Olga San Juan, Hollywood's island princess of the 1940s and 1950s, became known for dancing alongside the film industry's brightest talents. While her star slowly faded, she still lives on as an iconic performer from her generation.
The Early Years
Known by the media as the Puerto Rican Pepperpot at the height of her fame, Olga San Juan was born in March of 1927 in Brooklyn. When she was three years old, her family moved back to Puerto Rico, then moved back to the United States again a few years later. While still a toddler, Olga was enrolled in dance classes and was encouraged to pursue a performing arts career by her stage mother. When she was eleven years old, she performed Latin dance for President Roosevelt and went on to perform at notorious Latin clubs such as the Copacabana.
Olga San Juan in the Spotlight
While performing a nightclub act on radio, she was discovered by Paramount Studios, who gave her a film contract. She appeared in a musical short film in 1943 called Caribbean Romance. This was followed by another film called Bombalera, which was nominated for an Oscar. This and other film shorts led to her first full-length movie, named Rainbow Island (1944). While this didn't make much of a dent in classic movie history, it served as a launching pad to provide Olga with more film roles. She often played the cute and spunky antagonist to other leading ladies, and met the height of her success dancing with Fred Astaire in Blue Skies (1946). While today's audiences do not necessarily recognize Olga San Juan by name, many do remember songs from this specific feature film such as "Heat Wave," which has been covered multiple times by various recording artists. Olga unfortunately did not receive many leading lady opportunities in Hollywood, as she carried with her a heavy Latin accent despite growing up almost exclusively in America. While this limited her roles, she continued to work as the supporting dancer and actress in many films into the late 1940s.
Family and Personal Life
Olga married actor Edmond O'Brien toward the end of the 1940s, and the couple went on to have three children - a boy and two girls. Maria O'Brien became an actress, Brendan O'Brien got his feet wet in acting, writing and music making, and Bridget O'Brien went on to become a television producer. A devout Catholic, she opted to devote her life to tending to her family, leading to an early retirement from filmmaking. She did make a few cameos in later years, including a small role in one of her husband's movies, for which he won a Best Supporting Actor academy award. The family resided in Los Angeles, and Olga had a stroke during the 1970s. While never fully returning to perfect health, she was divorced in 1976 and died of kidney failure in January of 2009.
Touch of Broadway
On top of her movie career, Olga also briefly appeared on Broadway in Paint Your Wagon, a production that was staged in 1951. She also was recognized for her great singing abilities, crooning alongside such notables as Bing Crosby. Olga San Juan was a heroine to Latin minorities in a time where there were few ethnic actors in Hollywood. During the war era, she also brought a smile to the faces of American audiences with her fiery spirit and great comedic timing. She will be remembered as an ambitious and talented woman who made her mark in Hollywood's golden era with a little song and dance.
