Tallulah Bankhead was born in Huntsville, Alabama on January 31, 1902. Her father was a mover and shaker in the Democratic Party, even serving a stint as Speaker of the House for the US House of Representatives. Tallulah had been interested in acting and at the age of 15 she started her stage career in the local theater troupes of Huntsville and the surrounding areas. At 16, she won a beauty contest and, bolstered by this achievement, moved to New York City to live with her aunt and to try her hand at Broadway.
She was offered a role for a film in 1920's DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE but didn't take it after she turned John Barrymore down for an invitation to the casting couch. Unfortunately, for the young Miss Bankhead, she didn't make any headway on the stages of New York, so she pulled up stakes and moved to London, in 1923, to try her luck there.
For the next several years, she was the most popular actress of London's famed West End, which was the equivalent of Broadway. After several plays, Tallulah gained the notice of Paramount movie executives and returned to the US to see if she could make it in the celluloid world.
Her first two films, WOMAN'S LAW (1927) and HIS HOUSE IN ORDER (1928), didn't exactly set the world on fire, she returned to do more stage work.
In 1931, Tallulah filmed TARNISHED LADY, where starred as Nancy Courtney, a woman who marries for money, but ultimately gets bored with her husband and leaves him only to come back to him when he is broke. The critics gave it a mixed reception. Tallulah's personality didn't shine on film as Paramount executives had hoped.
Next she filmed MY SIN, as a woman with a secret past about to marry into money. With one more film in 1931, she made THE CHEAT as Elsa Carlyle. In this film, she played a woman who sold herself to a wealthy Oriental merchant who brands her like she was his own property and subsequently murdered.
In 1932, Tallulah filmed THUNDER BELOW, FAITHLESS, MAKE ME A STAR (where she had a studio cameo role along with several other stars), and DEVIL AND THE DEEP. The latter film was a star studded affair which made money at the box-office due to the cast (Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton, and newcomer Cary Grant). This was to be Tallulah's last appearance on the screen for the next eleven years. The films she was making just didn't do her talent any justice so it was back to Broadway. She was to tour nationally, performing in all but three states.
She was a big hit at social affairs where she didn't participate in the traditional sense. She chained smoked and enjoyed more than her share of Kentucky bourbon, but she made it a "habit" to take her clothes off and chat in the nude. Her friend and a fellow actress was to remark on one occasion, "Tallulah dear, why are you always taking your clothes off? You have such lovely frocks." The parties that she had would last for days.
She made a return to films in 1943 with a cameo role in STAGE DOOR CANTEEN. But it was LIFEBOAT, made by Alfred Hitchcock in 1944 that put her back into the limelight. But the limelight didn't shine for long. After A ROYAL SCANDAL in 1945, she again didn't appear on film until she landed a role in 1965 in DIE! DIE! MY DARLING! Other than a few TV spots and the voice of the Sea Witch in 1966's THE DAYDREAMER, she went back to the stage which was always first and foremost in her heart. To Tallulah there was nothing like a live audience to perform for, because they, always, showed a lot of gratitude.
On December 12, 1968,
Tallulah died of pneumonia in her beloved New York City. While she made most of her fame on the
stages of the world, the film industry and its history became richer because of her talent and her very
colorful personality. Today her phrase, "Hello, Dahling" is known throughout the entertainment world.
Nice Tallulah Bankhead photos can be found below.
Tallulah Pic 1
Tallulah Pic 2
Tallulah Pic 3
Tallulah Pic 4
Tallulah Pic 5
Tallulah Pic 6
Click here to go to Katharine Hepburn
Let me know if you happen to have access to some better pics of Miss Bankhead.
© 1998 Denny C. Jackson dejackso@iglou.com
Get your own Free Home Page
