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Hi, ok so i noticed there isn't a Bette Davis thread so i figured i'd make one



Bette Davis
Often referred to as "The First Lady of the American Screen," Bette Davis created a new kind of screen heroine. She was a liberated woman in an industry dominated by men. She was known as an actress that could play a variety of difficult and powerful roles, and because of this she set a new standard for women on the big screen. Independent off-screen as well, her battles with studio bigwigs were legendary. With a career spanning six decades, few in the history of film rival her longevity and appeal.
Bette Davis was born Ruth Davis on April 5, 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts. Just before her tenth birthday, Bette's father, Harlow, left the family. Although she had little money, her mother, Ruthie, sent Bette and her sister to boarding school. Upon graduating Cushing Academy, Bette enrolled in John Murray Anderson's Dramatic School. In 1929, she made her Broadway debut in "Broken Dishes." She also landed a role in "Solid South." In 1930, she moved to Hollywood to screen test for Universal.
Six small films later, Bette's contract with Universal was not renewed. She wanted to go back to Broadway, but a phone call from Warner Brothers quickly changed her mind. In 1932, she signed a seven-year contract with Warner Brothers. The film "The Man Who Played God" (1932) landed Bette on the path to stardom. She was a smash when she was lent out to RKO for the role of Mildred in "Of Human Bondage" (1934), her first critically acclaimed hit. Her role in "Dangerous" (1935) led to her nomination for a Best Actress Oscar. She became the first Warner Brothers actress to win the coveted award.
Davis's personal life was as dramatic as her acting. She was married four times. She had a daughter, B.D., with her third husband, William Grant Sherry. She adopted two children, Margot and Michael, while married to her fourth husband, Gary Merrill.
With a career total of more than 100 films, Bette changed the way Hollywood looked at actresses. In 1977, she was the first woman to be honored with the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award. She was also the first woman to be president of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences. At the age of 75, Bette had a mastectomy due to breast cancer. Nine days later, she suffered a stroke. Despite her failing health, she continued to act until her death. Bette passed away October 6, 1989 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

Fast Facts
Birth Name: Ruth Elizabeth Davis
Nickname: The Fifth Warner Brother, Fred, The First Lady of American Screen
Birth Date: April 5, 1908
Birth Place: Lowell, Massachusetts
Death Date: October 6, 1989
Death Place: American Hospital in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Burial Location: Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills; Courts of Remembrance, Los Angeles, California
Height: 5'3 ½"
Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Measurements: 34C-21-34 (36C-25-35 in 1940)
Occupation: Actress, author, producer
Nationality: American
Schooling: Attended Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, Massachusetts; Mariarden School of Dancing; studied acting at Robert Milton-John Murray Anderson School of the Theatre, New York.
Famous Tagline/Quote: "Old age is no place for sissies."
Parents: Harlow Morrell Davis and Ruthie Favor Davis
Siblings: Barbara Davis
Children: B.D. (Barbara Davis Sherry) Hyman, Michael Merrill, Margot Merrill Spouse(s): Married Harmon Oscar Nelson (a bandleader), August 18, 1932 (divorced); married Arthur Farnsworth (a businessman), December, 1940 (died, August, 1943); married William Grant Sherry (an artist), November 30, 1945 (divorced); married Gary Merrill (an actor), August, 1950 (divorced);
On her tombstone is written "She did it the hard way."

Quotes
"Until you're known in my profession as a monster, you're not a star."
"Old age is no place for sissies."
"If you want a thing well done, get a couple of old broads to do it."
"The male ego with few exceptions is elephantine to start with."
"Attempt the impossible in order to improve your work."
"Today everyone is a star - they're all billed as 'starring' or 'also starring'. In my day, we earned that recognition."
"Love is not enough. It must be the foundation, the cornerstone - but not the complete structure. It is much too pliable, too yielding."
"Acting should be bigger than life. Scripts should be bigger than life. It should ALL be bigger than life."
"I went back to work because someone had to pay for the groceries."
"Success only breeds a new goal."
"There was more good acting at Hollywood parties than ever appeared on the screen."
"I would advise any woman against having an affair with a married man believing he will ever leave his wife, no matter how often he says his wife does not understand him. Love is not as necessary to a man's happiness as it is to a woman's. If her marriage is satisfactory, a woman will seldom stray. A man can be totally contented and still be out howling at the moon."
"To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy."

Films
Year Film
1989 Wicked Stepmother
1987 The Whales of August
1986 As Summer Die
1984 Murder with Mirrors
1983 Right of Way
1982 A Piano for Mrs. Cimino
Little Gloria
Hotel
1981 Family Reunion
1980 The Watcher in the Woods
White Mama
Skyward
1979 Strangers: The Story of a Mother and a Daughter
1978 Death on the Nile
Return from Witch Mountain
The Dark Secret of Harvest Home
1976 Burnt Offerings
The Disappearance of Aimee
1973 Scream, Pretty Peggy
1972 The Scientific Cardplayer
Connecting Rooms
Madame Sin
The Judge and Jake Wyler
1971 Bunny O'Hare
1968 The Anniversary
1965 The Nanny
1964 Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Where Love Has Gone
The Empty Canvas
Dead Ringer
1962 Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
1961 Pocketful of Miracles
1959 The Scapegoat
John Paul Jones
1957 Stranded
1956 Storm Center
The Catered Affair
1955 The Virgin Queen
1952 Phone Call from a Stranger
Another Man's Poison
The Star
1951 Payment on Demand
1950 All About Eve
1949 Beyond the Forest
1948 June Bride
Winter Meeting
1946 Deception
A Stolen Life
1945 The Corn is Green
1944 Mr. Skeffington
Hollywood Canteen
1943 Old Acquaintance
Watch on the Rhine
Thank Your Lucky Stars
1942 Now, Voyager
In This Our Life
1941 The Little Foxes
The Bride Came C.O.D.
The Great Lie
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Shining Victory
1940 The Letter
All This, and Heaven Too
1939 Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Old Maid
Juarez
Dark Victory
A Day at Santa Anita
1938 The Sisters
Jezebel
1937 It's Love I'm After
That Certain Woman
Kid Galahad
Marked Woman
1936 Satan Met a Lady
The Golden Arrow
The Petrified Forest
1935 Dangerous
Special Agent
Front Page Woman
The Girl from 10th Avenue
Bordertown
A Dream Comes True
1934 Housewife
Of Human Bondage
Fog Over Frisco
Jimmy the Gent
Fashions of 1934
The Big Shakedown
1933 Bureau of Missing Persons
Ex-Lady
The Working Man
Parachute Jumper
20,000 Years in Sing Sing
1932 Three on a Match
Cabin in the Cotton
The Rich Are Always with Us
So Big
The Man Who Played God
Hell's House
The Menace
The Dark Horse
1931 Waterloo Bridge
Seed
Bad Sister
Way Back Home

The foundation
Michael Merrill, Miss Davis' son, and Kathryn Sermak, a longtime friend and associate of Bette Davis, established The Bette Davis Foundation in 1997. This nonprofit and tax exempt institution awards scholarships to outstanding college students who show promise in the craft that Miss Davis was, for many, the epitome of excellence. In conjunction with the scholarships, a Bette Davis Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to a person whose work exemplifies the high standards Miss Davis set forth. Former recipients include Meryl Streep and Prince Albert.
* The Bette Davis Scholarship and prize at this time are only awarded to
students who attend the foundation's charitable partner, Boston University School for the Arts.
For more information contact:
The Bette Davis Foundation
c/o Merrill & McGeary
100 State Street, Suite 200
Boston, MA, USA 02108

Websites
Bette Davis Official site

Fans
1. xXxcaycexXx
2.Amy Lee__
3.ladyle
4. Brittmyster
5.LaraCroft01
6.baelfire24

Amy Lee__

OMG i love bette Davis just today i watched her film 'Now, Voyager" thanks for making the thread.

may i please be added?

ladyle

Great thread, Caycee! I'll update this in the guide!

xXxCaycexXx

thanks im glad you like it.
would you also like to be added ladyle

Amy Lee__

i'm glad you made this thread.

more people should join it.

she is one of the best actresses of all time!

she definitley won't be easily forgotten!

xXxCaycexXx

I agree she wont, thats for sure.

what are you fave movies of her??

mine is now,voyager its just amazing

Brittmyster

Awesomeness! I've only seen "Jezebel" but I liked it!

xXxCaycexXx

I havent seen that but im trying to see more of her films.
i've added ladyle and Brittmyster to the list

anymore people want to be added?

LaraCroft01

Please add me! I love Bette Davis! I have seen her in "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte", "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", "All About Eve", and "Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex"! I am a huge fan of Olivia De Havilland, so I saw "Sweet Charlotte" and "Private Lives" mainly for her (and in the case of "Lives" for Errol Flynn as well). Davis and De Havilland were good friends! Davis would have been 100 this year! I heard they had a gala for her at the AFI celebrating this fact.

xXxCaycexXx

Im really glad you liked the thread shes a really great icon and rolemodel
Wow you've seen alot of her movies i have only seen one, but im aiming to see more of her work. that amazin that she would of been 100. its alos great that her work is still being watched now and she still has fans that shows true talent

LaraCroft01

ITA! Bette Davis is someone who people will be talking about years from now still! She died nearly 20 years ago, but her work continues to be watched. It's a testament to her talent and her staying power. She was an amazing actress! She deservingly won two Oscars and was nominated for several more during her career. I would really recommend "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" She is just amazing in that role. Her and Joan Crawford - what a team!

How was "Voyager"? I would love to see more of her films.

LaraCroft01

From Bette Davis Official Website

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"Now, Voyager" was really good, it was the one of the first black and white films i'd seen and its what got me into liking black and white films. She did a really great job! And thanks, i will try to see "what ever happened to baby jane?". i've heard of it before and have always wanted to see it but just havent had the time.

And thanks for the information!! thats so great that they have honoured her, she really deserved it. its sad though because i missed it because i dont live there, i live in Australia. Did you manage to watch any? Wow, they showed two every friday and saturday.

Amy Lee__

I agree. Now, Voyager was great. her story was really inspiring. i loved it. it's a great story line....

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i agree it is a great story line

Tuesday i put on lay-by 'the bette Davis collection' which has 5 of her films in one dvd case so im looking forward to that when i get it