Patrick Reynolds' Mother Marianne O'Brien, in The Very Thought of You, 1944, Warner Bros
For my infant son,
Jack Alexander Reynolds, now one year old,
I wanted you to see and hear your grandmother when she was young and beautiful. In
1944, she was an actress-starlet under contract to
Warner Brothers Studio. She was a great lady and wonderful person - big hearted, larger than life, and loved by many.
In this film, she appears in 2 scenes, and at the end, in one very short clip. , She plays a wife who criticizes her husband for avoiding going off to
World War II, and dodging the draft because of his supposed health problem. This is a wartime movie about the darker side of life in the
States, on the home front.
Your grandma was in more films, too, including "
Cinderella Jones" and "
Hollywood Canteen". When you are older, if you like you can search her stage name, "
Marianne O'Brien" at the movie industry database, www.
IMDB.com
Her real name was Marianne
Margaret Byrne; in
Hollywood she was Marianne O'Brien; and after she married, she became, Marianne O'Brien Reynolds.)
You can also read the sections about her in my book about our
RJ Reynolds family, THE GILDED
LEAF. Just look her up in the index as Marianne Reynolds. The book I co-authored about our family tells her story from childhood in
New York City, to how she met your Grandfather, and the story of the rest of her life.
"
The Very Thought of You" was re-broadcast on
TCM (
Turner Classic Movies) in
September, 2010. I recorded it for you on
DVD. I gave your Mom the DVD of the whole film, and had only your
Grandma's scenes edited for you and posted here.
The film and clips are in larger files, too, if you want them. Hopefully you can find these; they will be either on the hard drive of my computer, under
My Documents - My Videos, or on one of my backup drives, in a very similar location --
Archived folders, perhaps.
After this film, the movie studio ordered your grandma Marianne to take acting lessons, but she was both rebellious and offended, replying that she had starred in a
Broadway show.
Actors sometimes have big egos to hide how small and afraid they feel inside. They also, when given an opportunity to advance, sometimes find a way to self-destruct and destroy the opportunity, as Marianne, my mother, did. Like many, she may have unconsciously felt more at home and comfortable on the familiar territory of struggling, as she had in childhood.
Do not make this mistake, young
Jack. When life throws you an opportunity, stay open to it, and do not find a way to push it away from you. Take the unfamiliar, frightening path when the road forks.
Stay successful and grow, and do not unconsciously destroy your happiness.
Because she was not obeying studio orders,
Warner Brothers staff punished her by sending her down to
San Diego to entertain some
Navy sailors who were leaving on ships bound for duty in the
Pacific. One of the sailors had a large suite at the best hotel in San Diego (still there in
2010). At a reception in that suite is where Marianne met the love of her life, your Grandfather, RJ Reynolds, Jr, or "
Dick". He was the son of the famous tobacco company founder. Dick would pay his first wife
Blitz $9 million in a divorce settlement so he could marry Marianne, your grandma.
Marianne then gave up her movie career to be a full time housewife, and she was very happy then. They had two sons, first your
Uncle Michael, and then me,
Patrick. Sadly, Michael died in 2004 in a tragic car accident, and I do miss him.
May years later, in
1970, I made a home movie documentary (with sound) starring your Grandma, on the occasion of her second marriage in
Monte Carlo, to my
Stepfather, Lee Meyers.
Lee was
Jewish and a wonderful man -- kind to me, and he used to work as TV
Star Jackie Gleason's press agent and friend, in the early days of television during the
1950's.
I love you so much, and wish you could have met your grandma, my dear, sweet son. I am looking forward to raising you and bringing you up, and being there with you for as long as I live. I will take care of myself, so that I will be there for you for many years to come. I love you with all my heart!
You can also see videos of me at www.tobaccofree.org/tv/ and www.tobaccofree.org/clips -- or, here on YouTube, search "
Patrick Reynolds" and "
Eliminators", which is the
1986 science fiction film I starred in in at age 37 (I played a leading role in the film as the half-man, half-machine known as
Mandroid.) My user name at YouTube is 3ii3 -- a few of those video clips are there, too.
Love forever and always,
Dad