Dark Victory_The Life of Bette Davis
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My deepest appreciation goes to my trusty psychotherapist, Dr. Gerald Perlman, who had to listen to a lot of the unpleasant muck this book stirred up. Thanks also to my psychiatrist, Dr. Barry Richman, who kept me on medication. And a round of applause certainly goes to the prescient Dr. Scott Goldsmith, who warned me, as both a psychiatrist and a friend, that I might feel some of the emotions I imagined my subject probably felt. As Miss Davis would have said, Oh, brother!
I relied, as usual, on a group of thoughtful and supportive readers, chief among them Chris Bram, to whom I dedicate this book. Others included my ace research assistant, Gregor Meyer; Tom Phillips, Bette fan extraordinaire, who also provided the What’s My Line? material; Matthew Mirapaul, who never fails to prop me up in times of need; and Martin Shingler, the world’s greatest Davis scholar. David Boxwell, Dan Callahan, and Jim Aquino lent me hard-to-find films and recordings. My pals in the New York Independent Film Critics Circle—Damien Bona, Howard Karren, Joe Smith, George Robinson, Andy Dickos, Adam Orman, Michael Giltz, M. George Stevenson, Daryl Chin, Jeff Zeitlin, Alex Lewin, and Jace Weaver—all contributed a mix of arcana and wit.
I thank the many friends, acquaintances, associates, and admirers of Bette Davis who spent time helping me to understand her better: Edward Albee, Dame Eileen Atkins, Don Bachardy, Martin Baum, Jim Brochu, Betty Buckley (not that Betty Buckley), Charles Busch, Dick Cavett, David Chierichetti, Roy Christopher, Wendy Craig, Mart Crowley, Jon Dosa, Bryan England, John Epperson, David Galligan, Kim Garfield, Vik Greenfield, John Guillermin, the late Ellen Hanley, Sheldon Harnick, Anthony Harvey, Robert Hofler, Waris Hussein, John Kane, Mike Kaplan, John Kuri, Jack and Elaine LaLanne, Robert Lantz, Lionel Larner, James McCourt, Lynda Pearl, Charles Pollack, Dr. Ivin Prince, Dotson Rader, Alvin Rakoff, David Rothenberg, Ann Kaufman Schneider, Reggie Schwartzwalder, Tom Smothers, Gary Springer, Tulip Traber, and Margot Webb.
Biographies couldn’t be written without the librarians and archivists who care for the infinitely valuable records in which famous people’s lives are chronicled, in this case: J. C. Johnson, Sean Noel, and the staff of the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University; Haden Guest and the staff of the Warner Bros. Archive at the University of Southern California; Barbara Hall and her colleagues at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Margaret Herrick Library; Michael Neault and Jim Healy at George Eastman House; and Vicky Hedley, Ayesha Khan, Anastasis Kerameos, and the other librarians at the British Film Institute.
I also thank the many people who helped me with this project in less definable ways: Christopher Anderson, Per Åsberg, John Belton, Steven DeRosa, Judy Englander, Ron Fried, Kenneth Geist, David Germain, Warren Goldfarb, Chris Gorman, Dr. Nathaniel Hupert, Dr. Rainu Kaushal, Neal Leibowitz, William J. Mann, Patrick Merla, Ethan Minovitz, Evan Mirapaul, Eric Myers, S. I. Newhouse IV, Gregory Orr, Robert Rees, Tom Rhoads, Hank Sartin, Dulcie and Walter Schackman, Draper Shreeve, Jason Simos, Frances Smith, Linnell Smith, and James Yaffe.
My editors, Jennifer Barth and David Patterson, had confidence in me when I did not, and I’m enormously grateful for their continuing support, not to mention their sharp critical skills. I also thank my expert copy editor, Vicki Haire; Kenn Russell, the executive managing editor at Henry Holt; and Lindsay Ross and Patrick Clark.
As always, I’m in awe of my agent, the superb Edward Hibbert, who relayed details of the contract negotiations for this book in the uncannily precise voice of Bette Davis. Finally, I owe a profound debt of gratitude to my shockingly stable family, particularly my mother, Betty Sikov; my brother, Costas Karakatsanis; and my partner, Bruce Schackman.
ILLUSTRATION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Davis Girls: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
Harlow Morell Davis: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
With a Ribbon in Her Hair: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
Bette, by Ruthie: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
Delicate Flower: Photofest
Beauty in the Eyes: Photofest
Unusual Portrait: Collection of the author
“I always used to wipe my mouth!”: Photofest
Ham and Spuds: Photofest
Bette as Rasputin? Photofest
Jezebel: Collection of the author
“Homely Dynamo”: Photofest
Wedding Day Number 2: Photofest Sisters on the Set: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
“Like a Mink”: Photofest
Wedding Day Number 3: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
The Evil Eye: Collection of the author
Peritonitis Sets In: Photofest
Maudlin and Magnificent: Collection of the author
Two’s Company: Photofest
A Bette Davis western?: Photofest
Designed by Bette: Photofest
On Broadway: Photofest
“Let’s clear out. I draw the line at this crowd.”: © Tee and Charles Addams Foundation
Joan, by Bette: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
Lush Life: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
Poetry Onstage: Photofest
Bette, her Daughter Margot, and Dinner: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
Mother, Daughter, and Son: From the Bette Davis Collection in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, Boston University
It Works: Photofest
Miss Moffat: Photofest
Madame Sin and her pet hawk: Collection of the author
Last Picture Show: Photofest
The World’s Most Famous Smoker: Photofest
P.s. Bette Davis: Photofest
INDEX
Academy Awards, 42, 130, 166–67, 173–74, 248, 347–48, 353
BD’s nominations and awards, 73–74, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 130–31, 166–67, 303, 340, 347–48, 413, 415
naming of Oscar, 80–81
Academ
y of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, 231, 297
BD as president of, 192, 193–94
Oscars, see Academy Awards
Advocate, 406
Affairs of Anatole, The, 363
African Queen, The (Forester), 82
Agatha Christie’s “Murder with Mirrors,” 281, 381, 396
Aherne, Brian, 147, 148, 149, 196
Ainsely, Charles, 50, 127
Albee, Edward, 273–74, 364–65
Alda, Robert, 256
Aldrich, Robert, 340, 341–42, 344, 345, 348, 351–52, 353, 367
Alexander, Ross, 111, 133
Alexander Hamilton,43
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, “Out There—Darkness,”317
Alice Adams,80
All About “All About Eve” (Staggs), 291
All About Eve,3, 4, 286, 287, 289–95, 296, 300, 413
Alleborn, Al, 150, 252
All This and Heaven, Too, 156–60, 167, 197
Allyson, June, 220, 414
Alswang, Ralph, 308, 309
American Cinema Award, 414
American Film Institute, Life Achievement Award, 405–406, 414
American International Pictures, 383
American Is Born, An, 197
American Weekly, 227
Anderson, Eddie “Rochester,”225, 253
Anderson, Ernest, 189
Anderson, Hugh, 27–28, 30
Anderson, John Murray, 26, 28, 29, 50, 311, 370
Anderson, Lindsay, 281, 405, 409, 410, 411
Anderson, Maxwell, 151, 225
Anderson, Milo, 121, 240
Anderson-Milton School, 25–29, 30
Andrews Sisters, 220
Angel, Daniel, 299
Angel Manager, 304
Anna and the King of Siam, 248
Anna Karenina, 138
Anniversary, The, 360–62, 380
Ann-Margret, 329, 385, 414
Another Dawn, 81
Another Language, 197
Another Man’s Poison, 299, 300
Anthony Adverse, 81
Arliss, George, 43–45, 59, 95, 106, 405
Armstrong, Louis, 225
Arnaz, Desi, 320
Arnold, Edward, 209
Arslan, Sylvia, 235
Arthur, Jean, 107, 185
Associated Press, 94
As Summers Die, 281, 381
Astaire, Fred, 194, 209
Astor, Mary, 69, 173–74, 184, 185, 186, 195
Atkins, Dame Eileen, 366–67
Atkinson, Brooks, 30, 138
Atlanta Constitution, 243–44
Avery, Fred “Tex,”223
Awful Truth, The, 103
Bachardy, Don, 372–74
Bachelder, Ellen, 104
Backus, Jim, 318
Bacon, Lloyd, 100
Bad Seed, The, 363
Bad Sister, 27, 36–38, 44, 49, 187, 332
Bainter, Fay, 130, 257
Baker, Benny, 332
Baker, Roy Ward, 361
Balcon, Michael, 324, 325
Baldwin, James, 55, 187, 189, 192
Ball, Lucille, 107, 220, 320
Ballard, Kaye, 335, 397
Ballerina, Slightly with Accent, 196
Ball of Fire, 267
Bancroft, Anne, 347, 348
Bank, Polan, 172
Bankhead, Tallulah, 78, 107, 138, 173, 232, 244, 289–90, 291, 320, 335
The Little Foxes, 178, 179–80, 181
Banks, Monty, 90
Barr, Byron, 219
Barretts of Wimpole Street, The, 73
Barrymore, Diana, 107
Barrymore, Ethel, 207, 225
Barrymore, John, 103, 185
Barthelmess, Richard, 64
Bates College, 208
Battle Cry, 225
Baum, Martin, 340, 346–47, 365, 369
Baxter, Anne, 289, 292, 295, 300
Bazin, André, 117
B.D. Productions, 208, 225, 250, 251, 255
Beardsley, Mary, 358–59
Begley, Ed, 367
Behrman, S. N., 177
Behrman, Dr. Stanley, 313
Bell, Robert, 29
Bellamann, Henry, 196
Bellamy, Ralph, 209
Beloved Vagabond, The, 90
Benaderet, Bea, 197, 223
Benchley, Robert, 185
Ben Hur, 323
Bennett, Barbara, 34
Bennett, Constance, 34, 173, 215
Bennett, Joan, 34, 107, 335
Bennett, Richard, 34–35
Benny, Jack, 255
Bergen, Candice, 214
Berger, Spencer, 185
Bergman, Andrew, 62
Bergman, Ingrid, 291
Bergner, Elisabeth, 80, 249, 290
Berkeley, Busby, 106
Berlin, Irving, 225
Bernhardt, Curtis, 172, 249, 250–51, 252–53, 260, 286–87, 313–15, 343
Bernstein, Leonard, 312
Bernstein, Walter, 297–98, 318
Berry, David, 264
Berserk!, 353
Bessell, Ted, 380
Bette: The Life of Bette Davis (Higham), 134
“Bette Davis Eyes,”414
Beyond the Forest, 272–77
Big Shakedown, The, 60
Big Snooze, The, 223–24
Bilodeaux, Phil, 207
Birkett, Norman, 92
Bischoff, Sam, 241
Bishop, Joey, 325
Bishop, Julie, 230
Bisset, Jacqueline, 214
Blake, J. Warren, 23
Blanc, Mel, 223
Blanke, Henry, 63–64, 120, 148, 172, 195, 215, 259, 274, 275, 323
Bloch, Bertram, 138
Blondell, Joan, 47, 48, 109, 312
Blore, Eric, 204, 205
Bogart, Humphrey, 2, 37–38, 74–75, 76, 100, 101, 102, 217, 222, 243, 244
Bona, Damien, 82, 220, 348
Bond, Ward, 317, 318
Bondi, Beulah, 133
Booth, Shirley, 303
Bordertown, 69–70
Borge, Frederikke, 382
Borge, Victor, 382
Borgnine, Ernest, 315, 383
Born Yesterday, 300
Borzage, Frank, 188
Boston Globe, 57, 169
Boston Post, 52, 127–28
Boston Traveller, 40, 171
Boston University
Bette Davis Collection at, 9–10, 21
Law School, 284, 355
Bowden, Charles, 335
Boxoffice, 352
Boyer, Charles, 156, 158, 159, 197, 213, 367
Boys in the Band, The (Crowley), 367, 408
Bracken, Eddie, 220, 414
Brackett, Charles, 313
Brady, Thomas, 182–83
Brae Burn Country Club, 86
Brahm, John, 320–21, 321
Branson, Justice Sir George, 92, 94
Brecht, Bertolt, 347
Breen, Joseph, 162–63, 272
Brent, George, 2, 45, 68, 71, 79, 84, 111, 128, 142, 143, 149, 163, 172, 173, 188, 189, 195, 215
BD’s affair with, 168
Brewer, George Emerson, Jr., 138
Brian, David, 274, 275
Bride Came C.O.D., The, 177–78, 360–61, 410
Bride Walks Out, The, 177
British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 413
Broadway, 31
Brochu, Jim, 320
Broken Dishes, 33–34
Bromfield, Louis, 195
Bronston, Sam, 322
Brooks, Richard, 271, 315
Brophy, Brigid, 17, 73, 318
Brown, Albert “Brownie,”304, 370
Brown, Harry Joe, 72–73
Brown, Joe E., 52
Brown, John Mason, 35
Brown, Robin (née Marie Simpson), 28, 33, 159, 170, 175, 304, 370, 407, 415
Bruce, Nigel, 90
Bryan, Jane, 133, 150, 175
Brynner, Yul, 312
Buchholz, Horst, 348, 349, 350
&nbs
p; Buck, Pearl, 225
Buckley, Betty, 389–90, 391
Budd, Captain O. W., 297
Bunny O’Hare, 380, 383–84
Bureau of Missing Persons, 59–60
Burnt Offerings, 380
Burr, Raymond, 351
Burrows, Abe, 312
Burton, Richard, 364
Busch, Charles, 139, 205, 398–99, 411
Butternut (BD home), 169, 175, 187, 206–207, 224, 231, 263, 331
Byron, Arthur, 63, 159, 171
Byron, Arthur “Bunny,” Jr., 159
Byron, Robin (née Marie Simpson), 28, 33, 159, 170, 175, 304, 370, 407, 415
Byron, Walter, 41
Cabin in the Cotton, 47, 64, 139
Caged, 300
Cagney, James, 54, 62–63, 82, 83, 177, 178, 207, 209, 211, 223, 361, 405, 410
Cain, James M., 248
Caine, Michael, 76–77
Calamity Jane, 171
Calhern, Louis, 33
California Eagle, 253
Callahan, Dan, 164
Campbell, Alan, 232
Camp Mudjekeewis, 17
Canby, Vincent, 384
Cannes Film Festival, 413
Cantor, Eddie, 221, 243
Can We Forget, 196
Cape Playhouse, 31, 34
Capra, Frank, 80, 130, 329
Captain Blood, 81, 132, 133
Carey, Harry, Jr., 409
Carlisle, Kitty, 312
Carnes, Kim, 414
Carney, Dr., 313
Carrera, Barbara, 409
Carrillo, Leo, 52
Carroll, Harrison, 137, 154, 172, 206
Carson, Jack, 177, 211, 222, 230
Carson, Johnny, 283
Case of the Howling Dog, The, 69, 241
Catered Affair, The, 315, 316, 332, 405
Cavalcade of America, 197
Cavell, Stanley, 184, 205–206
Cavett, Dick, 41, 88, 214, 222
Cecil B. DeMille Award, 414
Cerf, Bennett, 325, 326, 338, 339
César Award, 414
Champion, Gower, 366
Chandler, Raymond, 181
Channing, Carol, 365, 404
Charm School, The, 20
Chase, Ilka, 200, 201
Chatterton, Ruth, 45, 116
Chevalier, Maurice, 90
Chiang Kai-shek, Madame, 43
Chierichetti, David, 121, 240, 241, 291
Christie, Agatha, 281, 388
Christy, George, 395
Churchill, Douglas, 182
Churchill, Marguerite, 107
Cinema Arts, 107–108
Citizen Kane, 186
Civil Repertory Company, 26
Clampett, Bob, 223
Clarence White School of Photography, 16