Last 'Gone With the Wind' Cast Member Dies

2014 has still only just begun, and as with any new year it is for many a time of renewal and a shedding of what came before. This closing of past chapters can be bittersweet — and is of course not strictly relegated to "new years" and calendar dates — especially when it involves losing one of the last living cast members of one of the most legendary productions of all time. Alicia Rhett, the last of the known living cast of Gone With The Wind , has died at the age of 98.

For those in need of a memory jog, Rhett played India Wilkes, sister to object of affection Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), and adversary of Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh). She was cast in Gone With The Wind after being scouted from local Charleston, South Carolina theater productions — and after the filming of the movie she chose not to pursue Hollywood further, but rather to return to Charleston, which is where she passed Friday evening.

She was the last known surviving cast member — the more well-known names of the production around 50 years ago: Vivien Leigh in 1967, Clark Gable in 1960, Hattie McDaniel in 1952.

According to reports she lived a relatively quiet life, developing a reputation as a local talented artist and never marrying. No matter what kind of life you lead after having been in Gone With the Wind, though, that's a rather legendary mark to have on one's life.

Image: MGM