MERLE OBERON #87 JULY/2025

THE OLD HOLLYWOOD NEWSLETTER

The Old Hollywood Newsletter

Jul 02, 2025

Hello Body House Members;

For July’s featured beauty I’ve brought you a lovely, exotic and rather mysterious lady.

She had numerous secrets that she kept her entire life and was not revealed until after her death in 1979.

MERLE OBERON kept the fact that she was biracial a secret so that she could avoid any discrimination from Hollywood studios.

Oberon was born in Bombay, British India to a Sri Lankan-Māori mother and a white father.

Frankly, Oberon’s story only gets more convoluted from there.

Whatever her background, this elegant and talented lady deserves to be remembered and celebrated.

Continue on to learn more about MERLE OBERON.

Have a fantastic Independence Day!

Stay Sensual, Dyann Bridges - Writer and Voice actor

Her nickname was “Queenie” because Queen Mary visited India the year Oberon was born. In 1911.

In The Beginning…

Merle Oberon was born Estelle Merle O’Brien Thompson on the 19th of February, 1911 in Bombay, British India [which is now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India].

She is Welsh on her father’s side and Ceylonese (now Sri Lankan) on her mother’s side.

She passed away from a stroke on the 23rd of November, 1979 in Malibu, California.

Oberon was 68.

She was given the nickname “Queenie” in honor of Queen Mary and King George V who visited India in 1911, the year she was born.

Oberon’s father died when she was just three. Soon after her mother and she moved to Calcutta from Bombay. Although, they were very poor, she went to one of the best schools in the country on a government program.

Sadly she was teased mercilessly for being of a mixed ethnicity and stopped going to school. At that point, sh was home schooled.

In her teens she began attending Calcutta Amateur Dramatic Society. Oberon loved going to the movies and even nightclubs.

At the age of 17, she left for London to begin her career acting. She did acquire numerous roles in British films. However, they were small roles and bit parts.

Merle Oberon was married four times. Sir Alexander Korda (m. 1939; div. 1945), Lucien Ballard(m. 1945; div. 1949), Bruno Pagliai (m. 1957; div. 1973) and Robert Wolders (m. 1975).

*There is a section below on Oberon’s relationships/marriages*

She gave birth to two children; Francesca Pagliai and Bruno Pagliai Jr. with her third husband.

Her height was just 5′ 2″.

HER SECRETS

Hidden Lineage

For most of her life, Oberon hid the truth about her parentage by claiming that she had been born in Tasmania, Australia to white parents, and that her birth records had been destroyed in a fire.

Yet, she is Welsh on her father’s side and Ceylonese (now Sri Lankan) on her mother’s side.

She always identified as British.

***

The Rapes

There have been many questions about her parentage as well and a theory – which has never been proven or acknowledged by Oberon – was that she and the woman raised as her sister were both conceived by different men through force.

If this is true, then the woman Oberon was raised to know as her sister was actually her mother and the woman she called mother was her grandmother.

It’s very difficult to follow this part of Oberon’s history. She and her mother/sister and grandmother/mother have never spoken of it or acknowledged this story/theory.

Both Oberon’s mother and grandmother were just 14 at the time of the rapes.

So, her mother raised them as sisters to avoid scandal.

Of course, this theory can never be proven as DNA testing did not exist at the time.

It’s difficult to find biographies on Merle Oberon although they have been written. Unfortunately, they don’t show up on the big platforms such as Amazon. If you know of a place online to find these publications I’d love to know where they are.

***

The Scars

Her acting career almost ended because a car crash in 1937 caused severe facial injuries.

She carried physical scars for the rest of her life because of it. Otherwise, Oberon recovered fully and remained active in film and television until 1973.

***

The Obie Light

In 1944, cinematographer Lucien Ballard (who also became her husband) put together a small light that could be mounted on his camera specifically for Oberon.

It provided an effect that made any blemishes or scars fade completely away.

The light is now known as a catch light. However, it was originally nicknamed the “Obie light” after Oberon.

***

The Duke

Another BIG secret that wasn’t so secret within the industry, was her 9 year affair with John Wayne.

Their affair lasted across two of his marriages from 1938 to 1947.

Quotes By MERLE OBERON

merle oberon, classic actresses, old hollywood, golden age of hollywood, silent era, the talkies, academy award winners

[Speaking of the beginning of her career in her late teens] “I couldn’t dance or sing or write or paint. The only possible opening seemed to be in some line in which I could use my face. This was, in fact, no better than a hundred other faces, but it did possess a fortunately photogenic quality,” – Merle Oberon

“Without security it is difficult for a woman to look or feel beautiful.” – Merle Oberon

“Even when I was single, I owned homes and gardens. I buy beauty when other women buy jewels. Land is security to me. I need gardens that are mine to walk on.” – Merle Oberon

[On her early days in Hollywood] “I was really frightfully snubbed. I won’t mention names, but I was coldly treated by some of the stars. The one person who was really nice to me and from whom I least expected it – I don’t know why, now that I know her – was Jean Harlow. She came clear across the room to meet me and said something very gracious about admiring my work and wanting to know more of me.” – Merle Oberon

[In 1935] “If I found a man I loved very much I would marry him. My career could take its chances. Marriage would come first. And as far as husbands go, give me a British one rather than an American, although I don’t think nationality will matter much when I’m really in love.” – Merle Oberon

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MERLE OBERON’S TOP MOVIES

WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)

Wuthering Heights is based on the novel by Emily Bronte.

Merle Oberon’s performance was praised across the board.

Viewers were mesmerized by how she emanated huge emotion while staying quite still. She was flanked by two incredible leading men, Laurence Olivier and David Niven.

The adaptation was done by Charles McArthur and Ben Hecht and directed by William Wyler.

I found it on youtube. Have a look below…

DARK WATERS (1944)

This is a film noir, mystery/thriller where a woman returns to the USA after a German U-boat sank her ship and discovers that someone wants to kill her for her inheritance.

Along side Oberon it stars Franchot Tone and Thomas Mitchell. It was directed by Andre De Toth.

A SONG TO REMEMBER (1945)

In this biopic of Polish pianist Frédéric Chopin, the young virtuoso travels to Paris to hone his craft amid political turmoil in his homeland.

Paul Muni plays Chopin in this well received film.

Click the pic to watch on Tubi for free….

MERLE OBERON PHOTO GALLERY

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MERLE OBERON’S LOVE LIFE

Affair With JOHN WAYNE

It’s not always mentioned in the many articles you’ll find about Merle Oberon, but she had a 9 year affair with John Wayne between the years 1938 and 1947.

Alexander Korda (m. 1939–1945)

This was an on again and off again relationship, as well as, an extremely significant one
Korda discovered Oberon
He was the one who rebranded her name and invented her backstory
She became “Lady Korda” when he was knighted
While married to Korda, she had a brief affair in 1941 with Richard Hillary, an RAF fighter pilot who had been badly burned in the Battle of Britain
Oberon also had an ongoing affair with John Wayne during this time

Lucien Ballard (m.1945–1949)

Ballard was a Hollywood cinematographer
He devised the famed “Obie” light to conceal her scars
It’s now known as the catch light
This part of her life cemented her philosophy whereby the continued manipulation of her appearance and identity lead to maintaining her success

Bruno Pagliai (m. 1957; div. 1973)

Bruna Pagliai was an industrialist
They adopted two children. A boy and a girl
They lived in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
While married to him, she had an affair with model Mike Edwards, who was 33 years her junior.
In 1973, Oberon met then 36-year-old Dutch actor Robert Wolders while they filmed a movie together.
Oberon divorced Pagliai and married Wolders, who was 25 years her junior, in 1975.