I don’t remember exactly when I watched Summer of ‘42 for the first time. I know that it was on TV, probably in a Late Night Session, dubbed and fragmented, in the late 80s; and that, in my early 20s, I was already experiencing the first symptoms of cinephilia.
In the prodromal phase of the disease, I still didn’t have an appreciation of Michel Legrand’s music, the beautiful photography, much less the script, Robert Mulligan’s direction, nor the funny child actors.
All my senses were taken over by Jennifer O’Neill.
Although she only appears in the film for 14 minutes, that Dorothy on the beach bewitched me. There are lots of beautiful actors, but Jennifer had that something special. She had a sweet, warm, emotional, slightly sad beauty. There was a transcendent beauty also in the way she spoke, looked, and smiled. It is true that for a few months that woman-muse-enchantress inhabited my dreams and those of a legion of people around the world, infatuated with her.
‘Jenniferopathy’
Recently, a friend told me that he had suffered from “Jenniferopathy” for over 20 years. The unfortunate man was cured but remains under medical supervision!
One of the signs of cinephilia is the urge to make and adopt lists. And so, the lists started to appear: lists of Italian neo-realism, of nouvelle vague and other such types. In my list of universal classics, there were unanimities like Casablanca and Citizen Kane and also more personal preferences, like Cinema Paradiso and, of course, Summer of ‘42.
I rewatched it a few weeks ago, and I must confess that I fell for Jennifer O’Neill all over again, with milder symptoms this time, but enough to rekindle my interest in the actor. I decided to broaden the spectrum by watching three of her other films: Rio Lobo, The Innocent, and Scanners.
But Jennifer is not just beautiful; she is also talented and charming. It wasn’t for nothing that Luchino Visconti chose her to star in his exquisite L’Innocente, where she is gorgeous, dubbed in Italian.
Biography
Moving on from filmography to biography, you can imagine my surprise when I discovered that the girl was Brazilian, a true-blue native of Rio de Janeiro. That discovery generated new curiosities and speculations. Up to what age had she lived in Rio? Did she speak Portuguese?
I decided to do some research. While pleasantly browsing the shelves of the Hemeroteca Digital Brasileira, I found news, notes, pictures, and records that helped me understand the story.
Jennifer’s grandfather, Oscar Delgado O’Neill, was an American citizen born in Puerto Rico. At the beginning of the 20th century, he moved to Rio with his wife and young son, Oscar O’Neill Jr., with all his goods and chattels.
The O’Neill family lived on Rua Canning, in Ipanema, and had a house up in the mountains. For many years, Oscar Senior was a well-known figure in the business world of Rio de Janeiro, serving as CEO of Banco Latino Americano S.A. He never again returned to his homeland. He died in Teresópolis and was buried there in 1961.
Oscar O’Neill Jr. spent his childhood and adolescence in Rio. We presume he frequented the beach and became part of the Rio way of life in the romantic 30s. At the age of 17, he went to the United States, where he became an Air Force pilot.
With the onset of the Second World War, he was sent to the front, flying a B-17. The 1943 newspapers carry several articles about the bold maneuvers of the “Ace” pilot, Captain O’Neill Jr. He was, in turn, presumed dead, taken prisoner by the Germans, and decorated four times. After the war he married an Englishwoman named Irene, and returned to live in Rio. In 1948, their daughter Jennifer was born.
Trump Card
With the actor’s connection to Brazil now clear, there were still some unanswered questions. What if I asked her directly? That wouldn’t be so difficult, given that her email was available on her personal page, but would she respond?
I had one trump card! In my searches, I found a report in the Jornal do Brasil entitled “They flew 8000 km to hug grandpa.” The photo showed Oscar O’Neill Jr (in suit and hat) and his wife Irene with their little two-year-old Jennifer and her three-year-old brother Michael on a trip to Rio in 1950. The little girl in the photo would definitely be happy with that treasure.
And she was! Jennifer answered me the same day. I was utterly flabbergasted! I guess it was my lucky day. First, she thanked me for the gift. Then she said that she loved Rio but had only lived there for a short time. After that trip when she was two, she had only returned on one other occasion, when she was 11, to spend a summer with her grandparents, who were still living between Ipanema and a house in the mountains.
She told me that she had been raised in the US and sadly did not speak Portuguese. She said goodbye, wishing me blessings.
Today, far from showbiz, Jennifer O’Neill runs an equine therapy farm in Nashville. She writes books, gives lectures, and is involved in humanitarian campaigns.
At 76, with beautiful white hair, Jennifer O’Neill retains that aura of mythical beauty that I referred to earlier. She also maintains her prestige as a film star: Jen has a cameo coming out in Reagan, a new film starring Dennis Quaid, where she plays Nelle Reagan, the former president’s mother. As well as that, she told me (we are almost friends now!) that she has written and will be acting in two more films to be produced shortly: Hillenglade and Remember (with Matthew Sargent).
Outside of showbiz, Jen runs an equine therapy farm in Nashville, writes books, gives lectures, and is involved in humanitarian campaigns. What vitality this great lady has! It was cool to bring back a little of her history, her films, her Brazilian roots. It was more special still to have participated in this script, even if it was as a simple supporting actor.
This article was originally published in Portuguese in the Diário do Rio newspaper on March 5, 2024