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.
Michael Merrill, Bette's son, and Kathryn Sermak, Bette's personal assistant and friend, are now the executors of her estate. In her memory, they have created The Bette Davis Foundation, which provides financial assistance to promising young actors and actresses.
How much was Bette Davis paid for Whatever 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.
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.
Here's Who Inherited Bette Davis' Fortune After Her Death
What did Bette Davis daughter say about her in her book?
My Mother's Keeper is a 1985 memoir by B. D. Hyman, the daughter of actress Bette Davis, in which she alleges that Davis was a bullying, alcoholic mother.
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.
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.
How old were Betty Davis and Joan Crawford 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.
The film was a box office hit, grossing $9 million in theatrical rentals in North America, giving both Bette Davis and Joan Crawford their biggest hit in over a decade.
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. Her daughters and grandchildren had been intentionally disinherited.
A funeral was held at Campbell Funeral Home, New York, on May 13, 1977. In her will, which had been signed on October 28, 1976, Crawford bequeathed to her two youngest children, Cindy and Cathy, $77,500 each from her $2 million estate.
Bette was well aware of Crawford's reputation, saying at one point: “She slept with every star at MGM. Of both sexes.” At some point though, Crawford also moved in to seduce Davis, but Davis wouldn't have it. Perhaps in revenge, Crawford flaunted her affair with Tone, the object of Davis' desire.
Cain's “Mildred Pierce” — and that Bette Davis was the studio's first choice but eventually turned it down. Director Michael Curtiz did not want Crawford for the part and preferred Barbara Stanwyck.
Dunaway never fired back at Davis before Davis passed away, but revealed some of her thoughts towards Davis in her 1995 autobiography Looking For Gatsby. She wrote, "I was silent too long about ... Bette Davis.
What did Bette Davis say about Joan when she died?
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."
It was recorded by DeShannon that year but made popular by American singer Kim Carnes in 1981 when it spent nine non-consecutive weeks at the top of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
Davis won Oscars on her first two nominations for “Dangerous” in 1935 and “Jezebel” in 1938. Strangely Davis won for arguably the two least acclaimed and remembered films of her 10 nominations. The other bids were for: “Dark Victory” (1939), “The Letter” (1940), “The Little Foxes” (1941), “Now, Voyager” (1942), “Mr.
Among those who attend are: Joan's adopted children, Christina, Cathy and Cindy, and son, Christopher; Joan's secretaries, Betty Barker and Florence Walsh and Joan's Christian Science practitioner, Marque Campbell.
Joan Crawford purchased the 10 room house at 426 N. Bristol Avenue in the summer of 1928 for $57,500, after her success in the film "Our Dancing Daughters." Construction on the house began in July of 1927.
