Fascinating Vintage Photos of 15 Hollywood Starlets Posing With Big Shamrock in the Background

Hollywood starlets in the mid-20th century often embraced St. Patrick’s Day with glamorous and festive celebrations. The golden age of Hollywood saw actresses like Maureen O’Hara, an Irish-born star, leading the festivities with parades, charity events, and themed photo shoots.

Young actresses posed for St. Patrick’s Day-themed photos, often wearing green dresses, holding shamrocks, or playfully posing with leprechaun decorations. Below is a collection of 15 fascinating vintage photos of Hollywood starlets posing with big shamrock in the background to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

Angela Greene

Ann Sheridan

Ava Gardner

Clara Bow

Deborah Walley

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Olga San Juan Posing for St. Patrick’s Day in 1945

Olga San Juan wishing her fans a happy St. Patrick’s Day in 1945:

Olga San Juan (March 16, 1927 – January 3, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born in Brooklyn, she began her brief film career with Paramount Pictures after being scouted at Copacabana. She performed in several Hollywood musicals in the 1940s and on Broadway in Paint Your Wagon (1951).

Irish McCalla Posing for St. Patrick’s Day Holiday in 1956

Actress Irish McCalla — who portrayed television’s Sheena, Queen of the Jungle from 1955 to 1956 — may have been born in Nebraska, but for this photo she lived up to her name to proclaim “Erin Go Bragh” (“Ireland Forever”) in commemoration of the coming St. Patrick’s Day holiday on March 15, 1956.

Nellie Elizabeth “Irish” McCalla (December 25, 1928 – February 1, 2002) was an American film and television actress and artist best known as the title star of the 1950s television series Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. She co-starred with actor Chris Drake. McCalla was also a “Vargas Girl” model for pin-up girl artist Alberto Vargas.

McCalla recalled being discovered by a Nassour Studios representative while throwing a bamboo spear on a Malibu, California, beach, adding of her Sheena experience, “I couldn’t act, but I could swing through the trees.” Her 26-episode series aired in first-run syndication from 1955 to 1956.

The athletic McCalla said she performed her own stunts on the series, filmed in Mexico, until the day she grabbed an unsecured vine and slammed into a tree, breaking her arm. Her elder son, Kim McIntyre, once told the press he remembered watching his mother swinging from vine to vine and wrestling mechanical alligators. Following the one-season Sheena, McCalla appeared in five films from 1958 to 1962, and guest roles on the TV series Have Gun — Will Travel and Route 66.

U2 Marching in the New York City St. Patrick’s Day Parade, 1982

U2 captured walking down streets of New York City, crashing the legendary St Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17, 1982. The band were playing The Ritz that evening as part of the 4th leg of the October tour.

In March 1982, U2 was asked to be in the Saint Patrick’s Day parade in New York City. The band agreed. But when they discovered that the parade was being dedicated to an important IRA leader, they decided not to participate. As citizens of Ireland, U2 was always asked to take a stand on the Troubles. For Bono and the rest of the band, their stand was that they thought the fighting should end. They didn’t want to support hurting people in any way.

When he got back to Ireland, Bono couldn’t stop thinking about all the violence going on in the world. The band decided to call their new album War. The song “New Year’s Day” was about political protests in Poland. “Seconds” was about the threat of nuclear weapons. The album’s most famous song was called “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” The message of U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was not for or against the IRA. It was simply a call to end all the fighting.

Maureen O’Hara With Her Dog “Trip” in a Bowler Hat and Shamrock, 1954

The approach of St. Patrick’s Day and the fact that movie star Maureen O’Hara was born in Dublin resulted in these pictures of Miss O’Hara and her dog “Trip,” in bowler and shamrock, getting ready for the big day on the Hollywood set of The Long Grey Line, in which Miss O’Hara is working, March 13, 1954.

(Photos: AP Photo)

Vintage Photographs of St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations in Baltimore in the 1970s

The photos are in black and white, but be sure that everyone was in green. Here’s a selection of 12 vintage photographs from The Baltimore Sun’s archives that show what St. Patrick’s Day celebrations looked like in Baltimore in the 1970s.

Susie Cook pours a stiff dram of usquebaugh in Sweeney’s bar amid a crowd of St. Patrick’s Day revelers smiling with happy Irish eyes. March 18, 1970. (The Baltimore Sun)

…and comely lasses dance a jig in front of the Pratt. March 1973. (The Baltimore Sun)

March, 1976. (Pearson, The Baltimore Sun).

Don’t spill it: it’s precious. Forty out of breath sprinters tried to go 100 yards without spilling their beer from tray borne cups during the 8th annual Great Annapolis Beer Race, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. The winner was David A. Woyeke, 29, an Annapolis hi-fi salesman, who said after his victory, “This is the first and last one.” March, 1976. (The Baltimore Sun)

One of the 43 units that took part in yesterday’s St. Patrick’s Day parade in a chilly breeze steps out briskly at Baltimore and Calvert streets. March 1976. (Pearson, The Baltimore Sun).

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14 Vintage Food Ads for St. Patrick’s Day From the Mid-20th Century

St. Patrick’s Day is a holiday known for parades, shamrocks and all things Irish, from leprechauns to the color green. Inspired by the Irish holiday, here we’ve rounded up some old-school St. Paddy’s Day-inspired ads.

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Lucille Ball Dressed Up for St Patrick’s Day, ca. 1930s

Lucille Ball was born in 1911 in Jamestown, New York. One of America’s most beloved comedians, she is particularly known for her iconic television show ‘I Love Lucy.’

At age 15, Ball went to New York City to attend drama school and become an actress. However, she received little encouragement and was rejected multiple times from Broadway chorus lines. She remained in New York City, however, and by 1927 Ball, who had started calling herself Diane Belmont, found work as a model, first for fashion designer Hattie Carnegie, and then, after overcoming a debilitating bout of rheumatoid arthritis, for Chesterfield cigarettes.

In the early 1930s, Ball, who had dyed her chestnut hair blonde, moved to Hollywood to seek out more acting opportunities. Work soon followed, including a stint as one of the 12 “Goldwyn Girls” to promote the 1933 Eddie Cantor flick Roman Scandals. She landed a role as an extra in the Ritz Brothers film The Three Musketeers, and then in 1937 earned a sizable part in Stage Door, starring Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.

Below are some rare and fascinating vintage photos of Lucille Ball celebrating St. Patrick’s Day from the 1930s.

Recipe of the Month: St. Patrick’s Day Dinner by Marjorie Reynolds, 1945

Marjorie Reynolds, who danced to stardom with Fred Astaire in Paramount’s Holiday Inn, and is now playing in Bring on the Girls and the Sol Lesser comedy 3 Is a Family, does a fine job in the kitchen too. Try her recipe for Baked Ginger-Glazed Ham, and you’ll see what we mean.

When hams are plentiful it really isn’t an extravagance to buy a whole one, even for a small family, if you are a clever cook. Because after its appearance as star of a company dinner, the ham can make many return engagements in such a variety of unusual and delicious main dishes that you’ll be sorry to see the last of it.

Recipe page from the March 1945 Movies magazine.

So the next time you can buy a whole ham, why not give a dinner party with Marjorie Reynolds’ fine recipe to make the occasion a rousing success? If you serve it on St. Patrick’s Day, here’s the menu Marjorie suggests:

• Grapefruit Cup
• Baked Ginger-Glazed Ham
• Creamed Spinach
• Mashed Potatoes
• Watercress Salad
• Blue Cheese Dressing
• Hot Baking Powder Biscuits
• Peppermint Ice Cream (tinted green)
• Coffee

And here is the recipe for the star of the show:

BAKED GINGER-GLAZED HAM

Select a tender (uncooked) smoked ham, weighing 10-14 pounds. Place fat side up on rack in open roasting pan. If a meat thermometer is used, insert it in thickest part of ham, being sure bulb does not rest on bone.

Bake in a moderately slow oven (325°F.), allowing 18-20 minutes per pound or until thermometer reads 160°F. One hour before ham is done, remove from oven. Peel off skin. Score fat in crisscross diagonal lines, to form diamonds, using a sharp knife.

Insert a whole clove in the center of each diamond. Spread with prepared mustard. Pat in mixture of 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1 tablespoon flour. Pour over about 1/2 cup dry ginger ale.

Return to oven. Bake 1 hour longer, basting at 20-minute intervals with ginger ale, using 2 cups in all.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day From Irish Beauty Maureen O’Hara

Maureen O’Hara (1920–2015) was a renowned American actress and singer of Irish descent. The green-eyed beauty with flaming red hair was admired for her fiery and passionate roles in several American films.

Her natural beauty and glamorous appearance was much appreciated and she was popularly known as the ‘Queen of Technicolor’ in Hollywood. Her onscreen characters reflected her own strong, courageous spirit who fought for recognition and survival in this male-dominated world. She always called herself the “tough Irish lass” who would never compromise with her respect and reputation to land the roles she deserved through merit.

Throughout her career in the film arena, she always stood up against injustice and improper treatment against women actors and for this, she gained a lot of followers. Her autobiography, Tis Herself, published in 2004, gave a candid and truthful account of her entire life experiences including her struggles while climbing the ladder to success.

She was an adventurous woman who was not frightened of carrying out her own stunts. Over the years, she starred in more than 60 films and gained a lot of popularity throughout the world.

Here, we collected some of glamorous photos of a young Maureen O’Hara dressed up for Saint Patrick’s Day to celebrate the holiday of this year.

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20 Wonderful Vintage St. Patrick's Day Postcards Made by Artist Ellen Clapsaddle From the Early 20th Century

Ellen Clapsaddle (1865-1934) was an American illustrator/commercial artist in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Not only is her style greatly admired and well recognized, today she is recognized as the most prolific souvenir/postcard and greeting card artist of her era.

Clapsaddle started by giving art lessons in her home in South Columbia. At the same time she created her own landscapes and was commissioned to paint portraits of families in Richfield Springs. She also submitted her work to publishers in New York City and became a recognized commercial artist. She was a freelance artist and her illustrations were often used in advertising and on porcelain goods, calendars, paper fans, trade and greeting cards.

Clapsaddle's greatest success was in the development of her artwork into single-faced cards that could be kept as souvenirs or mailed as postcards and she specialized in designing illustrations specifically for that purpose. Artistic designs had become highly prized particularly during the peak of production of the "golden age of souvenir/postcards" (1898-1915) for their great marketing possibilities. Clapsaddle is credited with over 3000 designs in the souvenir/post card field.

St. Patrick's Day is coming! And here, we collected 20 wonderful vintage postcards made by Ellen Clapsaddle from the early 20th century.

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Rare Footage of St Patrick's Day Parade in New York City in Pouring Rain, 1960

Title - 'The rain is green. Irish defy weatherman'.

High angle LS of the St Patrick's Day parade. LS policeman on horseback. MS two girls with Irish style hats on. LS parade of girls dressed in white dresses playing flutes. Various shots crowd of people wearing Irish style hats.

MS as parade comes towards and past camera, showing Irish bagpipe band. High angle MS of St Patrick's Cathedral. MS Cardinal outside the Cathedral. Various shots of the parade showing drum majorettes and policemen marching along, with cut-ins of spectators.

Erin Go Bragh - Ireland Forever! 20 Lovely Vintage St. Patrick's Day Postcards From the Early 20th Century

Wishing you a happy St. Patrick's Day!

These old postcards just take you back in time, right back to the early 1900s for some of these cards. Wouldn't it be fun to get a card like one of these in the mail this week?

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Erin go Bragh: A Collection of 32 Interesting Vintage Cards to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

Erin go Bragh is an English corruption of the phrase Éirinn go Brách in the Irish language. It is most often translated as “Ireland Forever.”

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