TALLULAH BANKHEAD – #75 JULY/2024 BHC

Hello Body House Members;

So, how about that debate? I literally made popcorn and watched it with a friend.

It wasn’t nearly as entertaining as some classic movies I’ve reviewed, but it was revealing.

I suspect there will be some anomalies before the November election.

Speaking of anomalies, in this month’s Body House Chronicles we have the sultry, interesting beauty of Tallulah Bankhead.

Tallulah Bankhead was never a huge star like Joan Crawford or Bette Davis of her day, but she still had a tremendous screen presence. Take a look below…

HERE IS A SHORT CLIP THAT SUMS UP TALLULAH BANKHEAD’S SCREEN PRESENCE QUITE NICELY…

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Now… Let’s discover more about TALLULAH BANKHEAD!

Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was born on January 31, 1902 in Huntsville, Alabama and passed away on December 12, 1968, in New York City, New York.

INTERESTING FACT…

Her father was a big wig in the Democratic Party who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from June 4, 1936, to September 16, 1940.

At the age of 15, Bankhead started her stage career in the local theater troupes of Huntsville and the surrounding areas.

At 16, she won a beauty contest and subsequently moved to New York City to live with her aunt and try her hand at Broadway. She was soon offered a role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), but didn’t take it. Apparently, John Barrymore requested a sensual visit to the casting couch. She refused.

*This was par for the course in Hollywood in the early years. Perhaps it was Bankhead’s youth which prevented her from taking advantage of the opportunity. For it seems she made up for it later in her career.*

Bankhead found little acting success on the stages of New York, so she pulled up stakes and moved to London, in 1923.

This is where she began to shine.

For the next several years, she was the most popular actress of London’s famed West End, which is the British equivalent of Broadway.

After starring in several well-received plays, she gained the attention of Paramount Pictures executives and returned to the United States to try her hand at the film world.

From about 1927 to 1932 she made quite a number of films, often times in small parts. However, the movies she was making did not do her talent or personality any justice. So, she went back to Broadway.

Bankhead she did not make another film for 11 years. Although, she toured with a theater company nationally, performing in all but three states.

Bankhead was also a huge hit at social gatherings, where she often shocked the conservative upper class with what was considered “untraditional” behavior of the times.

Bankhead chain-smoked and enjoyed more than her share of Kentucky bourbon. She would regularly take her clothes off and chat in the nude.

A friend and fellow actress remarked on one occasion, “Tallulah dear, why are you always taking your clothes off? You have such lovely frocks.”

She was also famous–or infamous–for throwing wild parties that would last for days.

She finally returned to films in 1943 with a cameo in Stage Door Canteen (1943). However, it was Lifeboat (1944), directed by Alfred Hitchcock that put her back on the Hollywood map.

She filmed one more movie after Lifeboat – A Royal Scandal (1945) and did not appear on film again until she landed a role in 1965. Other film and TV work included a few TV spots and the voice of the Sea Witch in the animated film The Daydreamer (1966),

Bankhead always ended up back on stage though. To Tallulah, there was nothing like a live audience to perform for.

On December 12, 1968, Tallulah Bankhead died at age 66 of pneumonia in her beloved New York City.

It was Bankhead who coined the phrase “Hello, Dahling” with her deep husky trademark voice.

In the end, Bankhead was an American stage and film actress who was as famous for her personal life as for her theatrical achievements.

TALLULAH BANKHEAD’S MOST RECOGNIZED ROLE – LIFEBOAT (1944)

(THIS IS A BAD COPY, BUT THESE OLD MOVIES ARE BECOMING HARDER TO COME BY)

PHOTO GALLERY OF TALLULAH BANKHEAD

TALLULAH BANKHEAD’S LOVE LIFE

It has been rumored that Tallulah Bankhead had well over 500 lovers during her time in Hollywood.

This is not unusual. There are many Golden Age movie stars, both male and female, who are known to have countless lovers of both sexes. Bankhead was no different.

According to her short bio on IMDB, Bankhead would often take off her dress at parties. She’d then talk to guests with nothing more than a pair of high heels on and a cigarette.

Bankhead was married once to fellow actor John Emery. They wed in 1937 and divorced in 1941.

Tallulah Bankhead had no children.

TALLULAH BANKHEAD’S RUMORED AFFAIR WITH ‘MAMMY’ ACTRESS HATTIE MCDANIEL

You may be as surprised as I was to learn that there have been persistent rumors for years that Tallulah Bankhead and actress Hattie McDaniel were secretly lovers.

According to Vanity Fair the two had a long time affair;

“Like many stars who may have been closeted in that era, neither woman ever confirmed the whispers, though the McDaniel–Bankhead affair has been repeated in nonfiction books like The Girls: Sappho Goes to Hollywood and The Sewing Circle, a contested account of lesbian and bisexual women in Hollywood. In 2000, there was even a musical about the pair, titled Tallulah and Hattie: Dead at the Pearly Gates Cafe. The affair, it seems, has become an accepted part of each actor’s respective Tinseltown lore.” – Vanity Fair

I don’t know if this is true or not, but I do believe it’s quite possible. Tallulah Bankhead was a wild personality and tremendous actor. She and McDaniel more than likely had similar ‘fringe’ views of Hollywood and the work of actors. Being sexual creatures, it would not be outside the realm of possibility to think they engaged in some sexual activity.

Whatever the truth is, it’s interesting either way. Hollywood is better off for having both those ladies grace the silver screen.

Thank you for your interest in The Body House Chronicles and vintage sensuality.

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