After a party given by actor Joseph Cotton, a romance immediately blossomed between Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles. During the time they dated, Rita did guest spots on Welles' Mercury Theater radio show. They also teamed up to entertain the troops during they early part of the US involvement in World War II. Welles did a magic act in which he sawed Rita in half! During the filming of Cover Girl, Rita kept secret her plans to marry Orson. Only a few close friends were told before the marriage took place. On September 7, 1943, Rita was picked up at the studio by Orson and they were married in the judge's chambers. The director of Cover Girl, Charles Vidor said, "During his courtship of her, she was positively illuminated. When she was expecting her baby, she was like a goddess, walking far off the earth, touched with glory." This was certainly one of the happiest times of Rita's life. Their daughter, Rebecca Welles was born December 17, 1944. The press dubbed them "The Beauty and The Brain". Orson, also know as the "genius", introduced Rita to an entirely new strata of people- politicians, intellectuals and others who had nothing to do with the motion picture industry. Rita had been in show business ever since she was a child, so her education was cut short. During this time Rita worked on educating herself. Unfortunately, the happiness couldn't last, the couple separated around the Fall of 1945. |
