Siamese cats and film stars go together nicely, particularly during the heyday of cinema, the 1930s to 70’s (well that is what I would say is about the heday of cinema). The Siamese is still immensely popular but relatively ordinary compared to the cat’s rare and glamorous status of those days. And all the cats photographed with the film stars are traditional looking Siamese cats.
These stars come to mind:
James Mason
He was a great actor and man (James Mason : A Bio-Bibliography
). He and his first wife, Pamela kept cats and wrote a book about the cats they lived with. Some were Siamese cats. The book was called The Cats in Our Lives
(1949). It is still sold on Amazon. And he illustrated it. He was an architect before becoming an actor.
Olivia de Havilland
A technician and Siamese cat breeder gave Olivia de Havilland a Siamese cat while filming The Heiress. Although she wasn’t a cat lover at the time she became one. She called the cat Catherine after her role in the film and what was a shy cat became very confident under her keeping. See Now is the Time
by Olivia.
Errol Flynn
Legendary character (see his autobiography: My Wicked, Wicked Ways
) who kept a Siamese cat and there he is, above. The name, “Bes Mudi”, is a take on the more conventional “Best Buddy”, I suspect. Perhaps Errol was having a joke on someone, perhaps himself. There is a reference to being muddy (cats are messy and he was near water sometimes) so this might be a reason for the name. Bes Mudi had a classy pedigree and was therefore a pedigree cat and probably a purebred cat too.
Vivien Leigh
Famous for her role as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With The Wind, in which she co-starred with Clarke Gable. She adored Siamese cats and apparently kept a dozen of them. When she passed away her Siamese, Poo Jones, was with her. Vivien Leigh: A Biography
Elizabeth Taylor
She was well known as a person who liked animals and kept Siamese cats, lots of them. Elizabeth Taylor: A Life in Pictures
James Dean
He kept a Siamese cat called Marcus, a gift apparently from Liz Taylor. He liked cats I guess. James Dean 2009 Calendar
Do you have of any more information about Siamese cats and film stars who kept Siamese cats? Please tell us. I’ll place a link here.
From Siamese cats and film stars to Siamese cat breeders
Rationale on publishing picture of Errol Flynn:
- The picture appears to be in wide circulation indicating waiver of copyright
- It is poor quality
- It is very small
- This site is not for profit and non-commercial therefore.
