Tallulah Bankhead: Summary
- Recent Role:
- Herself on The Merv Griffin Show
- Gender:
- Birthday:
- 1-31-1902
- Death:
- 12-12-1968
- Birthplace:
- Huntsville, Alabama, USA
- Birth Name:
- Tallulah Brockman Bankhead
Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was born January 31, 1902/03, (the exact day and year are disputed), in Huntsville, Alabama. Her mother died shortly after her birth and her father sent her and her sister, Eugenia, to live with his parents, Senator and Mrs. John Bankhead, in Jasper, Alabama at their family home, "Sunset." The home is still there today. Tallulah was a spoiled, untamable child, as her father moved in and out of her life in Jasper. He later settled down in Jasper, was elected to Congress, and the position of U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Tallulah's first break came in 1917 when she won a beauty contest sponsored by "Picture Play" magazine, which included a bit part in a motion picture in New York City. The movie was entitled "The Wishful Girl."
Her American career was sagging when she took a chance and moved to London, even after being told the part she was told a director was interested in her for had already been filled. She made an impression on the London stage during the 1920's, gaining quite a large following of "gallery girls." Tallulah left England in 1931.
Her joke of why she returned to the United States was, "To **** that devine Gary Cooper!" Tallulah went on to have love affairs with many men (and women). That combined with her affection for taking off her clothes, booze, cocaine, profanity, she developed one of the raciest reputations in America. One of her most famous quotes is, "My daddy warned me about men and booze, but he never said a thing about women and cocaine." At one point she contracted a sexually transmitted disease (rumored to have been contracted from Gary Cooper) which required an emergency hysterotomy.
In 1937 Tallulah married for the only time to actor John Emery. They were divorced in 1941 with her husband declaring mental and physical abuse as the reason.
Her first movie back in the United States was "Tarnished Lady," but her movie career never really took off, so she returned to her true love--the stage. Tallulah's first major return to the stage was in 1939 in "The Little Foxes." Her most memorable movie was Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat," made in 1944. During production other members of the cast complained about Tallulah's refusal to wear underwear. Hitchcock's only response was, "I don't know if that is a matter for costuming, make-up, or props." But, Tallulah was a real professional. The movie required hours of hot lights and being soaking wet, which eventually almost killed her as she worked on suffering from double pneumonia.
The next big stage hit was Noel Coward's "Private Lives," touring in all but three states with 248 performances. Between the booze and boredom Tallulah and her co-star Donald Cook found ways to keep themselves interested during long, on the road performances. In Birmingham, Alabama Tallulah unexpectedly slapped Cook and said, "Don't touch me you damn Yankee!", pulled a Confederate flag out of her dress, and burst out into "Dixie," of course to the uncontrollable delight of the audience.
From 1950 to 1952, as television was steadily gaining popularity over radio programs, Tallulah hosted America's last big attempt at a radio show, aptly named "The Big Show." The show was a huge success hosting guest stars and Tallulah the ringmaster exchanging one-liners and "daahhhlings" with America's biggest stars in her famous husky voice.
In 1956, during a lull in her career, Tallulah accepted the part of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams's "A Streetcar Named Desire" in Miami. The part was of an aging Southern belle past her prime, and it was no secret that the character of Dubois was inspired by Tallulah, as well as many other characters in Williams's plays. Though perfectly cast, the play closed after only 16 performances. By this time Tallulah had a large homosexual following and each night the audience was filled with gay men who came expecting a camped up version of DuBois, instead of the serious role she was actually playing. The audience laughed at inappropriate times and one line, when DuBois is referring to the stars, "All the girls are out tonight," would bring down the house with hoots and jeers. One member of the cast would say, "Only a true professional such as Tallulah could have continued on and endured what she did during the short run of the play. I would have stopped in mid-performance and addressed the audience about their lude behavior." When the movie version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" was being cast Tallulah tried out for the part, and it is said her tryout was so moving that it was obvious she was the one for the part, but the director refused to cast her because of her drinking problem--which had gotten pretty bad by this point--her test film was burned and Vivien Leigh was cast as the part.
In 1957 Tallulah appeared as the guest star on the "Lucy and Desi Comedy Hour" as the "Celebrity Next Door." It is her most famous television appearance that is still seen today. Tallulah was cast at the last minute to fill in for Bette Davis who had suffered a fall and could not do the show. Lucille Ball was afraid the audience would not recognize Tallulah because her career had been slower in recent years, but in her first scene when she walks through the door and takes off her sunglasses the audience response was so enthusiatic and extended some of it had to be edited out. Everyone in America knew who Tallulah Bankhead was. Being unrecogized was not their only concern, it was obvious Tallulah had been drinking heavily before taping, but performed without the slightest problem.
Tallulah had no more major stage hits. She toured doing lectures and a one-woman show. As she got older her partying slowed but her drinking did not. At a lecture to a ladies club in Texas she took a sip from her glass and joked with them, "I bet you think this is gin, don't you dahlings. I wish it were!" It was.
Her last movie role was an English movie, "Die! Die! My Darling!" where she was cast as an unattractive, crazy woman. The title of the film was changed after production, using her trademark "darling" to her dismay. At a viewing of the movie with friends she stood up and said, "Dahlings, I want to first apologize for looking as old as God's wetnurse in this movie!" Some thought this was Tallulah's big comeback, but the movie was not a huge success and her health was rapidly declining. In 1966 she used her famous voice in an animated film "The Daydreamer."
Her last character role was as "The Black Widow" in a two part episode of the televison series "Batman." It took all of her energy and serveral oxygen tanks to get to Los Angeles for the taping. It was an exhausting venture, but rewarding for a lady whose life was acting. When she was asked to do the part the director told her that they were going for campy humor, to which she replied, "Don't talk to me about camp, dahling, I invented it!" On May 14, 1968 Tallulah appeared on "The Tonight Show." This was her last television appearance.
She always loved children and animals. She always owned many animals, some exotic. She once owned a lion named Winston Churchill. She smoked and talked constantly. She was always restless; always having to read, listen to the radio, watch television, talk with someone, and usually all at the same time. She drank two bottles of bourbon and smoked up to 150 cigarettes a day. One of her live-in "caddies" as she called them (men she hired to look after her) was checking in on her one night only to find she had fallen asleep with a cigarette and had set her Maltese dog, Dolores, on fire and started screaming "Tallu, wake up! Wake up! Dolores is on fire!" Tallulah simply screamed back, "Well, put her out for God's sake!" and fell back asleep. She would stay up for days on end and is quoted as having said, "I have three phobias which, could I mute them, would make my life as slick as a sonnet, but as dull as ditch water - I hate to go to bed, I hate to get up, and I hate to be alone."
"Nobody can be exactly like me. Even I have trouble doing it."--Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was born January 31, 1902/03, (the exact day and year are disputed), in Huntsville, Alabama. Her mother died shortly after her birth and her father sent her and her sister, Eugenia, to live with his parents, Senator and Mrs. John Bankhead, in Jasper, Alabama at their family home, "Sunset." The home is still there today. Tallulah was a spoiled, untamable...
Tallulah's first break came in 1917 when she won a beauty contest sponsored by "Picture Play" magazine, which included a bit part in a motion picture in New York City. The movie was entitled "The Wishful Girl."
Her American career was sagging when she took a chance and moved to London, even after being told the part she was told a director was interested in her for had already been filled. She made an impression on the London stage during the 1920's, gaining quite a large following of "gallery girls." Tallulah left England in 1931.
Her joke of why she returned to the United States was, "To **** that devine Gary Cooper!" Tallulah went on to have love affairs with many men (and women). That combined with her affection for taking off her clothes, booze, cocaine, profanity, she developed one of the raciest reputations in America. One of her most famous quotes is, "My daddy warned me about men and booze, but he never said a thing about women and cocaine." At one point she contracted a sexually transmitted disease (rumored to have been contracted from Gary Cooper) which required an emergency hysterotomy.
In 1937 Tallulah married for the only time to actor John Emery. They were divorced in 1941 with her husband declaring mental and physical abuse as the reason.
Her first movie back in the United States was "Tarnished Lady," but her movie career never really took off, so she returned to her true love--the stage. Tallulah's first major return to the stage was in 1939 in "The Little Foxes." Her most memorable movie was Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat," made in 1944. During production other members of the cast complained about Tallulah's refusal to wear underwear. Hitchcock's only response was, "I don't know if that is a matter for costuming, make-up, or props." But, Tallulah was a real professional. The movie required hours of hot lights and being soaking wet, which eventually almost killed her as she worked on suffering from double pneumonia.
The next big stage hit was Noel Coward's "Private Lives," touring in all but three states with 248 performances. Between the booze and boredom Tallulah and her co-star Donald Cook found ways to keep themselves interested during long, on the road performances. In Birmingham, Alabama Tallulah unexpectedly slapped Cook and said, "Don't touch me you damn Yankee!", pulled a Confederate flag out of her dress, and burst out into "Dixie," of course to the uncontrollable delight of the audience.
From 1950 to 1952, as television was steadily gaining popularity over radio programs, Tallulah hosted America's last big attempt at a radio show, aptly named "The Big Show." The show was a huge success hosting guest stars and Tallulah the ringmaster exchanging one-liners and "daahhhlings" with America's biggest stars in her famous husky voice.
In 1956, during a lull in her career, Tallulah accepted the part of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams's "A Streetcar Named Desire" in Miami. The part was of an aging Southern belle past her prime, and it was no secret that the character of Dubois was inspired by Tallulah, as well as many other characters in Williams's plays. Though perfectly cast, the play closed after only 16 performances. By this time Tallulah had a large homosexual following and each night the audience was filled with gay men who came expecting a camped up version of DuBois, instead of the serious role she was actually playing. The audience laughed at inappropriate times and one line, when DuBois is referring to the stars, "All the girls are out tonight," would bring down the house with hoots and jeers. One member of the cast would say, "Only a true professional such as Tallulah could have continued on and endured what she did during the short run of the play. I would have stopped in mid-performance and addressed the audience about their lude behavior." When the movie version of "A Streetcar Named Desire" was being cast Tallulah tried out for the part, and it is said her tryout was so moving that it was obvious she was the one for the part, but the director refused to cast her because of her drinking problem--which had gotten pretty bad by this point--her test film was burned and Vivien Leigh was cast as the part.
In 1957 Tallulah appeared as the guest star on the "Lucy and Desi Comedy Hour" as the "Celebrity Next Door." It is her most famous television appearance that is still seen today. Tallulah was cast at the last minute to fill in for Bette Davis who had suffered a fall and could not do the show. Lucille Ball was afraid the audience would not recognize Tallulah because her career had been slower in recent years, but in her first scene when she walks through the door and takes off her sunglasses the audience response was so enthusiatic and extended some of it had to be edited out. Everyone in America knew who Tallulah Bankhead was. Being unrecogized was not their only concern, it was obvious Tallulah had been drinking heavily before taping, but performed without the slightest problem.
Tallulah had no more major stage hits. She toured doing lectures and a one-woman show. As she got older her partying slowed but her drinking did not. At a lecture to a ladies club in Texas she took a sip from her glass and joked with them, "I bet you think this is gin, don't you dahlings. I wish it were!" It was.
Her last movie role was an English movie, "Die! Die! My Darling!" where she was cast as an unattractive, crazy woman. The title of the film was changed after production, using her trademark "darling" to her dismay. At a viewing of the movie with friends she stood up and said, "Dahlings, I want to first apologize for looking as old as God's wetnurse in this movie!" Some thought this was Tallulah's big comeback, but the movie was not a huge success and her health was rapidly declining. In 1966 she used her famous voice in an animated film "The Daydreamer."
Her last character role was as "The Black Widow" in a two part episode of the televison series "Batman." It took all of her energy and serveral oxygen tanks to get to Los Angeles for the taping. It was an exhausting venture, but rewarding for a lady whose life was acting. When she was asked to do the part the director told her that they were going for campy humor, to which she replied, "Don't talk to me about camp, dahling, I invented it!" On May 14, 1968 Tallulah appeared on "The Tonight Show." This was her last television appearance.
She always loved children and animals. She always owned many animals, some exotic. She once owned a lion named Winston Churchill. She smoked and talked constantly. She was always restless; always having to read, listen to the radio, watch television, talk with someone, and usually all at the same time. She drank two bottles of bourbon and smoked up to 150 cigarettes a day. One of her live-in "caddies" as she called them (men she hired to look after her) was checking in on her one night only to find she had fallen asleep with a cigarette and had set her Maltese dog, Dolores, on fire and started screaming "Tallu, wake up! Wake up! Dolores is on fire!" Tallulah simply screamed back, "Well, put her out for God's sake!" and fell back asleep. She would stay up for days on end and is quoted as having said, "I have three phobias which, could I mute them, would make my life as slick as a sonnet, but as dull as ditch water - I hate to go to bed, I hate to get up, and I hate to be alone."
"Nobody can be exactly like me. Even I have trouble doing it."--Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was born January 31, 1902/03, (the exact day and year are disputed), in Huntsville, Alabama. Her mother died shortly after her birth and her father sent her and her sister, Eugenia, to live with his parents, Senator and Mrs. John Bankhead, in Jasper, Alabama at their family home, "Sunset." The home is still there today. Tallulah was a spoiled, untamable...
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