Famous Person Best Love Rating :
Famous Person:
Ruth Elizabeth Davis
Famous For:
Actress
Movie - Television Titles:
Wicked Stepmother (1989) .... Miranda Pierpoint
The Whales of August (1987) .... Libby Strong
As Summers Die (1986) (TV) .... Hannah Loftin
Murder with Mirrors (1985) (TV) .... Carrie Louise Serrocold
... aka Agatha Christie's 'Murder with Mirrors'
Right of Way (1983) (TV) .... Mini Dwyer
Hotel (1983) (TV) .... Laura Trent
"Hotel"
... aka Arthur Hailey's Hotel
- Hotel (1983) TV Episode .... Laura Trent
Little Gloria... Happy at Last (1982) (TV) .... Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt
A Piano for Mrs. Cimino (1982) (TV) .... Esther McDonald Cimino
Family Reunion (1981) (TV) .... Elizabeth Winfield
Skyward (1980) (TV) .... Billie Dupree
... aka Ron Howard's 'Skyward'
The Watcher in the Woods (1980) .... Mrs. Aylwood
White Mama (1980) (TV) .... Adele Malone
Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter (1979) (TV) .... Lucy Mason
... aka Strangers
The Children of Sanchez (1978) (uncredited) .... Woman
Death on the Nile (1978) .... Marie Van Schuyler
... aka Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (UK)
Return from Witch Mountain (1978) .... Letha
"The Dark Secret of Harvest Home" (1978) (mini) TV Series .... Widow Fortune
The Disappearance of Aimee (1976) (TV) .... Minnie Kennedy
Burnt Offerings (1976) .... Aunt Elizabeth
Hello Mother, Goodbye! (1974) (TV)
Scream, Pretty Peggy (1973) (TV) .... Mrs. Elliott
The Judge and Jake Wyler (1972) (TV) .... Judge Meredith
Scopone scientifico, Lo (1972) .... The Millionairess
... aka The Scientific Cardplayer
... aka The Scopone Game (USA: video title)
Madame Sin (1972) .... Madame Sin
Bunny O'Hare (1971) .... Bunny O'Hare
Connecting Rooms (1970) .... Wanda Fleming
"It Takes a Thief"
- Touch of Magic (1970) TV Episode .... Bessie Grindel
The Anniversary (1968) .... Mrs. Taggart
"Gunsmoke"
... aka Gun Law (UK)
... aka Marshal Dillon (USA: rerun title)
- The Jailer (1966) TV Episode (as Miss Bette Davis) .... Etta Stone
The Nanny (1965) .... The nanny
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964) .... Charlotte Hollis
... aka What Ever Happened to Cousin Charlotte?
Where Love Has Gone (1964) .... Mrs. Gerald Hayden
Dead Ringer (1964) .... Margaret DeLorca/Edith Phillips
... aka Dead Image (UK)
"Perry Mason"
- The Case of Constant Doyle (1963) TV Episode .... Constant Doyle
Noia, La (1963) .... Dino's mother
... aka Érotisme, L' (France)
... aka Ennui et sa diversion, L' (France)
... aka Ennui, L' (France: poster title)
... aka The Empty Canvas (USA)
"The Virginian"
... aka The Men from Shiloh (USA: new title)
- The Accomplice (1962) TV Episode .... Celia Miller
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) .... Baby Jane Hudson
"Wagon Train"
... aka Major Adams, Trail Master
- The Bettina May Story (1961) TV Episode .... Bettina May
- The Elizabeth McQueeney Story (1959) TV Episode .... Elizabeth McQueeney
- The Ella Lindstrom Story (1959) TV Episode .... Ella Lindstrom
Pocketful of Miracles (1961) .... Apple Annie
"The DuPont Show with June Allyson"
... aka The June Allyson Show
- Dark Morning (1959) TV Episode .... Sarah Whitney
The Scapegoat (1959) .... Countess
John Paul Jones (1959) .... Empress Catherine the Great
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents"
- Out There - Darkness (1959) TV Episode .... Miss Fox
"Suspicion"
- Fraction of a Second (1958) TV Episode .... Mrs. Ellis
"General Electric Theater"
... aka G.E. Theater (USA: informal short title)
- The Cold Touch (1958) TV Episode .... Christine Marlowe
- With Malice Toward One (1957) TV Episode .... Miss Burrows
"Studio 57"
... aka Heinz Studio 57 (USA: alternative title)
- The Starmaker (1958) TV Episode
"Telephone Time"
- Stranded (1957) TV Episode .... Beatrice Enter
"The Ford Television Theatre"
... aka Ford Theatre (USA: short title)
- Footnote on a Doll (1957) TV Episode .... Dolly Madison
"Schlitz Playhouse of Stars"
... aka Herald Playhouse (USA: syndication title)
... aka Schlitz Playhouse (USA: new title)
... aka The Playhouse (USA: syndication title)
- For Better, for Worse (1957) TV Episode
Storm Center (1956) .... Alicia Hull
The Catered Affair (1956) .... Agnes Hurley
... aka Wedding Breakfast (UK)
"The 20th Century-Fox Hour"
... aka Fox Hour of Stars (USA: rerun title)
- Crack-Up (1956) TV Episode .... Marie Hoke
The Virgin Queen (1955) .... Queen Elizabeth I
The Star (1952) .... Margaret Elliot
Phone Call from a Stranger (1952) .... Marie Hoke
Another Man's Poison (1952) .... Janet Frobisher
Payment on Demand (1951) .... Joyce Ramsey (nee Jackson)
All About Eve (1950) .... Margo Channing
Beyond the Forest (1949) .... Rosa Moline
June Bride (1948) .... Linda Gilman
Winter Meeting (1948) .... Susan Grieve
Deception (1946) .... Christine Radcliffe
A Stolen Life (1946) .... Kate Bosworth and Patricia Bosworth
The Corn Is Green (1945) .... Miss Lilly Moffat
Mr. Skeffington (1944) .... Fanny Trellis
Old Acquaintance (1943) .... Kit Marlowe
Watch on the Rhine (1943) .... Sara Muller
Now, Voyager (1942) .... Charlotte Vale
In This Our Life (1942) .... Stanley 'Stan' Timberlake Kingsmill
The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942) .... Maggie Cutler
The Little Foxes (1941) .... Regina Giddens
The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941) .... Joan Winfield
Shining Victory (1941) (uncredited) .... Nurse
The Great Lie (1941) .... Maggie Patterson Van Allen
The Letter (1940) .... Leslie Crosbie
All This, and Heaven Too (1940) .... Henriette Deluzy-Desportes
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) .... Queen Elizabeth I
... aka Elizabeth and Essex
... aka Elizabeth the Queen (USA: TV title)
The Old Maid (1939) .... Charlotte Lovell
Juarez (1939) .... Empress Carlotta von Hapsburg
Dark Victory (1939) .... Judith Traherne
The Sisters (1938) .... Louise Elliott Medlin
Jezebel (1938) .... Julie Marsden
It's Love I'm After (1937) .... Joyce Arden
That Certain Woman (1937) .... Mary Donnell, aka Mrs. Al Haines
Kid Galahad (1937) .... Louise 'Fluff' Phillips
... aka The Battling Bellhop (USA: TV title)
Marked Woman (1937) .... Mary Dwight Strauber
Satan Met a Lady (1936) .... Valerie Purvis
The Golden Arrow (1936) .... Daisy Appleby
The Petrified Forest (1936) .... Gabrielle 'Gabby' Maple
Dangerous (1935) .... Joyce Heath
Special Agent (1935) .... Julie Gardner
Front Page Woman (1935) .... Ellen Garfield
The Girl from 10th Avenue (1935) .... Miriam A. Brady
... aka Men on Her Mind (UK)
Bordertown (1935) .... Mrs. Marie Roark
Housewife (1934) .... Patricia 'Pat' Berkeley
Of Human Bondage (1934) .... Mildred Rogers
Fog Over Frisco (1934) .... Arlene Bradford
Jimmy the Gent (1934) .... Miss Joan Martin
Fashions of 1934 (1934) .... Lynn Mason
... aka Fashion Follies (USA)
... aka Fashions (USA: TV title)
The Big Shakedown (1934) .... Norma Nelson
Bureau of Missing Persons (1933) .... Norma Roberts
Ex-Lady (1933) .... Helen Bauer
The Working Man (1933) .... Jenny Hartland, aka Jane Grey
... aka The Adopted Father (USA)
Parachute Jumper (1933) .... Patricia 'Alabama' Brent
Just Around the Corner (1933) .... Ginger
20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932) .... Fay Wilson
Three on a Match (1932) .... Ruth Wescott (misspelled Westcott in opening credits)
The Cabin in the Cotton (1932) .... Madge Norwood
The Dark Horse (1932) .... Kay Russell
The Rich Are Always with Us (1932) .... Malbro
So Big! (1932) .... Miss Dallas O'Mara
The Man Who Played God (1932) .... Grace Blair
... aka The Silent Voice (UK)
Hell's House (1932) .... Peggy Gardner
... aka Juvenile Court (USA: reissue title)
The Menace (1932) .... Peggy Lowell
Way Back Home (1932) .... Mary Lucy
... aka Old Greatheart (UK)
... aka Other People's Business
Waterloo Bridge (1931) .... Janet Cronin
Seed (1931) .... Margaret Carter
The Bad Sister (1931) .... Laura Madison
Authors Description:
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. Despite her success, Warner Brothers continued to offer Bette unsatisfactory roles. In 1936, she challenged the studio by going to England to make pictures. Jack Warner sued her, and she was forced to honor her contract. Upon her return, however, Bette was offered a new contract and better roles. In 1939, Bette won her second Oscar for "Jezebel" (1938). She also received Oscar nominations the next five years in a row. Although she earned a reputation for being difficult to work with, Bette set a new precedent for women. By 1942, she was the highest paid woman in America. Bette contributed to the war effort by helping to organize the Hollywood Canteen during World War II for soldiers passing through Los Angeles. Inspired by New York's Stage Door Canteen, Bette transformed a once-abandoned nightclub into an inspiring entertainment facility. "There are few accomplishments in my life that I am sincerely proud of. The Hollywood Canteen is one of them," Bette later commented. In 1980, she was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the Defense Department's highest civilian award, for running the Hollywood Canteen. Bette made a roaring comeback with her role as Margo Channing in "All About Eve" (1950), and she received her eighth Academy Award nomination. Her career was resuscitated again in 1962 with "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?" Soon after, Bette began her second career as a horror maven and continued to welcome new opportunities with television appearances. In 1987, Bette played a blind woman in "The Whales of August," co-starring Lillian Gish. 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. Michael Merrill, Bette's son, and Kathryn Sermak, Bette's personal assistant and friend, are now the executors of her estate. In her memory, they have created The Bette Davis Foundation, which provides financial assistance to promising young actors and actresses. Meryl Streep received the first Bette Davis Lifetime Achievement Award at Boston University in 1998.
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