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If This Was Happiness
- A Biography of Rita Hayworth
- Narrated by: Anna Fields
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
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If This Was Happiness
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Summary
Yet behind the smoldering image lay a tragic secret that wrecked her private life. A pathologically shy child, she was thrust at an early age into a sordid limelight as her vaudevillian father's dancing partner, and suffered sexual and physical abuse at his hands. A desperate need for protection led her into five marriages, including nuptials with Orson Welles and Prince Aly Khan. All of them resulted in exploitation and disaster, as did affairs with some of the world's most glamorous men.
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What listeners say about If This Was Happiness
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Dina Karoomi
- 01-04-21
intriguing
Good listen to an interesting life and how badly she was treated by those who were supposed to have loved her most
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- craig pickard
- 12-05-22
Fascinating Insight Into A Hollywood Life
This was a cracking listen. Well written, well narrated and absolutely fascinating. I'm sure I will listen to this again in future.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- pumpkinpoppitt
- 15-09-22
Beautiful Rita Heyworth
loved hearing about Rita's life I had no idea the sadness & abuse she had suffered. Her custody battles over her daughter. Her 5 husbands, her sad decent into Dementia
it's a long book, I think there were one or two points it got too much. Namely the 4th husband. It was heartening to know her youngest daughter took care of her in her decline.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Linda T
- 18-03-22
Lovely
Lovely story. Read all the Hollywood actresses biographies but never one of her. So sad she ended up with Alzheimer’s. So young.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mrs L..J Hines
- 21-09-21
Sad but True
For all her beauty and success you couldn’t want the life she had. I don’t think she ever escaped from her start in life. Uneducated, unprotected and abused, what a desperate situation. The story is told very well and I liked the analysis parts too. Thankfully she had a few good friends and her youngest daughter at the end of her life. I shall look at her in her movies with a rather different view of how she got there.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- john joyce
- 02-10-22
amazing story of a tumultuous life
really interesting, sad funny well Narrated Tragic life story highly recommended five stars 🌟
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cathy D
- 19-09-21
The Woman Behind The Love Goddess
In Leaming's sensitive and excellently written autobiography we learn about the woman behind the myth of the Love Goddess. It seems Rita Hayworth was not lucky at all in love and despite her fame and fortune, craved security and love. It explains how she was expolited by husbands and the Hollywood system and how she yearned to be free of the Hollywood circus and out of the grasps of Jack Cohen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PinkyPonky
- 13-06-22
The perfect telling of a sad, messy and glamorous life
Such an interesting story, with many twists and turns. The poor woman seems to have been used by men on so many occasions. Very engaging, and superbly narrated.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mr. Grahamdalton
- 19-10-22
Very good book
Worth listening to about lovely lady about her film and her lovely life Anna field wonderful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Asha Hassan
- 16-03-24
Her childhood story was moving and disturbing at the same time.
I liked the friendships she had forged over the years. Very sad ending indeed.
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