{"id":436372,"date":"2022-04-23T20:57:04","date_gmt":"2022-04-23T17:57:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/vivien-leigh-had-nervous-breakdown-filming-gone-with-the-wind\/"},"modified":"2022-04-23T20:57:04","modified_gmt":"2022-04-23T17:57:04","slug":"vivien-leigh-had-nervous-breakdown-filming-gone-with-the-wind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/vivien-leigh-had-nervous-breakdown-filming-gone-with-the-wind\/","title":{"rendered":"#Vivien Leigh had nervous breakdown filming \u2018Gone with the Wind\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a34d3f3ae7bd\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a34d3f3ae7bd\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/vivien-leigh-had-nervous-breakdown-filming-gone-with-the-wind\/#%E2%80%9CVivien_Leigh_had_nervous_breakdown_filming_%E2%80%98Gone_with_the_Wind%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Vivien Leigh had nervous breakdown filming \u2018Gone with the Wind\u2019&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CVivien_Leigh_had_nervous_breakdown_filming_%E2%80%98Gone_with_the_Wind%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Vivien Leigh had nervous breakdown filming \u2018Gone with the Wind\u2019&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>It was the movie that set Hollywood and Atlanta on fire. But for Vivien Leigh, who played Southern belle Scarlet O\u2019Hara, the making of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2017\/09\/29\/vivien-leigh-thought-gone-with-the-wind-would-flop\">\u201cGone With the Wind\u201d<\/a> was hell on earth.<\/p>\n<p>The film would go on to become the top grossing movie of all time (adjusted for inflation, it boasted ticket sales of $1.823 billion), winning ten Academy Awards in 1939. But it took a significant toll on its 25-year-old female lead. Exhaustion and pressure from long days and nights on the movie set had her taking sedatives to calm her hysteria until one day, she accidentally overdosed.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Leigh was involved in an affair with English actor Laurence Olivier. The two had fallen head over heels on the movie set \u201cFire Over England\u201d two years before her starring role as Scarlett. Leigh had abandoned her husband, lawyer Herbert Leigh Holman, and their baby girl for Olivier \u2014 who had left his wife, actress Jill Esmond, and their young son.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow\u00a0<em>dare\u00a0<\/em>you take\u00a0<em>four\u00a0<\/em>pills like that, you hysterical little ninny,\u201d Olivier wrote to Leigh in a letter, having heard of her overdose. He also enjoyed penning her sexy letters, including one that read, \u201cUrrgh! Bend over \u2014 Yes, take your drawers down \u2013 no, lift your skirt up \u2013\u00a0<em>now\u00a0<\/em>then: Smack! Smack! Smack!,\u201d according to \u201cTruly, Madly: Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier and the Romance of the Century,\u201d (Grand Central Publishing), out now, by Stephen Galloway.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leight-laurence-olivier.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Vivien Leigh prepares to kiss Laurence Olivier in a scene from a stage production of &quot;Romeo and Juliet.&quot;\" class=\"wp-image-21970723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leight-laurence-olivier.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leight-laurence-olivier.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leight-laurence-olivier.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leight-laurence-olivier.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Vivien Leigh with lover Laurence Olivier, who enjoyed penning her sexy letters on the set of \u201cGone With The Wind.\u201d<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Clark Gable feared he wouldn\u2019t master the Southern accent of his character Rhett Butler, while Leigh\u2019s sophistication made him feel like a rube.\" class=\"wp-image-21970742\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Clark Gable feared he wouldn\u2019t master the Southern accent of his character Rhett Butler, while Leigh\u2019s sophistication made him feel like a rube.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Every major female star in Hollywood \u2014 including Bette Davis and Katharine Hepburn \u2014 had begged director George Cukor for the role in what was to be the biggest motion picture ever made.  <\/p>\n<p>The role of Scarlett, Leigh hoped, would make her a legitimate actress \u2014 and equal to Olivier, who was soaring creatively as a Shakespearean stage and film actor. <\/p>\n<p>Almost as soon as filming began in December 1938, the problems started with the actress, who had undiagnosed bipolar disorder. In addition to sudden crying and mood swings, she was plagued by other random maladies. Her eyes itched, and her skin was peeling from an allergy to the red dirt that had been imported from Georgia to recreate the look of the South on the Hollywood set.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/margaret-mitchell-gone-with-the-wind.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Margaret Mitchell, author of &quot;Gone With the Wind,&quot; speaks with producer David Selznick and actors Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Olivia De Havilland.\" class=\"wp-image-21970771\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/margaret-mitchell-gone-with-the-wind.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/margaret-mitchell-gone-with-the-wind.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/margaret-mitchell-gone-with-the-wind.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Margaret Mitchell, author of \u201cGone With the Wind,\u201d speaks with producer David Selznick and actors Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable and Olivia De Havilland.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Bettmann Archive<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>To make matters worse, her period was late \u2014 and she feared she would need an abortion, as neither she nor Olivier had planned on having children together. During down time on the set, Leigh invented a vile new <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> called \u201cWays to Kill a Baby.\u201d Pretending she was holding a baby in her arms while driving, she would coo sweetly to the infant before hurling it out the window.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile Olivier, who was back on the East Coast testing for a film, was imploring her to send him her underwear. \u201cI am sitting naked with just my parts wr<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ed in your panties,\u201d he wrote to her. \u201cMy longing for you is so intense\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"682\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leigh.jpg?w=682\" alt=\"Exhaustion and pressure from long days and nights on the movie set had the 25-year-old Leigh taking sedatives to calm her hysteria until one day, she accidentally overdosed.\" class=\"wp-image-21970821\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1023 1023w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=682 682w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=341 341w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 682px) 100vw, 682px\"\/><figcaption>Exhaustion and pressure from long days and nights on the movie set had the 25-year-old Leigh taking sedatives to calm her hysteria until one day, she accidentally overdosed.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Bettmann Archive<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh-dance.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in &quot;Gone with the WInd.&quot; She went on to win an Oscar for the role.\" class=\"wp-image-21970838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh-dance.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh-dance.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/clark-gable-vivien-leigh-dance.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh in \u201cGone with the WInd.\u201d She went on to win an Oscar for the role.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Leigh appeared to be headed for a complete breakdown until producer David Selznick begged Olivier to visit and calm her down. The couple happily escaped to Kansas City, where they thought they wouldn\u2019t be recognized. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m so grateful to you,\u201d Leigh told Selznick on her return to the set. \u201cLarry met me in the hotel lobby, and we went upstairs, and we f\u2013ked, and we f\u2013ked, and we f\u2013ked the whole weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1024\" height=\"682\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/laurence-olivier-vivien-leigh.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Leigh appeared to be headed for a complete breakdown until producer David Selznick begged Olivier to visit and calm her down. The couple happily escaped to Kansas City.\" class=\"wp-image-21970860\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/laurence-olivier-vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1535 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/laurence-olivier-vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/laurence-olivier-vivien-leigh.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=512 512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"\/><figcaption>Leigh appeared to be headed for a complete breakdown until producer David Selznick begged Olivier to visit and calm her down. The couple happily escaped to Kansas City.<\/figcaption><figcaption><span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\">\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI\u2019m so grateful to you. Larry met me in the hotel lobby, and we went upstairs, and we f\u2013ked, and we f\u2013ked, and we f\u2013ked the whole weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><cite>Vivien Leigh to producer David Selznick after he granted her time off set with her lover Laurence Olivier<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Leigh wasn\u2019t the only one on the verge of a nervous breakdown. The whole staff was suffering exhaustion from 3 a.m. wake-up calls and long days. <\/p>\n<p>Co-star Clark Gable arrived on set with his own issues, because he had no say in the role, having been lent out by another studio. He feared he wouldn\u2019t master the southern accent, and Leigh\u2019s sophistication made him feel like a rube, insecure over his small-town upbringing in eastern Ohio. His mood softened when he received a knitted sock from his newest wife to keep his genitals warm. The instructions: \u201cDon\u2019t let it get cold. Bring it home hot for me.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"678\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/truly-madly.jpg?w=678\" alt=\"Truly, Madly\" class=\"wp-image-21970689\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/truly-madly.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1017 1017w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/truly-madly.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=678 678w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/truly-madly.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all&amp;w=339 339w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/truly-madly.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"\/><\/figure>\n<p>Olivier started putting more pressure on Leigh by writing to her that \u201cGone With The Wind\u201d was going to be an obvious disaster. \u201cTo make a success of your career in pictures is essential for your self respect and our ultimate happiness,\u201d he wrote the actress, who would go on to win Best Actress for the role. And if she failed, he suggested, \u201cI am afraid you may become just \u2014 well, boring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, \u201cGone With The Wind\u201d changed Leigh\u2019s life forever and made her a superstar, but the exhaustion and dark moods that overwhelmed her on set were only the beginning. <\/p>\n<p>She would later attempt suicide before having an acute nervous breakdown and being hospitalized to undergo electroconvulsive therapy. She became a stranger to Olivier, the man she once adored, and died alone at 53 in 1967.\n                        <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2022\/04\/23\/vivien-leigh-had-nervous-breakdown-filming-gone-with-the-wind\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Vivien Leigh had nervous breakdown filming \u2018Gone with the Wind\u2019&#8221; It was the movie that set Hollywood and Atlanta on fire. But for Vivien Leigh, who played Southern belle Scarlet O\u2019Hara, the making of \u201cGone With the Wind\u201d was hell on earth. The film would go on to become the top grossing movie of all&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":436373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/vivien-leigh-suitors.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[128380,128388,11082,97654,14872],"class_list":["post-436372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-4-23-22","tag-clark-gable","tag-gone-with-the-wind","tag-old-hollywood","tag-vivien-leigh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=436372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/436372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=436372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=436372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=436372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}