It was, in the cinema, the impossible love of Scarlett O'Hara. Leslie Howard was considered one of the most elegant and successful actors of his day. But he died early and suddenly when his plane was attacked by the Nazis in Galicia during World War II. According to his former lover, Conchita Montenegro, he came to Spain to carry out an important diplomatic mission, however, the mystery of his death remains. Today we remember Leslie Howard and his sad demise.
While Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) tried to win over Scarlett (Vivian Leight), in Gone with the Wind, the protagonist spent the entire film pining for her great love, which was none other than the educated and elegant Ashley, played Masterfully by Leslie Howard. The film's premiere in 1939 catapulted all its protagonists to glory, but by then Howard was already one of the most established names in international cinema, with a wide list of awards and memorable performances in hit titles such as The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934). , The petrified forest (1936), Pygmalion (1938), or Intermezzo (1939). In addition to his work as an actor, he was also a good writer, the author of several plays, and a contributor to newspapers and magazines such as The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Reader's Digest.
Leslie Howard had been born in London in 1893; his father was a Hungarian Jew, and his mother belonged to a wealthy London family, of Russian and Jewish origin.
His first job was in a bank, thanks to his father, who worked at the London Stock Exchange. His Jewish origins made him always have a cautious mentality against racism, and he later to be a convinced anti-Nazi.
In the twenties, he even had his own film production company, and by the thirties, he was already one of the most successful leading men in both the UK and Hollywood.
He enlisted voluntarily in the First World War, but he took leave due to his health, and it was on his return to civilian life, around 1916, that he decided to dedicate himself to what had been his great hobby: the theater.
Leslie Howard was also known for his dalliances with his companions.
His fine print, his natural elegance, and his acting skills earned him excellent reviews from the beginning and soon opened the doors of the cinema for him as well. His first film was Outward Bound, directed by Robert Milton. In the twenties, he even had his own film production company, and by the thirties, he was already one of the most successful leading men both in the United Kingdom and in Hollywood. The worldwide success of Gone with the Wind cemented his legend.
In one of his first plays
In his personal life, although he married Ruth Evelyn Martin, mother of his two children, at a very young age, the actor maintained a life of continuous dalliances and infidelities; On filming sets, his flirtations with the actresses he worked with were famous, with some of whom he had well-known romances.
Ruth and Leslie
One of his great loves was the Spanish dancer and actress Conchita Montenegro. The relationship ended when she met Ricardo Gimenez Arnau, whom she would marry.
Leslie Howard's wife Ruth
However, despite her double life, Leslie never considered separating from Ruth, as she thought of marriage as the cornerstone of a family. In recent years they had both negotiated and accepted a particular way of life: during the week, Leslie lived with his mistress Violette Cunnington, who was also his secretary; on the weekend he moved to his family home.
It would be precisely Ruth who would console her husband for the death of her lover. Family affection was maintained throughout his life, and after his death, his children wrote two separate books dedicated to his father, speaking wonders of him.
With Leslie Howard's lover, Violette Cunnington
When Violette died in 1942 from pneumonia, it would be precisely Ruth who would console her husband for the death of her lover. Family affection was maintained throughout his life, and after his death, his children wrote two separate books dedicated to his father, speaking wonders of him. His son, Ronald Howard would also become a famous actor, especially for his work in the television series Sherlock Holmes.
Leslie Howard's daughter, who adored him
In 1939, despite the tremendous success in the United States of Gone with the Wind, Howard was more concerned with how events were progressing in Europe. For this reason, in that same year, despite the start of the war, he decides to return to the United Kingdom -along with his entire family and also his lover Violette- to support the British Government against the Germans. From then on, he dedicated himself exclusively to working in favor of Allied military propaganda, making weekly radio broadcasts and films such as Pimpernel Smith (1941), The First of the Few (1942), The Gentle S-(1943), or The Lamp Still Burns (1943), which was released after his death. As would become known over the years, Leslie also performed special diplomacy assignments.
With Bette Davis, in Captive of Desire
In May 1943 Howard flew to Madrid after the war. On his return, on June 1, 1943, his plane, a BOAC 777, was shot down by five Luftwaffe fighters off the coast of Cedeira (La Coruña). His body was never found. There were no survivors among the plane's passengers.
His plane, a BOAC 777, was shot down by five Luftwaffe fighters off the coast of Cedeira (La Coruna). His body was never found.
There was never a clear and official explanation for the downing of Flight 777; despite being at war, military planes did not attack civilian ships. Over the years, multiple and different theories arose; according to some, the Germans were convinced that Winston Churchill was traveling inside the ship, or some other important figure of the English government. Some claimed that Leslie was a target of the Germans, due to his actions in favor of anti-Nazi propaganda, and that, furthermore, many other Allied collaborators were traveling on that flight. Most explanations, however, see the attack as a simple but terrible mistake by Nazi airmen.
Like Ashley in Gone with the Wind
Many years after his death, Conchita Montenegro, Howard's ex-lover, who was already established in Spain in 1943, would publicly confess the real reason for the actor's trip. According to what he told the writer José Rey-Xímena (author of The Flight of the Ibis, about Howard's death), Leslie came to Spain by direct order of Winston Churchill to meet with General Franco and get from him a kind of guarantee that Spain would not ally with Hitler, nor would it participate in World War II; in exchange for this, England would agree to recognize the Spanish government. According to Conchita, it was her then-husband Giménez Arnau who acted as an intermediary in the interview. However, Montenegro's explanation did not help to clarify why Leslie's flight was attacked either.
Today, a small monument near Cedeira and San Andrés de Teixido, in Galicia, commemorates Leslie, a man who left Hollywood in full glory to be faithful to his ideas and put himself at the service of his Majesty.
