Katy went for a walk yesterday with Ona and got cornered by our nosy old neighbors. They apparently talked for 30 minutes about random nonsense and neighborhood rumors. One cool thing that came from it, though, was the guy said “Ona? Muntz? Wasn’t there an actress named ‘Ona Muntz’ or something 60 years ago?”. A quick google search turned up the actress Ona Munson (close enough, says me):

She is best remembered for her role of southern madam Belle Watling in the classic 1939 film, “Gone With the Wind.”

From the main blurb on her wikipedia page, it sounds like she would have been the tabloids dream come true if she was alive today. I can’t imagine this having gone over well in the pre “sex, drugs and rock n’ roll” era. Not necessarily the best role model for Ona, but hell, sounds like she had fun…

Munson was married three times, to actor and director Edward Buzzell in 1927, to Stewart McDonald in 1941, and designer Eugene Berman in 1949. She also had numerous lesbian affairs[1].

In 1955, plagued by ill health, she committed suicide at the age of 51 with an overdose of barbiturates in her apartment in New York.

A note found next to her deathbed read:
“This is the only way I know to be free again…Please don’t follow me.”