In case you missed this weekend’s headlines, Zsa Zsa Gabor passed away at 99 years young. She’s a Hollywood icon with an accent that didn’t miss a beat and a list of acting credits a mile long. She’ll be missed both as a celebrity and a household name. According to Variety, her “60-year career of playing herself helped pave the way for today’s celebrity-obsessed culture.” She was an actress that was simply “ahead of her time,” said USA Today and was “perhaps the first celebutant.” She led a memorable career and left a stamp on the Hollywood scene that won’t soon be forgotten.
Remembering Zsa Zsa Gabor
“While Gabor had multiple acting credits, her greatest performance was playing herself: She was famous for her accented English (calling everyone “darling,” which came out “dah-link”), eccentric name, offscreen antics (including a 1989 incident in which she slapped a Beverly Hills cop) and one-liners about her jewels, nine marriages and ex-husbands. Despite her glamorous image, her life, especially in later years, was marred by battles between her much-younger husband Frederic Prinz von Anhalt and her daughter.” (via Variety)
For most of us, we recognize Zsa Zsa by her thick accent, never to be confused with another Hollywood character – you could pick it out anywhere. And, while we may not have followed her early film career, she made a household name for herself simply playing herself in movies like the Beverly Hillbillies and A Very Brady Sequel. We always knew who she was.
As it turns out, “she made her film debut in the musical Lovely to Look At (1952) opposite Red Skelton, Kathryn Grayson and Howard Keel. Fittingly for someone who became famous just for being herself, Gabor’s character’s name was Zsa Zsa.”
According to USA Today, “legal troubles kept her name in the headlines. In June 2005, she and her husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, sued Gabor’s only child, Francesca Hilton, accusing her of larceny and fraud. Despite a tepid movie career, a tumultuous personal life and sometimes public legal wrangling, Gabor remained a celebrity for decades, a singular personality known by one name. That was Zsa Zsa, dahlink”
During the last few years as she grew older, her health began to deteriorate – but she hung in there, making headlines once again when she fell and broke her hip. She had a string of health struggles that she faced head on, not letting anything get in her way. She “was one tough cookie,” said her friend and former publicist, Edward Lozzi.
Zsa Zsa lived a long and memorable life, one that has left an imprint not only on the Hollywood community, but she’s also a household name that many of us grew up hearing of frequently. Cheers to you Zsa Zsa!
