Bette Davis

Born:

April 5, 1908

Born as:

Ruth Elizabeth Davis

Died:

October 6, 1989

I will never be below the title

Biography:

Ruth decided on an acting career while still a freshman at high school. Her first professional stage performance was Off-Broadway in The Earth Between (1923).

Bette went to Hollywood in 1930 and made her film debut in 1931 in Bad Sister but she became a star after her appearance in The Man Who Played God (1932). With this success under her belt, she began pushing for stronger and more meaningful roles.

Davis snagged Best Actress Oscar nominations five years in a row-for Jezebel (1938)¹, Dark Victory (1939), The Letter (1940), The Little Foxes (1941), and Now, Voyager (1942).

In the late 40s her career seemed headed for oblivion, but Bette countered with All about Eve (1950). The same happened in the late 50s², and this time she emerged with a couple of horror films, including Whatever happened to Baby Jane? (1962) costarring her enemy³ Joan Crawford. In the 1970s she turned often to television.

Academy awards:

1963 Nominated Actress for: What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
1953 Nominated Actress for: The Star (1952)
1951 Nominated Actress for: All About Eve (1950)
1945 Nominated Actress for: Mr. Skeffington (1944)
1943 Nominated Actress for: Now, Voyager (1942)
1942 Nominated Actress for: The Little Foxes (1941)
1941 Nominated Actress for: The Letter (1940)
1940 Nominated Actress for: Dark Victory (1939)
1939 Won Oscar Actress for: Jezebel (1938)
1936 Won Oscar Actress for: Dangerous (1935)
1935 Nominated Actress for: Of Human Bondage (1934)

Selected Movies:

All About Eve (1950)
Now, Voyager (1942)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
The Little Foxes (1941)
Lo Scopone scientifico (1972)
The Petrified Forest (1936)

Bibliography » Books:

Bibliography » Web:

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New Scientist -
Seeing-stars.com -
USPS - Bette Davis on a stamp
Variety - Bette Davis smoked a lot
Variety - The Bette Davis Foundation

Trivia

1. Director Steven Spielberg purchased Davis’ Oscar statuette for Jezebel and the one for Dangerous (1935) and returned them to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He did this to protect the Oscars from further commercial exploitation.

2. In 1961, Davis placed a notorious ad for “Job wanted” in the trade papers.
--Source: Smirk, Sneer and Scream: Great Acting in Horror Cinema, Page 194

3. The rivalry between Bette and Joan Crawford is one of the great legends of Hollywood, yet there was little foundation for it. In the end they had a falling out, but they both had respect for one another`s professional abilities. During their years together at Warners, Joan would often ask Bette to dinner.
--Source: Bette Davis, Page 168

Late in 1930 Bette arrived in Hollywood. The studio representative who went to meet her train left without her because he could find no one who looked like a movie star.

Bette has her handprints set in cement on Hollywood Boulevard (Hollywood, USA, in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theater).
Source / More (Web)

Director Larry Cohen (Wicked Stepmother): “She smoked 100 Vantage cigarettes a day -- five packs. I know because we bought them; it was a big part of our budget”.
Source / More (Web)

Former president of the USA Ronald Reagan said he always disliked Bette, though when Bette nominated herself for the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, Reagan made her an honoree.
--Source: Bette Davis, Page 139

Bette became the 14th inductee into the Legends of Hollywood series on the 100th anniversary of the year of her birth in 2008.
Source / More (Web)

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Bette Davis

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Bette Davis

Born:

Born as:

Died:

Biography:

Academy awards:

Selected Movies:

Bibliography » Books:

Bibliography » Web:

Trivia