Talk:Bette Davis

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[edit] Discussion

Is this the same Bette Davis mentioned in the Margaret Herrick article ? That article says Bette Davis is/was Academy President and takes/took credit for inventing the name Oscar to refer to the Academy Awards. There is no mention of either of these facts in this article. Jay 15:20, 20 Oct 2004 (UTC)

When she received the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1935, she commented that the naked man on the statue,had the same butt as he husband, Oscar. Therefore the name but some do credit Walt Disney for the name of Oscar. I prefer the story of Bette Davis and most people credit her also. (user.Don Areinoff, 11.53pm Dec. 22, 2005

This was covered in the documentary about her, "Stardust" - she did NOT come up with the name. It had actually been called that two years earlier in a newspaper article. NickBurns 03:10, 21 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Filmography

I have replaced the filmography list with a link to Bette Davis chronology of film and television performances. The filmography list as it existed in this article, was very long and yet it was not complete. Considering Davis was such a major figure in film acting, I think it appropriate that her filmography be complete, and is also worthy of more information that just a list of titles. Therefore I expanded it to include the name of her character, her director and co-stars. This is more complete but it's quite large so to leave it the article would be inappropriate. This way anyone who wants to see the list, need only click on the link. And anyone that does not want to see it, won't need to scroll past it. Rossrs 13:17, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

  • Don't you think it would be good, in the filmography page, to add that her Hotel appearance was limited to the pilot, writing something like "Hotel (TV series pilot)? It is not cited anywhere that her role was limited to the pilot and would help newcomers not to go looking for the complete show for her appearance. The "Hotel" page itself is not clear on her role either....so at least let's note it here? Also, the "filmography" link is in relegated to "See also"? It's kinda, like a minor link, why not calle if "Filmography" and list the link? Otherwise congrats on the really great and consistent article Dollvalley 14:25, 26 March 2007 (UTC)
I've rewritten the sentence in the article to indicate that she only completed the pilot episode - I think it was a good idea to mention it, but I don't think it should be mentioned on the filmography page, because that page doesn't have "notes" as such, and I think to add one, would invite others to be added and it could get untidy. I think it better to keep it in the article. I've also renamed the header to 'filmograpy'. Thanks for your comments and suggestions - I'm glad you like the article. Rossrs 22:48, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Edits of August 16

I've done a fairly major rewrite of the article and I would like to just explain the main changes.

  1. I merged the "Stage career" content into the rest of the article. The rest of the article dealt with her film and television career chronologically, so I thought it best that the theatre work be dealt with in the same manner. I'm glad it was added by a previous editor - it had been sorely overlooked until then.
  2. I removed the "Romantic life" section and merged what was relevent. I think the important relationships of a subject's life should be discussed but I think that having it's own section gave it a kind of gossipy feel. More appropriate to mention the relationships as they occurred, especially as they impacted on her career. The dynamics between her career and her personal relationships (not just husbands and lovers, but also parents, sibling and children) are easier to demonstrate if placed into a chronological context. Rossrs 13:53, 16 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fourth Warner Brother

Davis was referred to as the fourth, and not the fifth. The term is used in the James Spada bio that is cited in references, and derives from a quote attributed to Davis herself. At the time of Davis's success there were 3 Warner Brothers - Sam Warner died in 1927 before Davis started acting. "Fifth" is numerically correct, but she was never called this. Hence the quotation marks. Rossrs 08:25, 6 October 2006 (UTC)