Bette Davis

3 Pages 638 Words

Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born April 5, 1908 in Lowell, Massachusetts, USA. She passed away from cancer October 6, 1989 in France. Her parents divorced when she was a child & she was raised, along with her sister by her mother, Ruthie. Bette demanded attention practically from birth which led to her pursuing a career in acting. After graduation from Cushing Academy she was refused admittance to Eva LeGallienne's Manhattan Civic Repertory because she was considered insincere and frivolous. She enrolled in John Murray Anderson's Dramatic School and was the star pupil. She was in the off-Broadway "The Earth Between" (1923). Her Broadway debut in 1929 was in "Broken Dishes" and she also appeared in "Solid South." Late in 1930 she was hired by Universal. When she arrived in Hollywood, the studio representative who went to meet her train left without her because he could find no one who looked like a movie star. An official at Universal complained she had "as much sex appeal as Slim Summerville" and her performance in the movie "Bad Sister" didn't impress. In 1932 she signed a seven year deal with Warner Brothers. She became a star after her appearance in "The Man Who Played God." Warners loaned her to RKO in 1934 for "Of Human Bondage" in which she was a smash. She had a significant number of write-in votes for the Best Actress Oscar. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for "Dangerous" and "Jezebel" and fought unsuccessfully with Warner Brothers to break her contract because she felt she wasn't receiving the top roles an Oscar winning actress deserved. When she came back after the lawsuit her roles improved dramatically. The only role she didn't get that she wanted in 1939 was Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind." Warners wouldn't loan her to David O. Selznick unless he hired Errol Flynn to play Rhett Butler, which both Selznick and Davis thought was a terrible choice. It was rumored she had numerous affairs, among them George Brent and...