Happy Birthday to Two Amazing Ladies

July 1st is the birthday of two great ladies of the classic film era!

Oscar-winning actress Olivia de Havilland turns 97 today. She was born in Tokyo, Japan, in 1916.

Olivia's sister, Joan Fontaine, is also still with us; she is due to turn 96 this October. (December 2013 Update: Joan Fontaine Dies at 96.)

Dancer-actress Leslie Caron was born in France in 1931; she turns 82 today.

I'm so fortunate to have seen both of them in person over the years! I met Caron at the Egyptian Theatre in 2010. I was a 15-year-old when I saw de Havilland at a tribute to her career at the Filmex festival in Century City.

de Havilland has been happily retired in France for many years, where she can sometimes be spotted at places such as the American Cathedral, where she has served as a lay reader.

Leslie Caron will star in the play SIX DANCE LESSONS at the Laguna Playhouse here in Orange County this fall. (Update: The play has been pushed back to spring 2014.)

Previously: A post from 2009.