Miss Davis

Bette Davis

While other actresses concentrated on being likable, Bette Davis set her sites on being memorable (Barbara Walters interview).  She often played villains in her films and is quoted in a memoir written by a close friend as asking: “Why am I so good at playing bitches?  I think it’s because I’m not a bitch.  Maybe that’s why Miss Crawford always plays ladies” (pg 149 Moseley).  But as Sarah stated, she did have a reputation as being difficult to work with so I’m sure some would beg to differ. 

            Miss Davis, that’s what she liked to be called, went through four failed marriages and was abandoned by her father. The result – she despised men.  This was the main reason for the falling out between her and her daughter.  No son-in-law could ever be good enough for Bette Davis’ daughter; she tried everything in her power to break the couple up, but to no avail.  At the age of sixteen, her daughter finally married the much older man (of which I could not find a date of birth) whom she was introduced to on a blind date (Moseley). 

At home, while Bette did have servants and housekeepers, when she was entertaining company she sent them all away so she could hostess her guests herself.  She enjoyed and took much pride in cooking for and serving her friends and family, especially during the holidays (Moseley).

Joan Crawford and Bette Davis feuded for years, especially on the set of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Joan Crawford was the widow of Pepsi’s CEO, so Bette had a Coca-Cola machine installed on the set.  “Joan got her revenge by putting weights in her pockets when Davis had to drag Crawford across the floor during certain scenes.”  Their bad blood was probably due in part to their similarities.  They had comparable reputations on set, they both had lonely personal lives and both of their daughters wrote demoralizing books about them (Fast Facts).

Throughout her career, Miss Davis starred in 122 titles, including both movies and television series.  She won 2 Oscars, one for her role in Dangerous and the other for Jezebel, which we are about to watch, and she was nominated for 8 others – the first person to ever receive 10 Oscar nominations.  Miss Davis was also the first woman to receive the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1977 (Fast Facts).  She was a true pioneer of her time.

Though her family and peers had a bad rapport with her, Miss Davis was still the highest paid woman of her time and her fans adored her.  Davis always respected her fans and was very grateful towards them.  She said being an actress for Hollywood is hard work with no gratitude, but a crowd begging for autographs and pictures is the real reward (Barbara Walters interview).

References

Davis, Bette. Interview by Barbara Walters. 1987. Web. 16 May 2012.  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBF4mQh17qM>.

"Fast Facts." Bette Davis, The Official Website. Web. 16 May 2012.  <http://www.bettedavis.com/about/facts.html>.

Moseley, Roy. Bette Davis an Intimate Memoir. New York: Donald I. Fine Inc., 1989.