on Leigh in G e with the Wind
Gone with the wind,
Leigh in her heyday
just like its famous visitor…
Rheda M
ansion
L.A., LONDON, Paris, New York… all the playgrounds of the big Hollywood stars... aren’t they? Along with Frizington? Well, er, yes, actually. For although Frizington may seem a far cry from beautiful downtown Burbank, it nevertheless does have a fascinating connection with one of Hollywood’s most dazzling leading ladies, Vivien Leigh; real name Vivian Hartley. In 1931 Vivian 18, met Leigh Holman, a barrister 13 years her senior and despite his disapproval of “theatrical people”, they wed in December 1932 and she terminated her studies at RADA. Leigh Holman’s brother Alwyn was married to Myfanwy Dixon, whose father owned the Rheda estate and Vivian Leigh was a regular house guest at the Dixon / Holman family mansion. Rheda Mansion was once one of the grandest houses in the area – the home of the wealthy Dixon family, but it’s long gone… the estate was broken up and auctioned off and the mansions itself (pictured) was demolished in the 1950s. But 20 years earlier, in the period leading up to the Second World War, it had been a family retreat for the glamorous, rising actress who was in 1939 to become one of the biggest names in Hollywood, after playing Scarlett O’Hara, in one of the greatest films ever made: Gone with The Wind. In 1934 Leigh’s friends suggested she take a small role in the film Things Are Looking Up, which marked her film debut.
She engaged an agent, John Gliddon, who said Vivian Holman wasn’t a suitable name for an actress. So she borrowed her husband’s forename and changed the spelling of her first name, replacing the “a” with an “e”. Appearing in films such as Fires Over England, she was to meet her second husband, Sir Laurence Olivier, and when Leigh Holman petitioned for divorce he named Laurence Olivier as co-respondent. She and Olivier married in 1940. They divorced in 1960. Leigh died from tuberculosis in 1967 and maintained a strong friendship with Leigh Holman for the rest of her life RHEDA Mansion, known as The Big House, was built in 1858. It was the seat of the well-to-do Dixon family who were originally yeoman farmers but over generations they assembled considerable wealth as mine owners. It became the setting for many glittering house parties and society events and there were also regular tennis or shooting parties. It was substantial stone building with circular turrets castellation and stained glass. The interior was decorated in the grand Victorian style with large fireplaces and a billiards room. It had a mock pele tower and a hexagonal tower was later added. 41