"I'm the nicest goddamn dame that ever lived."-Bette Davis

Think PINK post #1

Bette Davis

Born April 5, 1908

Died October 6, 1989

Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born in the fall of 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts. She had one younger sister, named Barbara, and the two of them were affectionately known as "Betty" and "Bobby" respectively, since they were small children. When she was only 7 years old, Davis's parents divorced. Both of the Davis girls were sent away to boarding school when they were young. By 1921, their mother decided to relocate to New York, and Betty and her sister went along.

Once living in New York, Betty's mother got a job working as a portrait photographer. The little family of three would often go to the movies to spend time together, which is where Betty was inspired by the acting performances of stars such as Rudolph Valentino and Mary Pickford. Her mother was very encouraging about her longing to be an actress, but she made no moves to

begin a career until after she saw a performance of The Wild Duck in 1926. From that time onward, she was possessed by what she described as the need to be an actress. She was inspired to change her name to "Bette," which she took from Honore de Balzac's La Cousine Bette. Then she decided to apply for acceptance at Manhattan's Civic Repertory, but was turned away by the founder, who believed she was too "frivolous." Not one to give up, Davis turned her attention to the John Murray Anderson School of Theater, where she was eventually accepted.

Eventually, Davis made the decision to audition for a stock theater company that was run by George Cukor. He was not overly thrilled with her performance, but he gave her the chance she needed by giving her a part as a chorus girl in the play Broadway. After that time, more roles came her way. She even got the chance to play the part of Hedwig in a rendition of The Wild Duck, which had so inspired her during her youth. Her big, official Broadway debut did not come until 1929 with the play Broken Dishes. One night, a scout from Universal Studios was in the audience, watching her perform, and he presented her with an offer she couldn't refuse.

In December of 1930, Davis travelled with her mother at her side to California. Someone from the studio was sent to meet them at the station, but he decided to leave after looking around the station and not being able to see anyone who he thought "looked like an actress." So, Bette and her mother found their own way to the studio for her screen test. She failed to earn a part in her first test, but the studio decided to put her to use in another way--they used her as an extra in screen tests for other actors. After a while, they decided to give her a second chance at a screen test. This time it was for the film A House Divided (1931), and she failed once again. By this time, executives at Universal were ready to cut her loose, but it was thanks to cinematographer Karl Freund that she finally made it onto the big screen. He insisted that they give her another chance and cast her in the upcoming film The Bad Sister (1931), just because he thought she had "lovely eyes." She was given the part, but the film was a flop. She went on to play parts in six films for Universal, all of which were unsuccessful. Universal did not renew her contract.

Davis was seriously considering returning to New York and life on the stage, when she was unexpectedly cast as the leading actress in the Warner Bros film The Man Who Played God (1932). The film was an immediate success. She was lavished with praise for her performance, and given a 5 year contract with the studio. Davis had roles in 20 motion pictures before she was cast in Of Human Bondage (1934) as Mildred Rogers, a role which awarded her with her

first major critical acclaim. Life magazine wrote of her performance saying it was "probably the best performance ever recorded on the screen by a U.S. actress." Everyone, including Davis, was sure that she would be nominated for an Academy Award for her performance. When this did not happen, all of Hollywood, including other nominated actors, protested the decision. This led to the only time in history that the Academy allowed the consideration of a candidate that was not originally nominated for the award in question, by permitting voters to "write on the ballot his or her personal choice for the winner." Despite the measures that were taken to make sure that Davis was in the running, she did not win the award due to the small size of the committee that was voting. People were so outraged by the results that the Academy changed voting procedures, allowing for a wider selection of eligible voters.

Davis's next big role was in the film The Petrified Forest (1936), alongside Humphrey Bogart. This was Bogart's big film debut, and he was the main focus of critics throughout the production and release of the film. She next played a prostitute in the film Marked Woman (1937), which she won an award for. The next year brought one of her better known roles in the motion picture Jezebel (1938). Not only did this film mark the beginning of her golden years in Hollywood, but it was also during the production of Jezebel that she met and fell in love with director William Wyler, despite the fact that she was already married. Their relationship came to nothing, although Davis referred to Wyler as the love of her life. It was not long after this, in 1938, that Davis and her husband, Harmon Nelson, divorced.

She was emotionally distraught when filming began for her next film, Dark Victory (1939). She originally wanted nothing to do with the project and wanted to quit, but was convinced to see it through to the end and use her genuine despair to create a more powerful performance. She was happy she decided to finish the film, saying years later that it was her personal favorite movie that she had acted in. Davis was the queen of the box office in 1939, having 3 more major hits, including her famous role as Elizabeth I in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex.

The 1940s brought about some changes in Davis's career, heavily driven by WWII. She devoted much time in 1942 to selling war bonds. She sold 2 million dollars of war bonds in only 2 days. She also spent time performing for regiments along with other stars such as Lena Horne. In October of 1942, Davis teamed up with fellow stars Cary Grant and Jule Styne to open a serviceman's club where Hollywood stars entertained servicemen on a volunteer basis. This also led to her performance in the film Hollywood Canteen (1944), which used the building in the movie.

Casting began for the film Now, Voyager (1942) in the early 1940s. When Davis was approached about the film, she automatically dismissed it, having no desire to appear in the romantic genre. Producer Hal Wallis convinced her to take the lead role after explaining that it was important for such a well known star as Davis to give the audience a break from reality through motion pictures. It is now known as one of her most iconic and dignified roles.

Davis continued to work with Warner Bros for the next 7 years. Her final picture with them was Beyond the Forest (1949). From that time on, she worked as a freelance artist. Though she did

get more roles, they became less frequent and gradually less successful. Her most memorable role during the 1950s was as Margo Channing in All About Eve (1950). She would not have another major hit until Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962). She had moderate success throughout the 1960s with films such as Dead Ringer (1964), and The Nanny (1965), but her career began to falter again by 1970. She did quite a bit of television work in the seventies, and had just begun filming for the series Hotel when she suffered a major setback, which she would never fully recover from.

Davis was officially diagnosed with breast cancer in 1983. Shortly after the diagnosis, she had a mastectomy. She was hoping for a successful recovery, but two weeks later she suffered from a series of multiple strokes, which left her with slurred speech and partial paralysis on her left side. She worked for quite some time in physical therapy so that she could do her best to continue acting. Her last complete film was The Whales of August (1987). Her final film was a great success. Despite battling her health issues, she was still the fiery and determined woman that the audience loved. As one critic put it, "Bette crawls across the screen like a testy old hornet on a windowpane, snarling, staggering, twitching--a symphony of misfired synapses."

Davis's health rapidly declined over the next two years. Late in the evening on October 6, 1989, Bette Davis succumbed to the cancer that had been attacking her body for so many years. She was 81 years old at the time of her death.

The epitaph on her tomb reads, "She did it the hard way." Bette Davis was an amazing actress, whose refusal to ever give up led to a legendary career which consisted of over 90 motion pictures, 13 short films, more than 90 television appearances, 11 Academy Award nominations (2 of which she won), 3 Golden Globe nominations, over 20 Honorary Awards, and the notable achievement of becoming the first female president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1941.

"Wave after wave of love flooded the stage and washed over me, the beginning of the one great durable romance of my life."

-Bette Davis

"Without wonder and insight, acting is just a trade. With it, it becomes creation."

-Bette Davis

"Good actors I've worked with all started out making faces in a mirror, and you keep making faces all your life."

-Bette Davis

Bette Davis was just one of many incredible and inspiring stars who battled breast cancer. Join us next Thursday, on October 17, for another post on a lovely face of the big screen who was diagnosed with the same disease.

Here's to hoping for a cure.

Think PINK!