Bette Davis (54 page)

Tarkington, Booth. The Flirt. New York: Doubleday, 1913.

. Seventeen. New York: Harper, 1932. Terry, Walter. Ted Shawn. New York: Dial, 1976.

Thomas, Bob. Clown Prince of Hollywood. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990. Vermilye, Jerry. Bene Davis. New York: Pyramid, 1973. Wallis, Hal, and Charles Higham. Starmaker. New York: Macmillan, 1980. Warner, Jack. My First Hundred Years in Hollywood. New York: Random

House, 1965. Williams, Dakin, and Shepherd Mead. Tennessee Williams. New York: Arbor

House, 1983. Williams, Tennessee. Collected Stories. New York: Ballantine, 1986.

Five O'Clock Angel. New York: Knopf, 1990.

__-. Memoirs. New York: Bantam, 1976.

_. Three by Tennessee. New York: Signet, 1976.

Wood, Audrey, with Max Wilk. Represented by Audrey Wood. New York:

Doubleday, 1981. Yurka, Blanche. Bohemian Girl. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1970. Zolotow, Maurice. Stagestruck. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1964.

Index

Balzac, Honore de, 24 Banca Comerciale Italiana, 108 Bancroft, Anne, 268, 269 Bankhead, Tallulah, 137, 142, 153,

176, 177, 178, 179, 180,

181, 182,223-24,292 Banks, Monty, 110 Barrie, James, 53 Barry, Philip, 143 Barrymore, Ethel, 56, 201 Barrymore, John, 99 Barrymore family, 67 Barthelmess, {Catherine Wilson, 51,

234 Barthelmess, Richard, 81, 89, 234 Batchelder, Ellen, 18, 27, 31, 81,

84, 85, 86, 87, 107, 247,

248, 310 Bates College, 7 Baxter, Anne, 223, 232, 311 B.D. Inc., 193, 200, 201, 203, 204,

206, 210, 212 Before Breakfast (O'Neill), 58 Behrman, Stanley, 236 Beloved Vagabond, The, 108 Bennett, Richard, 68 Benrimo, J. Harry, 55 Bergman, Ingrid, 222 Bergner, Elisabeth, 204, 221 Berkeley, Busby, 136, 137 Bernhardt, Curtis, 205 Berry, Barbara, see Davis, Barbara

Harriet Berry, David, 322 Berry, David Roscoe, 219 Bersteeg, Gay, 246, 247 Beyond the Forest, 214, 215 Bill of Divorcement, A, 99, 143 Black, Michael, 327 Black Foxe Military Academy, 269 Blair, Mary, 57 Blake, J. Warren, 35, 36, 39, 42,

43,68 Blanke, Henry, 147-48, 150 Bloch, Bertram, 52 Bogart, Humphrey, 125 Bordertown, 98

Boston Post, 79 Bourke-White, Margaret, 24 Bowden, Charles, 256 Brand, Edward R., 270, 271 Branson, Justice, 113, 115, 116,

117, 118, 119, 124 Breen, Joseph I., 163, 164 Brenner, Don, 126, 179, 239, 242,

272,277,278-80,303,311,

318, 330 Brent, George, 87, 88, 96, 104,

130, 135, 147, 158, 160 Bride Came COD., The, 179 Broadway (Dunning and Abbott), 53 Broadway theater, 48, 266 Broken Blossoms, 321 Broken Dishes (Flavin), 66, 67, 84 Bronte, Charlotte, 136 Bronte, Emily, 134, 167 Brook, Clive, 108 Brooks, Richard, 244 Brooks, VanWyck, 31 Brown, Albert, 209 Brown, Robin (Marie Simpson), 49,

107, 144, 160, 194, 247,

312 background of, 45-46, 54, 89 on B.D. Hyman, 277, 305, 310,

317,318 Bette's career and, 51, 58, 280,

281 Bette's friendship with, 45-46,

69, 103, 131, 157, 159, 161,

167, 206, 228, 233, 245,

246, 248, 254, 273, 280,

309, 312, 320 career of, 45-46, 54-57, 61, 67 marriages of, 67, 69, 157, 209,

308 Browne, Lennox, 20 Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 20 Bruehl, Anton, 23 Budd, OthoW.,228, 248 Budd, Ruthie, see Davis, Ruthie

Favor Bunny OHare, 281 Burlesque, 48

361

Burnt Offerings, 280

Butternut, 194, 212

Byron, Arthur, Jr. (Bunny), 67, 69

Cabin in the Cotton, 89-90, 92, 93,

94, 95, 234 Cagney, James, 75-76, 103, 106,

112,298,336 Campbell, Kathleen, 20 Campbell, Lawton, 68 Camp Mudjekewis, 25, 29-30, 31 Cannes Film Festival, 272, 324, 325 Canning, Alice, 15 Cantor, Eddie, 48 Cape Playhouse, 54, 67 Carey, Harry, Jr., 322, 323 Carpenter, Meta, 179, 187, 189-90,

192, 266 Camera, Barbara, 329 Carroll, Lewis, 33 Carroll, Madeleine, 108 Casablanca, 198

Case of the Howling Dog, The, 97 Cassidy, Claudia, 257 Casuarina Tree, The (Maugham),

163 Catered Affair, The, 244 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Williams),

251 Cerilla, Ginny, 301-2 Chandler, Helen, 93 Channing, Carol, 292 Chatterton, Ruth, 87, 103, 125 Chertok, Jack, 202 Chevalier, Maurice, 108 Children's Hour, The (Hellman), 71 Chotiner, Murray, 270 Christian Broadcasting Network,

314 Cinecitta, 108 Civic Repertory Theatre, 48 Claire, Ina, 180 Clarence White School of

Photography, 23 Clarke, Thurmond, 149 Clovelly, Cecil, 59, 61-62 Clymer, John, 81

Coburn, Charles, 55, 56

Cohen, Larry, 326-29

Cohen, Mark, 145

Colbert, Claudette, 48, 222, 226

Colman, Ronald, 66

Colonial House, 300-1

Colt, Samuel Blythe, 56

Comet over Broadway, 136, 137

Comoro, Hedda, 199

Conn, Carl, 99

Connecting Rooms, 286

Conroy, Frank, 38, 53

Cooper, Gary, 74, 177

Cooper, Gladys, 52, 189

Coquette, 48

Cornell, Katharine, 51-52, 56, 66,

134, 157, 169, 171, 172,

173, 177, 335 Corn Is Green, The, 201, 203, 208,

213, 296 Corsaro, Frank, 2, 250, 259 on Bette's instability, 255-60 Bette's resentment of, 3, 251,

252, 254, 259-60, 262, 263 Cousin Bene (Balzac), 24 Covered Wagon, The, 85 Cozens, Maureen, 330 Craddock, Jane (Mile. Roshanara),

37-38, 39, 59 Crawford, Christina, 305 Crawford, Joan, 85-86, 265-266,

267, 268, 305 Crestalban, 20-22, 23, 25, 50 Crews, Laura Hope, 54 Crisp, Donald, 133 Cromwell, John, 94, 95 Croslan, Alan, 97 Cruze, James, 85 Cukor, George, 53, 54, 55, 56, 143,

152 Cummins, Oscar, 143, 154, 155 Currier, Guy, 36 Currier, Marie, 36-37 Curtiz, Michael, 89, 90, 92-93, 95,

122, 155 Cushing Academy, 34-35, 39, 42-

43

Index

Damita, Lili, 139

dance, interpretive, 15, 36-39, 73,

124, 133 Dane, Essex, 52 Dangerous, 98, 99, 100, 131,

151 D'Annunzio, Gabriele, 108 Dark Horse, The, 88,90 Dark Victory, 141-42, 149, 157, 158, 266

Judith Traherne character in, 2, 142-43, 146, 147

stage version of, 137, 142 Davis, Barbara Harriet (Bobby):

Bette accompanied by, 137, 140-41,203,211,212,217, 219-20, 233, 245, 246

Bette's career and, 83, 86, 90, 94, 98, 120

Bette's relationship with, 86, 96, 194, 219-20, 239-40, 248, 269-70, 279, 298, 306

birth of, 12, 233

charity ball organized by, 139

childhood of, 12, 15, 17-18, 19-20,21,23,25,27-28,29-30, 33, 38, 39, 45, 47, 49, 53, 319

daughter of, 161, 211, 230, 240

death of, 306, 332

health of, 29-30, 80, 81,279

marriages of, 107, 124, 161, 219

mental illness of, 17-18, 45, 80, 86,87-88,90,91,96,98, 124, 154, 161, 190,240, 269-70,314

as pianist, 24-25, 29, 38 Davis, Bette:

Academy Awards and, 98, 100-101, 105, 139, 151, 152, 200, 213, 238, 268-69

acting style of, 50-51, 58, 64, 69, 89-90, 95-96, 169, 179, 185, 188, 199-200, 206, 223-26, 251-52, 296, 297, 300, 323, 324, 335-336

agents of, 213-14, 302, 322, 326- \

27 alcohol problems of, 81, 194,

229, 252-53, 280, 283, 285,

295-96, 301, 323 ambitions of, 41-42, 43, 45, 56,

69, 88, 92, 162 at auditions, 59, 81-83 bequests made by, 326 birth of, 9 as chain-smoker, 157, 250, 286-

87, 305, 309, 328 childhood of, 9-41,319 dance training of, 37-39, 50-51,

90, 129 death of, 306, 332 direction resisted by, 179, 181,

184, 187-88, 189, 197-200,

205, 213, 214, 299, 323-24 at drama school, 16, 47, 49-50,

52 fans of, 1, 199,201,226,261-

62 film persona developed by, 2-3,

73, 79, 148, 188, 212, 213,

225-26, 282, 299, 335 film roles vs. life of, 40-41, 62,

63-64, 94, 146, 158-59,

196,223,231-32,304,311,

320 finances of, 39, 59, 68, 83-84,

87, 93, 99, 103, 104-5, 106,

108, 110-11, 115, 119-20,

122, 123, 140-41, 183,200-

1,211,246,268,273,280,

290,295,307,311 first film of, 79 in foreign films, 108-17, 119,

246, 275 friendships of, 27, 31, 81, 84,

190,301 as grandmother, 281, 290, 314,

320 health problems of, 15, 20, 22-

23, 60-62, 93, 99, 122-24,

131, 136-37, 148, 154-55,

157-58, 182-83, 189, 201,

363

229, 235-36, 263, 296-97, 308-9,311,312-13,316-17, 325, 327-28, 331-32

Hollywood contracts of, 59, 68, 83-84, 87, 89, 99-100, 103-6, 108-11, 114-117, 140-41,200-1,212,213-15,268

imitations of, 292-93

loneliness of, 280, 297, 301, 302, 312, 319, 320, 327, 329

love affairs of, 126, 131, 134-35, 137, 138, 139, 144-46, 147, 159-60, 161, 167-68, 183, 192, 199, 202-3, 206-7, 222-23, 228-29, 230-31, 253, 255, 280, 288-90, 303-5

marriages of, see Farnsworth, Arthur Austin; Merrill, Gary; Nelson, Harmon Oscar, Jr.; Sherry, William Grant

memoirs of, 25, 40, 48, 236, 312-13, 325-326

as mother, 212, 217, 227-28, 233-34, 237, 239-44, 247, 249, 269-74, 276-77, 278-79,281,288,289,290,295, 296,297-98,300,301,305-6, 313, 316-17, 318-20, 330,331,332,333,334

as mother-in-law, 276, 305-6, 314

name of, 9, 24

obsessiveness of, 14, 23, 54, 86, 125, 126, 238, 245^6, 256, 257, 277-78, 284,302-3, 330

physical appearance of, 27, 36, 45,52,58,68,77,81,82, 84, 85, 120, 130, 137, 139-40, 155,252-53,261,282, 298, 307, 311, 326, 327-28, 329, 331, 332

pregnancies of, 95, 135, 137, 167, 168, 169, 171,210, 211,212

as producer, 193, 200-1, 204-5, 210,212,213-14

professional rivalries and, 99, 100, 152-53, 157, 177-78, 180-82, 223-24, 252-53, 268-69, 321-22, 324

publicity on, 84, 102, 103,

110-11, 120, 124, 137, 175, 258, 265-66, 324-25

reviews of, 58, 65, 79, 97, 257-58, 262, 324

in school plays, 21, 42-43, 52

screen tests of, 66-67, 68, 81-83

stage work of, 1-3, 52-68, 235, 236, 250-63, 282, 296-97

strong characters preferred by, 52, 69, 213, 225-26, 335

studio conflicts of, 2, 96, 97, 99-100, 102-122, 123-24, 136-37, 156-61, 175, 190-92, 210-11,213-215,266-67, 336

television roles of, 280, 299-300, 307,311,314,316,319

temperament of, 55, 62, 77, 81, 84, 86, 87, 96, 125, 189, 191,202-3,205,210-11, 214-15,216-21,232,254, 262-63,265,301,309,321-22, 322-23, 326-27, 336

unreliability of, 210, 256, 296-97,298

voice of, 50

youthful romances of, 23, 30-33, 34, 35-36, 39, 42-43, 44-45,46-47,49,51,56,65, 67, 68, 85-86, 88-89 Davis, Edward, 7 Davis, Eliza, 7, 8, 10 Davis, Harlow Morrell:

Bette's career and, 43, 45, 47, 58-60, 62-65

death of, 131-32,248

education of, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-13

as father, 9-13, 15,28,29, 31, 39, 42-43, 45, 60, 62-63, 231-32, 233-34

Index

Davis, Harlow Morrell (com.) first marriage of, 8-10, 13-14,

17, 18-19,28-29,40-41, 43,91, 103, 131-32, 140, 231-32,319

second marriage of, 18, 26, 45, 103, 131, 144 Davis, Mildred Favor, 6, 11, 17,

18, 25, 26, 49, 91

Davis, Minnie Stewart, 18, 26, 45, 103, 131-32, 231

Davis, Myron, 17, 18, 26

Davis, Owen, 127

Davis, Ruthie Favor, 4-7, 25-26, 68, 96, 158, 194, 272 Bette's career and, 3, 23, 24, 36, 38, 43-50, 52, 53-55, 57-58, 61-62, 65, 66, 68-69, 76-78, 81,83,84,88,90-91,95, 100, 101, 107-8, 113, 118-

19, 120, 124, 137, 154-55, 184, 310, 314, 330, 335

Bette's romantic relationships and,

32, 34, 47, 49-50, 65, 85,

90-91,96-97, 113, 140,

208, 209-10, 276 Bobby Davis's emotional

problems and, 18, 45, 80,

81,86,87,88,90,91, 161,

248 death of, 3, 248, 269, 306, 332 Delsarte studied by, 4-5, 15, 16,

66 divorce of, 18-19, 27-28, 319 emotional problems of, 13, 14,

15-16, 17, 60, 314 financial issues and, 20, 23, 34,

37, 40, 43-44, 49, 50, 94 first marriage of, 8-10, 13, 17,

18-19,26,40-41,43,88,

91, 103, 131-32, 140,231-

32, 233, 319 grandchildren of, 160, 240-41,

247 health of, 20-21,25-26 homes chosen by, 86, 93, 174-75,

211-12,245,248,301

later marriages of, 87-88, 207,

212, 228, 248 as photographer, 14-15, 23-25,

27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 36,

37,40-41,43,44,77-78,

88, 126, 174, 208, 212,

234 physical appearance of, 44 religious beliefs of, 6, 124 as seamstress, 29, 31, 44, 85 as working mother, 21, 22, 23,

25,27,34,36,40,41,43-

44, 49, 50 as young mother, 9-19 Days of Wine and Roses, 269 Dead Pigeon, The, 268 Dead Ringer, 268,275 Deauville Film Festival, 324, 326 Deception, 210, 211, 212, 213 DeGuzman, Michael, 319 Delsarte, Francois, 5, 72, 133, 136 Delsarte system, 4-5, 15, 16, 20-

21,24,36,37,38,66,73,

129, 133 Denby, Edwin, 51 Denton, Hall and Burgin, 112, 118,

119, 122 Design for Living, 153 Desire Under the Elms (O'Neill), 81 Dewey, Thomas E., 121 Dickinson, Dorrel, 184 Dictator, The, 108 Dieterle, William, 95, 99, 132, 134,

147, 150 Dietrich, Marlene, 74 Disraeli, 74, 84, 101 Divorcee, The, 74 Donovan, Maggie, 178 Driving Miss Daisy, 327 Dunham, George J. (Gige), 31, 32,

33, 35, 39, 68 Dunning, Philip, 53

Eagels, Jeanne, 99, 164 Ealing Studios, 110 Earth Between, The, 52, 53, 55, 56-58, 59, 65, 81-82, 88

365

Ebenstein, Morris, 111 Eddy, Maiy Baker, 124 Edelman, Lou, 121 Einfeld, S. Charles, 165, 175 Elizabeth the Queen (Anderson), 69,

153, 154, 155-56, 177 Elliott, Maxine, 67 Ellis, Francis C, 208 Elwell, Helen, 28 Emmy Awards, 300 Empty Canvas, The, 275 Entwistle, Peg, 40, 41, 92 Epstein, Julius, 197-98, 300 Epstein, Philip, 198 Ervine, St. John, 58 Espy, Reeves, 177, 184 Excess Baggage, 55, 56

Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr., 85-86 Family Reunion, 314, 334 Famous Mrs. Fair, The, 52 Famsworth, Arthur Austin, 245 Bette's career and, 161, 168, 175,

184 Bette's relationship with, 159-60,

161, 174-75, 193-96 death of, 193-96, 287-88 Farrell, Charles, 86, 91 Favor, (Harriet) Eugenia, 19, 25, 66 domineering personality of, 6, 11,

20, 272, 310 evangelical commitment of, 6,

314, 334, 335 as grandmother, 10, 12, 15, 17,