Rita Hayworth was born Margarita Carmen Cansino, the daughter of Eduardo Cansino (Sr.) and Volga Haworth (sic) in Brooklyn, New York. She was trained as a dancer from childhood, and was on stage by the age of six as a member of The Cansinos, a famous family of Roma Gitano Spanish dancers working in vaudeville. At age sixteen Rita attracted the attention of film producers as part of "The Dancing Cansinos" and was signed by Fox Studios in 1935. After her option was not renewed by Fox, Rita freelanced at minor film studios before signing with Columbia Pictures in 1937.
Rita's metamorphosis began after a name change from Rita Cansino to Rita Hayworth and extensive painful electrolysis to raise her hairline. After two more years of minor roles she gave an impressive performance in Howard Hawks' Only Angels Have Wings (1939) as part of an ensemble cast headed by Cary Grant . Her sensitive portrayal of a disillusioned wife sparked the interest of other studios. Between assignments at Columbia Pictures she was borrowed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer for George Cukor's Susan and God (1940) with Joan Crawford and Warner Brothers for Raoul Walsh's The Strawberry Blonde (1941) with James Cagney.
While on loan to Fox Studios for Rouben Mamoulian's Blood and Sand (1941) starring Tyrone Power, Rita achieved stardom with her sizzling performance as the amoral and seductive Doña Sol des Muire. This Technicolor film forever branded her as one of Hollywood's most beautiful redheads. Ironically, Carole Landis was the original choice for the role but was replaced by Rita Hayworth prior to filming because she refused to dye her blonde hair red. Fox then borrowed Rita from Columbia and dyed her raven hair auburn which soon became Hayworth's best remembered feature. Her stardom was solidified when she made the cover of Time Magazine as Fred Astaire's new dancing partner in You'll Never Get Rich (1941).
The "love goddess" image was cemented with Bob Landry's 1941 Life magazine photograph of her (kneeling on a bed in a silk and lace nightgown), which caused a sensation and became (at over five million copies) one of the most requested wartime pinups. During World War II she ranked with Betty Grable, Dorothy Lamour, Hedy Lamarr, and Lana Turner as the pinup girls most popular with servicemen. Rita would also become Columbia's biggest star of the 1940s, under the watchful eye of studio chief Harry Cohn, who recognized her value. After she made Tales of Manhattan (1942) at Twentieth Century Fox opposite Charles Boyer, Cohn would not allow Hayworth to be loaned out to other studios.
Hayworth's well-known films include the musicals that made her famous: You'll Never Get Rich (1941) and You Were Never Lovelier (1942) (both with Fred Astaire, who wrote in his autobiography that Rita "danced with trained perfection and individuality"), My Gal Sal (1942) with Victor Mature, and her best known musical, Cover Girl (1944) with Gene Kelly. Although her singing voice was dubbed in her movies, Rita was one of Hollywood's best dancers, imbued with power, precision, tremendous enthusiasm, and an unearthly grace. Cohn continued to effectively showcase Hayworth's talents in Technicolor films: Tonight and Every Night (1945) with Lee Bowman, and Down to Earth (1947), with Larry Parks. Her erotic appeal was most notable in Gilda (1946), a black-and-white film noir directed by Charles Vidor, which encountered some difficulty with censors. This role — in which Hayworth in black satin performed a legendary one-glove striptease — made her into a cultural icon as the ultimate femme fatale. Alluding to her bombshell status, in 1946 her likeness was placed on the first nuclear bomb to be tested after World War II at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, as part of Operation Crossroads.
Hayworth performed one of her best remembered dance routines, the samba from 1945's Tonight and Every Night, while pregnant with her first child, Rebecca Welles. Hayworth was also the first dancer to partner both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly on film - the others being Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, Vera Ellen, and Leslie Caron.
Hayworth gave one of her most acclaimed performances in Orson Welles' The Lady from Shanghai (1948), though it failed at the box office. The failure was in part attributed to the fact that director/co-star Welles had Hayworth's famous red locks cut off and the rest dyed blonde for her role. This was done without Harry Cohn's knowledge or approval who was furious over the change. Her next film, The Loves of Carmen (1948) with Glenn Ford, was the first film co-produced by Columbia and Rita's own production company, The Beckworth Corporation (named for her daughter Rebecca). It was Columbia's biggest moneymaker for that year. She received a percentage of the profits from this and all of her subsequent films until 1955, when Hayworth dissolved Beckworth to pay off debts she owed to Columbia.
Rita left her film career in 1948 to marry Prince Aly Khan, the heir to the Aga Khan III, leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims. The couple moved to Europe, causing a media frenzy. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, in writing and directing 1954's The Barefoot Contessa, was said to have based his title character, Maria Vargas (played on film by Ava Gardner), on Hayworth's life and her marriage to Khan.
After the marriage collapsed in 1951, Hayworth returned to America with great fanfare to film a string of hit films: Affair in Trinidad (1952) with favorite costar Glenn Ford, Salome (1953) with Charles Laughton and Stewart Granger, and Miss Sadie Thompson (1953) with Jose Ferrer and Aldo Ray, for which her performance won critical acclaim. Then she was off the big screen for another four years, due mainly to a tumultuous marriage to singer Dick Haymes. In 1957, after making Fire Down Below with Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon, and her last musical Pal Joey with Frank Sinatra and Kim Novak, Rita finally left Columbia. She got good reviews for her acting in such films as Separate Tables (1958) with Burt Lancaster and The Story on Page One (1960) with Anthony Franciosa, and continued working throughout the 1960s. Hayworth made her last film, The Wrath of God , in 1972.
After about 1960, Hayworth suffered from extremely early onset of Alzheimer's disease, which was not diagnosed until 1980. She continued to act in films until the early-1970s and made a well-publicized appearance on The Carol Burnett Show near the end of her career. In 1977, Hayworth was the recipient of the National Screen Heritage Award (see above photo). Lynda Carter starred in a 1983 biopic of her life. She lived in an apartment at the San Remo in New York City.
Following her death from Alzheimer's in 1987 at age 68, she was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California; location: Grotto, Lot 196, Grave 6 (right of main sidewalk, near the curb). Her marker includes the inscription ""To yesterday's companionship and tomorrow's reunion."
One of the major fundraisers for the Alzheimer's Association is the annual Rita Hayworth Gala, which is held in New York City and Chicago. Hayworth’s daughter, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, has been the hostess for these events, which since 1985 have raised more than $42 million for the Association.
Zip
Rita Hayworth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was doll of all the dollies
Admired by the great Stradinsky
But my greatest achievement, in the high of my career
Was the time I starred for... Minsky
You're looking at a former stripper
But before I unzip ONE zipper
I want you to know that I was quite the artist
What was I thinking while I worked in my desk?
While I worked this thoughts kept crossing my mind
REFRAIN 1
Zip! Walter Lippman wasn't brilliant today
Zip! Will the giants ever take it away?
Zip! I was reading Schopenhauer last night
Zip! and I think that Schopenhauer was right.
I don't want to see Zarina
I don't want to meet Cobina
Zip! I'm an intellectual
I don't like a deep contralto
Or a man whose voice is alto
Zip! I'm an heterosexual.
Zip! I took intellect to master my art
Zip! Who the hell is Margie Hart
REFRAIN 2
Zip! I consider Dali's paintings passé
Zip! Can they make the Metropolitan pay?
Zip! English people don't say clerk, they say clark
Zip! Anybody who says clark is a jark!
I have read the great Kabala
And I simply worship Allah
Zip! I am suck a mystic.
I don't care for Whistler's Mother
Charlie's Aunt and Shuber's brother
Zip! I'm misogynists
Zip! My intelligence is guiding my hand
Zip! who the hell is Sally Rand?
The song "Zip" by Rita Hayworth is a playful and humorous commentary on intellectualism and elitism in the art world. The first verse sets the scene of the singer's impressive career as a performer, having headlined the Parisian follies and been admired by renowned composer Stradinsky. However, the singer's proudest achievement was performing for Minsky's burlesque show. The lyrics then take a turn as the singer declares herself an intellectual, explaining that even as she unzips her costume, she was thinking of deep philosophical concepts like Walter Lippman and Schopenhauer.
The refrains of the song consist of the repeated phrase "Zip!" which serves as a sort of punchline to each verse. In the first refrain, the singer critiques popular culture by questioning whether the giants will ever "take it away" and expressing her admiration for Schopenhauer. In the second refrain, she dismisses Dali's art as passé and makes fun of the way English people pronounce the word "clerk." She also declares herself a mystic who worships Allah, and a misogynist who doesn't care for works like "Whistler's Mother" or "Charlie's Aunt."
Line by Line Meaning
In Paris I headlined the follies
I was the main performer in the Parisian follies
I was doll of all the dollies
I was the most popular and attractive among all the performers
Admired by the great Stradinsky
Even the renowned composer Stradinsky admired me
But my greatest achievement, in the high of my career
During my peak, the most significant accomplishment of my career was
Was the time I starred for... Minsky
When I was cast as the lead performer in Minsky's production
You're looking at a former stripper
I used to be a stripper
But before I unzip ONE zipper
However, before you get any ideas, let me tell you
I want you to know that I was quite the artist
That I was actually a talented and accomplished performer
But... of the intellectual kind
But my art was of the intellectual variety
Zip! Walter Lippman wasn't brilliant today
I am so intellectual that even the famous journalist Walter Lippman's views don't interest me
Zip! Will the giants ever take it away?
Instead, I focus on the sporting event and whether or not the giants will win
Zip! I was reading Schopenhauer last night
I am so well-read that I read the philosopher Schopenhauer's work last night
Zip! and I think that Schopenhauer was right
And I agree with Schopenhauer's ideas
I don't want to see Zarina
I don't want to attend a performance by a particular performer named Zarina
I don't want to meet Cobina
I also don't care to meet another performer named Cobina
Zip! I'm an intellectual
I am an intellectual
I don't like a deep contralto
I don't prefer a low-pitched female singing voice
Or a man whose voice is alto
I also dislike men with high-pitched voices
Zip! I'm an heterosexual
But I am straight
Zip! I took intellect to master my art
I used my intellectual abilities to excel in my career
Zip! Who the hell is Margie Hart
I don't know who Margie Hart is
Zip! I consider Dali's paintings passé
I think that Salvador Dali's paintings are outdated
Zip! Can they make the Metropolitan pay?
I am more concerned about whether the Metropolitan Museum of Art is profitable
Zip! English people don't say clerk, they say clark
I know that English people pronounce clerk as clark
Zip! Anybody who says clark is a jark!
But I find this pronunciation to be annoying
I have read the great Kabala
I have studied the mystical text known as Kabala
And I simply worship Allah
And I am a devout follower of Allah
Zip! I am such a mystic
I am very spiritual and mystical
I don't care for Whistler's Mother
I don't have any interest in the painting titled Whistler's Mother
Charlie's Aunt and Shuber's brother
I am also not fond of certain plays like Charlie's Aunt or Schubert's brother
Zip! I'm misogynists
But I am also a misogynist
Zip! My intelligence is guiding my hand
I rely on my intelligence and knowledge to guide my decisions
Zip! who the hell is Sally Rand?
I don't know who Sally Rand is
Writer(s): Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart
Contributed by Maya W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@hamrunizspar1
VoiceNoFace. Here it is. Thank Dr. Julain Cauceglia above, not me.
ln Paris I headlined the follies
Billed as doll of all the dollies
Admired by the great Stravinsky
But my greatest achievement
in the height of my career
Was the time I starred for Minsky
You're looking at a former stripper
But before I unzip one zipper
I want it known I was quite the artiste
But the intellectual kind
What was I thinking while I worked you might ask
While I worked these thoughts kept crossing my mind
Zip, Walter Lippmann wasn't brilliant today
Zip, will the Giants ever take it away
Zip, l was reading Schopenhauer last night
Zip, and I think that Schopenhauer was right
Sigmund Freud has often stated
dreams and drives are all related
Zip, I'm a firm believer
Dorothy Dix's daily column
tells that love is dear and solemn
Zip, l can take or leave her
Zip, it took intellect to master my art
Zip, every movement from the heart
l have read the works of Plato
Translated most of Cato
Zip, I am such a scholar
I don't care for Whistler's mother
Charley's aunt or Schubert's brother
Zip, had to make a dollar
Zip, you have asked me what l think while l work
Zip, I've an intellectual quirk
And my thoughts may skip whenever so inclined
Oh, zip, Zip, zip
l'm a broad with a broad, broad mind!
@tonyfigs8148
Frank wanted to wear the dress but Rita insisted.
Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Did you see what I did there? I made a joke. I said, Frank wanted to wear the dress but Rita insisted. Did you get it? Did you get it? Huh?
Yours very truly,
Chris
P.S. Everything in this post is true. And there is no alcohol in my body.
@hayleyava7398
Beauty, Elegance, Class and utter fabulous in every way. She was wonderful.💕
@terrywright7470
And you can add "Talent" to that list Hayley. from Gilda to Miss Sadie Thompson, and everything between those roles, she always gave it 100%
@fb4708
Born in '86 and I watch a lot of frank Sinatra films with my grandma Clara. And I love it.
@odaalarteporeldr.pedrosanc7966
I am 72. The first time I saw this film was in Havana when I was 8 or 9. For me is very good to think about that time. THANKS A LOT
@tejaswoman
For anyone unfamiliar with the original work, the song is supposed to be sung about Gypsy Rose Lee by a reporter talking about what Lee said she thinks about while stripping. Instead, the song is sung as if the singer were a former stripper, which may also explain why the nonsense name "Plinsky" is substituted for the real name of the owner of the burlesque house, Minsky.
@Spiderman7Bob7
Now here is a real MOVIE STAR from the Golden Age of Hollywood, Rita Hayworth.
@carmen_rose_444
I can’t get over her dress. It’s to die for 😍
@sgupta4
I know right. Sixty-five years later, it still looks stylish without being dated.
@tejaswoman
@@sgupta4although it always kind of weirds me out how the bosom of the dress does not go with her when she moves. Can't tell if that's a bug, or a feature intended to heighten the sense that she is stripping while keeping her clothes on.
@renarga6886
No one can do it better than Queen Rita!