If Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler had a daughter together, what would she look like? Cammie King! Or at least that’s what producer David Selznick thought. At 4 years of age, Ms. King landed the role of a lifetime – Bonnie Blue Butler in Gone with the Wind. If you check out Ms. King’s IMDB page, you’ll see her career in film was quite short. In fact, GWTW is her only credited film role! After ‘retiring’ from her film career, Ms. King went on to have a normal childhood and adulthood. She successfully worked in public relations for many decades and is now known as Cammie King Conlon. She often participates in GWTW celebrations (she’ll be in attendance at the Marietta Re-Premiere weekend) and travels the country talking about her experience on the set of her only film gig. Earlier this year, she published Bonnie Blue Butler A Gone With The Wind Memoir in which she “tried to describe what happened both on and off the set” of Gone with the Wind. Visit her website for more information!
V-L.COM: Thank you for participating in my GWTW Interview Series! Let’s begin. What memories do you have about working on the set of Gone with the Wind in 1939?
Cammie King Conlon: I always say I have about 1012 snapshots in my memory, and others filled in the scenarios.
V-L.COM: Who did you enjoy most on set?
V-L.COM: How many times have you watched GWTW?
Cammie King Conlon: About a dozen.
V-L.COM: Do you think Scarlett O’Hara got Rhett Butler back in the end?
Cammie King Conlon: I don’t think so. I think she had hurt him one more time, and he couldn’t take any more. But I think he always loved her.
V-L.COM: Did you attend the 1939 premiere or any other re-premiere event?
Cammie King Conlon: Following the Atlanta premiere in 1939, there was a Hollywood premiere at the Carthay Circle Theater. I got to go to that and remember the crowd outside and the Klieg light. There was a repremiere in Atlanta in 1954 that Ann Rutherford and I attended. And of course the big 50th that Ten Turner produced in Atlanta.
V-L.COM: When were you first introduced to Vivien Leigh, and what was your first impression?
Cammie King Conlon: It goes more into details of what I remember about the film and I’ve surrounded the movie stories with personal memoir. For an order form go to scarlletsbaby@gmail.com.
V-L.COM: This year marks the 70th anniversary of the film, Gone with the Wind, and in honor of the film, the Marietta GWTW Museum is hosting a Re-Premiere weekend November 13 and 14. You, along with the Ann Rutherford, Mary Anderson, Mickey Kuhn, Patrick Curtis, and Greg Geise, will participate in celebrating this legendary film. What does Gone with the Wind mean to you and how has it affected your life?
Cammie King Conlon: Gosh, that’s too much to cover. I have a bit of celebrity only because I was in GWTW. It is humbling to be a part of it. When I go to the South I realize the important part it has in our culture.
She is soo sweet!, I hate she didnt get to make it
Thought provoking post. Very interesting items and have enjoyed immensely.