the BBC Television Theatre, having been led to believe she was going for dinner.

Olivia, who was born in Tokyo, grew up in California, USA, after her British parents moved there when she was a child. Having performed with the Saratoga Community Players, she changed her plan to become a teacher after appearing in Max Reinhardt's stage production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, and later the screen version, which earned her a contract with Warner Brothers.

Over the next three decades, Olivia became an international star, appearing in films such as Gone with the Wind, The Adventures of Robin Hood, They Died with Their Boots On, and The Snake Pit. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice for her performances in To Each His Own and The Heiress.

"Oh thank you! Are you serious? I thought I was going to dinner!"

programme details...

• Edition No: 255
• Subject No: 255
• Broadcast date: Thu 23 Apr 1964
• Broadcast time: 8.50-9.15pm
• Recorded: Mon 13 Apr 1964
• Venue: BBC Television Theatre
• Series: 9
• Edition: 29

on the guest list...

• Robert Cummings
• Patricia Cummings
• Billie Sarratt
• Ian Hunter
• Pat Snell
• Pierre Galante - husband
• Peter de Havilland - cousin
• Joy - Peter's wife
• Peter - Peter's son
• Anne - Peter's daughter
• Benjamin - son
• Gisèle - daughter
• Dirk Bogarde
• Dorothea Johnston
Filmed tributes:
• Yehudi Menuhin
• Jane Wyman
• Vincent Price
• Ida Lupino
• Bette Davis

related appearance...

• Russell Harty - Dec 1980

production team...

• Researcher: John Dalzell
• Writer: John Dalzell
• Director: Michael Goodwin
• Producer: Vere Lorrimer
• Executive Producer: T Leslie Jackson

• names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life

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Producing Life

the producers who steered the programme's success

Photographs and screenshots of Olivia de Havilland This Is Your Life