She was so kind to me I first met her when I was 18 and had a great friendship with her I was a nobody but she treated me like a friend. I miss her so much. It was a great privilege to have known you. God bless you my darling. Xx
Some people are being really harsh. Consider she was the breadwinner for her mother and sister for years. Their father dumped them when they were young. Her mother had sacrificed to get them the best education she could, promoted their interests. She was probably emotionally immature, living in that bubble. She probably lost faith in her husband after giving up that chance at motherhood.
Bette - despite it all was a "strong" woman and had to be. I marveled at her appeal as an actress and what she had to do to survive the Hollywood Circus!
Bette's WORK was exceptional-- anything else is NOT subject to others' approval. She was a wise, talented, feisty, determined woman. I loved her personality.
Bette Davis - I do agree - "Work is the one thing that won't disappoint you!" She felt relationships cannot bring you what you want but work does. Boy - do I believe her! It's what made me the happiest when I was working. Thank you for clarifying this to everyone.
Her cigarette was her caricature, it was part of her iconic presence. Of course it is always sad when such a powerful, strong person meets demise, but to imagine Bette Davis without her cigarette would be like Bugs Bunny not having a carrot, or Fred Astaire with no dancing shoes.
I don't know much about her but I really like her attitude and views of life.. still now... in 2010, her words and views are current... very strong woman.
Bette was always so proud of her New England ("Yankee, good stock," she'd say) heritage, having been raised in Lowell & Newton, Massachusetts. It's one reason she originally raised her kids on the East coast, didn't want them becoming spoiled, Hollywood brats. She was a real pistol, and, as with missing Lucille Ball, the world's not been quite the same place without her.
Everyone always talks about how great she was in All About Eve, but it was far from her finest performance. Margo Channing and Baby Jane Hudson are certainly her flashiest roles, where she gets to shout, cry, bellow and generally chew the scenery to a shameless degree. Any third-rate actress can do that. Her finest performance is a tie between two roles: Charlotte Vale in Now, Voyager, and Regina Giddens in The Little Foxes. As Charlotte, her emotional responses to her mother, her doctor, her lover and her adopted daughter are all recognisably from the same character, but there are subtle gradations of vocal tone and body language depending on which person she is talking to. A great deal of her performance as Charlotte depends on her eyes. Before her transformation, as fat, neurotic Aunt Charlotte, her spectacles magnify her eyes, giving her an owlish, quizzical, overly anxious appearance. Then, as 'Camille Beauchamps', her frequent wearing of large-brimmed hats hides her eyes and makes her mysterious: she is not yet ready to reveal her unaccustomed beauty. Finally, after her mother's death, her eyes are compassionate and understanding, both with her lover Jerry Durrance and his daughter Tina. This is a finely shaded, marvelously subtle performance, perhaps her finest on film. As Regina Giddens, by contrast, her eyes and mouth are minimised by the rice-flour, quasi-Kabuki makeup she affects, which gives her a frightening, murderous appearance. Her emotions are tightly controlled, as rigid as the corsets she is obviously wearing beneath her postbellum Southern gowns. The scene in which she *SPOILER ALERT* watches impassively while her husband suffers a fatal heart attack is a masterpiece of cool restraint wedded to smoldering, inner intensity. This is my favorite performance of hers. Compared to these renditions, her Margo Channing is uninteresting, an uneasy mix of the worst tics of Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead that is loud, unsubtle and ultimately forgettable.
Bette Davis was not just in a league of her own,she was the league of them all. Meryl Streep today is by far the best living actress ,but Bette Davis is the best ever actress of all time..and that is that. PERIOD.
i think it is pretty sad, to have to feel, that work is more important to us, than human relationships. i think, work gratified her, and people disappointed her. in work, one strives to create the best, in human relationships, the variable is more unstable...for her...i guess.
But she was an artist...and for her work means art. And for any artist, the art is as important as anything. Doubtful she'd say that if she'd been a secretary.
Like this great actress I too had 2 abortions as a married woman & mother to my son, I don't regret doing it, but I do regret having to have been in that situation regardless of how it happened. My husband & I have moved on & we continue to have a very happy & loving relationship in a wonderful family, we got past it, too bad others cannot.
@MissGarland18 ~ I'm a young actress and I try to gather all the advice I can from the greats like Bette. They were so full of wisdom and life experience.
WOW! She is just ... WOW! Every single thing she said in this interview was amazing. It was only 4 mins long, but i LOVE her philosophy and outlook on things. This, to me, makes her even more beautiful at 71 than she was in her Hollywood years. I
You're right. I believe Bette Davis was trying to wear something for the country and cover up as much as she could because of age. I also think that Davis had giving up trying to put on a glamourous look. In her last years she would put on corky outfits with buttons all over. Not classy and glamourous, but diferent and unique.
She was relaxed and this interview is done at home. Davis was never into Hollywood glamour, and initially resisted the studio's efforts to glamorize her. Perhaps you're just to young to remember the fashion of the late 70's, but in any event, there is nothing extraordinary about her outfit. She was an elderly lady by this point.
Look at this beautiful cinematography my father shot of Bette Davis! He told me she had no AC so he made her happy and used buckets of ice and a fan to keep her cool! I remember watching this episode with my Dad! The phone always rang in our home after a great story like this. This is a portion of it. I just love how he zoomed in on her when she dragged her cigarette, my dad was so opposed to smoking. Lol.
What a remarkable woman. So ahead of her time. She was part feminist, part pacifist. Unbelievable that she knew her work was her life at such a young age. Many more should take note. I am 40 and I have chosen not to have children, simply because I don't want them. However in the 1930's and 1940's, this was almost unheard of. Putting a career before children? Wow.
In time even great actors are forgotten or forsaken in memory. But there are some actors who's star power and unique lives, and their contributions to art, help to sustain their memory. Bette Davis is one of those film and stage actors that transcended the conventional and we are still marveling her in 2010.
Yes and I find that quite horrid that she refers to it so casually. Not ONE but TWO abortions!!!!! .... which were simply inconvenient for her stellar career. These Hollywood actors have no shame and no moral compass. I don't care who it is, but terminating another life just because it's inconvenient for you to have that child (even though she was a well off, privileged white actress who knew what she was getting herself into) is shameful and morally bankrupt. It doesn't matter what feminist tropes you play out or position here, facts are facts and can't be twisted timo suits personal agendas. People should think about that before they go to bed with others. To have one abortion is shameful. But to have two, is criminal.
1PartAngel What did her daughter say? She wasn’t biological, but I don’t know if she treated her biological son better. Was her daughter as harsh as “Mommy Dearest?”
Ironic, we have so many, more entities--electronic, print and Internet--devoted to celebrities now than ever before. And yet there are so few, real "stars" left on earth anymore--they're all gone to the heavens. Bette may be gone to the heavens now, but when she was here she certainly raised some hell!
I don't think the "work" statement is too far off. Bette, before any other person - perhaps, before even herself, loved acting. It completed her and it was here she felt the most alive and vibrant. In her line of work, she didn't have to depend, necessarily, on someone else. So in essence - she is saying you can't depend on others to make you happy; only loving yourself can truly make one feel at peace.
Wow: 1) If one didn't know better, he or she would think that Mike Wallace was his son Chris! 2) Bette Davis looked like Rue McClanahan in her final years.
How sad to give up the love of your own child to a career. The kiss and hug of your own child, a little piece of you in your arms, I don't believe a career is worth more than a life that you bring into this world. But that's HOLLYWOOD FOR YOU!
This was the interview well her son and notorious daughter B.D. sings her praises. One of the many examples of the opposite of the lies she tells to this day.
Sorry, but even less commercials, a "60 Minutes" segment (except for Andy Rooney & "Point/Counterpoint") should be more than four minutes and twenty-two seconds (4:22). Is there another part to this yet to be uploaded, or will this be all, just an edited version? If the latter, is the complete episode available for purchase from CBS News?
Why is it that Bette and Katherine Hepburn, and a few other older Hollywood actresses had so much fervor and absolute clarity on who they were and wanted out of life?! So many actors today don’t have 1/8th the perspective? Was it the times and struggles back then that they had to bulldoze through? Or just were born with those genes? I think a combination of both. I would love to be around them and just listen to their wisdom. I think Jane Fonda and Goldie Hawn have it too, Cher says some pretty kool things too. I guess it comes with experience? So, the younger ones just need some more seasoning till they have strong views and r their own person? What’s the formula? Had she gone the child route, there’s no guarantees with kids. U never know how fulfilling it could be? My friends kids are so spoiled and difficult to handle, well the oldest of her 3 kids is. She’s drained by her demands. And my friend is a strong person, but her kid still gets her way. I’m not sure Bette did it wrong like some ppl think? Some think she should have chosen kids over acting? It is what it is. There r enough ppl who went the kids route and put themselves aside to allow others to fulfill their dreams instead. The world is over populated. Nothing wrong with choosing ur career, yet she still had kids anyway. One biological. I think Bette was under appreciated. I think she was so much more than meets the eye. I wish others got to know her more. I think she had so much to give. 🌝🌼🙏
I don't know why everybody all of a sudden becomes self righteous when they peek into other peoples lives and are quick to judge and execute those for making decisions. Not one person on this status thread are angels...every single one of us have made some fucked up choices in our lives.
Wow, how honest of Bette to confess to having 2 abortions on 60 Minutes. In her book,"This N That" she wrote that on her last film she contacted Kim Carnes who sang the song,"Bette Davis Eyes" and asked for T-shirts from her concert to give to the cast & crew.
do not confuse things.... of course I like Bette Davis and love her movies and personality. I am just shocked with her response !!! The fact that you don't regret something doesn't mean that it was right. She killed two human beings and that is something that in no way can be justified and praised.
I agree. I am disappointed in her because I admired her as an actress but her response with regards to TWO (not one but TWO!) abortions for reasons which were so pathetic that it is sad and shocking. Someone wanting a "career" is not a good enough reason for murdering a human in one's womb. I am a big BD fan, but those comments to me have made me see her differently now and it's hard to condone. People can say what they like and carry on about "pro choice", but murder is murder. It really IS THAT simple!!!!! Bette knew what she was doing. If she didn't want to have children because of her "brilliant career", then perhaps she could've chosen contraception, or practiced celibacy. Oh funny about that???? ... how people so casually forget that celibacy is also an option? Gee wiz! Murder, no matter how you frame it, is never an option. I don't care how liberated, famous, talented or fabulous you think you are.
Come to think of it, I really don't think there's been anyone after Bette Davis who could measure up to that kind of acting. I'm also talking about Katharine Hepburn too, among other actresses of Hollywood's past. They had an extraordinary knack for acting. I mean these days, all you see is comedy, fantasy and action movies (in 3D). There's been some good drama movies. But I feel like nothing from the contemporary era measures up to the classical era (the "Golden Age" of Hollywood).
@surearrow I have no idea why you think she was horrid and shallow. She was straightforward and honest and by far one of the greatest, if not THE greatest actress of all time!
@catguy00 I totally agree, she did reject the morals of the past with regards to sexual freedom and that I guess is what makes most fans of Bette Davis love her. How she didn't try to fit in, but she tried to be unique and do it her way instead.
Bette Davis, Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Joan Crawford, & Norma Shearer are ALL in the same class. All 4 ruled at the same time. All these women learned from each other how to survive in a mans world
