# RIP Olivia Hussey **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** celebrity-death\ **Created:** [December 28, 2024, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248 "2024-12-28T03:06:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/1 "2024-12-28T03:06:12Z")
> **[Olivia Hussey, ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and ‘Black Christmas’ Star, Dies at 73](https://variety.com/2024/film/obituaries-people-news/olivia-hussey-dead-romeo-and-juliet-black-christmas-1236261093/)** > > Olivia Hussey, an actor who was scouted for Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 'Romeo and Juliet' adaptation and starred in 'Black Christmas,' died Friday at 73. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/2 "2024-12-28T03:31:17Z")
Oh, I’m sorry to learn this. My parents took my sister and I to see Zefferelli’s _Romeo and Juliet_ when it came out, and though I spent much of the movie besotted with Leonard Whiting and Michael York, I remember thinking she made a wonderful Juliet, as she was innocent and alluring at the same time. Since then, I’ve seen it dozens of times because I showed it to freshman English classes. She was superb and luminous. I think half the boys (and some girls) in my classes had a crush on her. I saw her briefly in a movie on Jesus that played on TV. She played Mary. I’d assumed after seeing _Romeo and Juliet_ the first time that she’d become wildly successful. I don’t know why she didn’t. Anyway, sad news. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/3 "2024-12-28T03:43:13Z")
> [@nelliebly](#): > > My parents took my sister and I to see Zefferelli’s _Romeo and Juliet_ when it came out My sister took me to see it when I was a kid. First time I ever saw nudity in a film. _What Is A Youth_ is what I think of whenever this film comes to mind. I’ve only seen it once. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/4 "2024-12-28T04:01:45Z")
Played both Jesus’ and Norman Bates’ mom. Girlfriend had range. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/5 "2024-12-28T04:11:12Z")
When I was in ninth grade we had Romeo and Juliet in English class, and that was when the movie came out. Our teacher wanted to take us to the theater as a group but some parents complained because of a rumore nude scene. So that just made the rest of us go see it on our own. Even then I wondered what the fuss was about, the scene was so short and after all, they were _married_. She was in some mini series about Mid East conflict. Also she played in the awful musical version of \*Lost Horizon.\*So many good actors in such a bad film. She was John Boy’s wife in the TV mini series of _It_. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/6 "2024-12-28T04:12:39Z")
That TV movie was _ **Jesus of Nazareth** _, another Zefferelli film. He was besotten with Olivia, saying she was perfect for playing the Madonna, who never aged. Both films are remarkable works of art. RIP, Olivia. I loved you too. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/7 "2024-12-28T04:17:52Z")
Of all the Jesus movies out there that one is my favorite. The three wisemen were from different countries that only met when they were approaching journey’s end. And when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead it seemed to take physical effort, he dropped to the ground in prayer before standing again and giving the command. And the next to last scene, when the Temple scribe is gazing into the empty tomb he mutters “Now it begins, it all begins.” ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/8 "2024-12-28T04:20:54Z")
The school had two versions of the movie, the original and one somebody edited to take out the blink-and-you-miss-it shots of Romeo’s buttocks and Juliet’s breasts. We were only supposed to show the latter. One time I suddenly realized I’d put the wrong version in the VCR and, in the stupidest reaction in my early career, ran in front of the TV, opened my blazer to help cover the screen, and yelled, “Don’t look!” I was, of course, wearing a blouse, but you wouldn’t know it from the stunned look on my students’ faces. Back to Hussey, I was moved to learn that she and Leonard Whiting stayed close friends for the rest of her life. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/9 "2024-12-28T04:23:57Z")
That’s nice. He didn’t pursue a film career, but of all the conventional versions of the play he is the best Romeo. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/10 "2024-12-28T04:26:26Z")
I first saw _ **Jesus of Nazareth** _ when it was aired on British TV the Easter of 1977. It made quite an impression for many reasons, one of which was its remarkable cast, which included Donald Pleasence, Peter Ustinov, Rod Steiger, James Earl Jones, Laurence Olivier, James Mason, Anne Bancroft, Claudia Cardinale, and Ernest Borgnine as a Roman Centurion. In a review I read at the time, it was said that even the most hard-boiled of the actors were moved to tears watching a rough cut of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/11 "2024-12-28T04:29:06Z")
_ **Romeo and Juliet** _ is the kind of movie you should watch with your SO on Valentine’s Day. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/12 "2024-12-28T04:39:28Z")
She also played Bill’s wife Audra in the original _It_ (the miniseries version with Tim Curry), and voiced a Jedi Master in the _Star Wars: The Old Republic_ video game. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/13 "2024-12-28T04:49:23Z")
I mentioned _IT_ but called Bill John Boy, as Richard Thomas played him. ---
**Author:** ![Strenger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@Strenger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Strenger)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/14 "2024-12-28T05:08:08Z")
That’s too bad. I didn’t get around to seeing _Black Christmas_ yet again this year. A fantastic movie, but just felt like I already know all the beats and lines, and didn’t have the desire. And I confess I don’t regularly watch her _Romeo&Juliet_ for reasons of propriety…a bit uncomfortable for me, given her age, although the film itself has no blemish. She was an extraordinary actress who seemed of uncommon ability to choose interesting roles. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/15 "2024-12-28T05:26:14Z")
O lamentable day… ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/16 "2024-12-28T06:22:45Z")
Perfect. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/17 "2024-12-28T12:41:20Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > Played both Jesus’ and Norman Bates’ mom. Girlfriend had range. You win the thread. Totally. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/18 "2024-12-28T13:27:54Z")
More recently, she and her co-star tried to sue over the nude scene, asserting that it amounted to child abuse. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/19 "2024-12-28T14:14:26Z")
Sorta like this and equally unsuccessful: > **[Ninth Circuit Revives Nevermind Cover Baby’s Frivolous Lawsuit](https://www.loweringthebar.net/2023/12/ninth-circuit-revives-nevermind-cover-babys-frivolous-lawsuit.html)** > > No longer a baby, but somehow still a plaintiff. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248/20 "2024-12-28T21:57:42Z")
> [@Strenger](#): > > I didn’t get around to seeing _Black Christmas_ yet again this year. She was impressive in that one. It’s a shame she didn’t choose to work more (I’m sure she had offers.) 73 seems so young. My condolences to her family and friends. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rip-olivia-hussey/1012248.md?page=2)