While most of the attention given to 1962's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? has focused on the alleged enmity between stars Bette Davis, then 54, and Joan Crawford, then 57 (forming the basis for FX's Feud, which begins March 5), THR's focus was on money.
How old were Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in Baby Jane?
Aldrich's 1962 Hollywood adaptation of Henry Farrell's gothic novel would star Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, both then in their mid 50s, as quarrelling sisters, confined to the living tomb of a Los Angeles mansion that's filled with skeletons and a noxious resentment that lingers in the air.
Bette Davis as the covetous widow Mrs Van Schuyler was in her 70th year and her 86th film role when she made this film. She described the Academy Award winning costume designer Anthony Powell as 'a genius'. Powell's ideas for the film were clear.
Bette Davis on Who She’d Never Work With Again | Carson Tonight Show
Did Bette Davis give birth to any of her children?
In 1947, at the age of 39, Davis gave birth to daughter Barbara Davis Sherry (known as B.D.), and later wrote in her memoir that she became absorbed in motherhood and considered ending her career. As she continued making films, however, her relationship with her daughter B.D.
In a final victory lap, Crawford even personally delivered the trophy to Bancroft during a May 1963 curtain call for “Mother Courage and Her Children” on Broadway — with 59-year-old Joan in her Oscars finest and 31-year-old Bancroft costumed in rags and old lady makeup.
How much was Bette Davis paid for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Even though she liked the part of Baby Jane, Bette played hardball when negotiating with the director and asked for two things: top billing and more money than Crawford. Davis received $60,000 for the role.
Meanwhile, B.D., who married at 16, had her first child at 22. Davis later called her decision to go to Cannes “one of the greatest mistakes in my life”—and blamed the marriage for souring her relationship with her daughter.
On May 10, 1977, Joan Crawford died from a heart attack at her New York City apartment. At the time, outlets reported Bette's response to her colleague's death as they quoted her: "You should never say bad things about the dead, only good… Joan Crawford is dead? Good."
Bette Davis, the actress known for playing strong, independent women, had deep blue eyes. Her signature eyes made her famous. However, during the era of black and white cinematography, those blue eyes often tended to be photograph in black and white and appeared brown or hazel.
She never forgave Bede. Mother and daughter remained estranged through 1989, when Davis was told her breast cancer, in remission for five years, had “exploded,” and she had just days to live.
Some suggest Davis's eyes were the result of the autoimmune thyroid condition, Graves' disease. Swelling the muscles around the eyes and surrounding tissues, the condition pushes the eyeballs forward, causing them to protrude, limiting their movement.
To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy.
Davis's net worth at the time of her death was $2 Million after adjusting for taxes and inflation. According to her last will and testament, Bette's estate was worth $1 Million. The bulk of the estate was left to her adopted son, Michael Merrill. The other beneficiary was her close friend and assistant Kathryn Sermack.
Bette Davis, longtime rival of Crawford, denounced the book, stating, "I was not Miss Crawford's biggest fan, but, wisecracks to the contrary, I did and still do respect her talent. What she did not deserve was that detestable book written by her daughter. I've forgotten her name. Horrible."
Eventually, Davis became a huge star, overtaking Crawford. By the 1940s both stars were employed by the same studio, Warner Bros., where they had adjoining dressing rooms.
Crawford had a heart attack on May 10, 1977, and died in her apartment in Lenox Hill, New York City. Her age was reported as 69. On May 6, 1977, Crawford had given away her Shih Tzu, Princess Lotus Blossom, because she was too weak to continue to care for her.
How many biological children did Joan Crawford have?
As Charlotte Chandler writes in her biography of Crawford, Not the Girl Next Door, Crawford was unable to have kids, so she adopted five: a girl, Christina, in 1940; a boy, Christopher, in 1942, who was reclaimed by his birth mother soon after; a second boy, also named Christopher, in 1943; and twin girls, Catherine ( ...
