October 17 marks the birthday of actress, dancer, and all-around good gal Rita Hayworth. The Brooklyn-born screen idol, formerly known as Margarita Carmen Cansino, was a World War II pinup, a skilled dancer (who kicked up her heels with the best of them, including Fred Astaire), and a film noir goddess — famous for her hair-flipping role in the Charles Vidor movie Gilda. Hayworth was known to be shy and unassuming, but when the cameras started rolling there was no stopping her slay.
“Darling, I don’t wake up ’til the afternoon.”
“Movies were much better in the days I was doing them.”
“Nobody makes up my mind for me.”
“Increasingly, stars are recruited from the ranks of professional models, with the result that today`s starlets are better dressed and better groomed than ever before, though it is doubtful if they are better actresses.”