Tallulah Bankhead | the Fashion Spot

Tallulah Bankhead

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Ooh, she was quite a diva no? I know Elia Kazan hated her :lol: But she had quite a lovely face ;)
 
I think she was famous for her antics off screen...like sex and drugs.
 
"If I had my life to live over again, I'd make the same mistakes, only sooner." Tallulah - living without regret! :heart: Thankfully, there were quite a number of free thinking women during that era who were able to express themselves despite the dictates of society (Lee Miller comes to mind as well). It is true, she led a scandalous life in some people's eyes. I can't condemn her for being her own woman.

Tallulah Bankhead was born in Alabama, daughter of Congressman William Bankhead (later Speaker of the House, 1936-40). Her mother died of complications from childbirth several weeks later, and she was raised in part by her aunts and grandparents. She was educated in New York City, Staunton, Virginia, and Washington, DC. Her exhibitionist personality was apparent from an early age.

Tallulah Bankhead's first part in a film was in 1917 and her first stage role in 1918. After a few other minor roles in film and on stage, she went to England in 1923, where she became famous for her flamboyant personality and deep voice, and was popular in the six plays in which she appeared.

Tallulah Bankhead returned to the United States in 1931 with a Paramount Pictures contract, and then was off to New York in 1933, where she was diagnosed and treated surgically for advanced gonorrhea. Tallulah Bankhead then returned to the New York stage in Dark Victory, Rain, Something Gay and Reflected Glory. Her 1937 film, Antony and Cleopatra, was considered a definite flop.

In 1939, she received awards for her work in The Little Foxes by Lillian Helman, and in 1942 she won awards for her performance in Skin of Our Teeth. Her film performance in Hitchcock's Lifeboat in 1944 won yet more awards; in 1948 she starred in Otto Preminger's A Royal Scandal and in 1948 she starred on stage in Private Lives by Noel Coward.

Tallulah Bankhead retired from the stage in 1950, beginning a radio show with many celebrity guests. In 1952 she hosted for a television show and published her autobiography. She appeared on Steve Allen and Lucille Ball's television shows and starred in a nightclub act in Las Vegas.

Several attempts at reviving her stage career either failed or had modest success. Her last acting performance was on the television series "Batman" in 1967.

Tallulah Bankhead married actor John Emery in 1937 and they divorced in 1941. She had no children. After her 1942 success, she bought a home in rural New York where she entertained frequently. Estelle Winwood and Patsy Kelly were among the guests who lived with her there. Her name was linked during her lifetime with many people -- men AND women -- and she carefully nurtured her wild reputation.

Tallulah Bankhead was active in politics, supporting Democratic and liberal causes and campaigning for Franklin D. Roosevelt. She was also a fan of the New York Giants.
Click to expand...

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/actresses/p/tallulah.htm
 
Tallulah was brilliant! It's so nice to see a thread started on her. I read a biography on her a few years back....I'd love to read it again. She was one of the most interesting women ever! :heart:
 
She's awesome. From her wikipedia:

"Like her family, Bankhead was a Democrat, but broke with most Southerners by campaigning for Harry Truman's reelection in 1948. While viewing the Inauguration parade, she booed the South Carolina float which carried then-Governor Strom Thurmond, who had recently run against Truman on the Dixiecrat ticket, splitting the Democratic vote."

"Tallulah was also a big fan of the soap opera, The Edge of Night. It has been said that after watching a female character agonize over a man, Bankhead contacted the producers of the show and said, 'Why doesn't she just shoot the bastard?'"

"According to author Brendan Gill, when Bankhead entered the hospital for an illness, an article was headed "Tallulah Hospitalized, Hospital Tallulahized." This headline was a testament to Bankhead's large, charismatic personality (which inspired much of the "personality" of the character Cruella De Vil in Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians)"
 
I read that the animator from 101 Dalmatians based the character of Cruella De Vil off of Tallulah.
 
thanks for bringing this thread back into the limelight,paradeyes:flower:!!i had four very pleasant minutes watching this video.so many stunning pictures i had never seen before:heart:....
it´s a pity that i´ve only ever watched her in lifeboat.but she was remarkable enough that even several years after watching the film she hasn´t disappeared somewhere in the dark corners of my conciuosness.and then of course her wisecracks... with her wits she could have easily competed with dorothy parker and oscar wilde.would have been nice to have the 3 of them sit together drinking coffee and listen to their conversation^_^.i read that tennessee williams imagined her as blanche dubois when he wrote a streetcar named desire.i don´t know if this is true though.the same source also said that the character margo channing in all about eve used tallulah bankhead as an inspiration.i could imagine that it´s true.imo bette davis and tallulah bankhead have a lot in common anyway regarding their will of iron,their wits and sarcasm and the tendency to "do it the hard way".and bette played that part superbly.it would have been interesting though to see tallulah as margo channing....perhaps a sunset boulevard like effect...
what i recognized when i looked at the pictures is that she could look very soft and vulnerable and then again tough with that i´ve-seen-and-heard-it-all look....
aqnway,some pics (sources:picture show annual 1933,leading ladies (orbis),film und mode-peter engelmeier ; scanned by me)

301146.775tallulah1.jpg


a scene from the cheat...the quality:doh:
301149.178tallulah5.jpg


as catherine the great (i wonder how many actresses have portayed her meanwhile) in a royal scandal,1945
301155.294tallulah4.jpg


thunder below,1932
301147.100tallulah2.jpg
 
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