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Ava Gardner Part II

© K Cruver

When I lose my temper, honey, you can't find it anyplace.
-Ava Gardner

Throughout the fifties, Ava Gardner was one of the most popular movie stars in the world. She thrilled audiences in Technicolor extravaganzas such as Mogambo, The Barefoot Contessa, and Showboat.

It was also in the fifties that Ava met and married the love of her life, Frank Sinatra. Their tumultuous, passionate marriage lasted from 1951 to 1957. The relationship was a string of break ups and reconciliations, most of them brought on by jealousy--something as simple as a glance exchanged with a member of the opposite sex in a restaurant. They were close friends until the day Ava died. Frank helped pay Ava's medical expenses when she became ill in later years.

In the late fifties, after their divorce, Ava became fed up with Hollywood and the glamorous life. She fled to Spain with her maid and lived there happily for many years. She loved flamenco and bullfights and even had a relationship with a bullfighter. She might have lived the rest of her life in Spain if it hadn't of been for the government. When Ava found out she was required to pay thousands of dollars in taxes, she took off for London.

Ava continued to act in Hollywood movies. Late in her career, she adopted a more confident acting style. She abandoned the breathy speech she was coached to use in her Technicolor fantasies. She gave solid performances in On the Beach, The Night of the Iguana, and even stood out in a small part as an empress in Mayerling, an otherwise dull remake of the 1936 original. However, after Iguana Ava only took roles for the money. She never did feel committed to being an actress; she never believed the praise she received.

In her later years, Ava stuck to TV movies and stayed close to home. She liked London and loved her apartment. She only went out for walks in the park with her Welsh Corgi Morgan and quiet dinners with friends. She made good friends in London and she enjoyed an easy companionship with her maid Carmen Vargas.

Ava saw few people near the end of her life. Though many old friends tried to visit her, she did not want anyone to see how her beauty had faded. She often spoke into a tape recorder, composing her autobiography. She never did see the book in print.

In 1989, Ava had a stroke. For a while, she was partially paralyzed and she couldn't move one of her arms. Her health began to decline rapidly. She finally died of Pneumonia at the age of 67.