HWOF

Tallulah Bankhead photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934

Source: Wikipedia

Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was an American actress and talk-show host whose passion for acting sparked at the young age of 15. At 16, after acting with local acting troupes, she won a beauty contest and, encouraged by this achievement, moved to New York City to live with her aunt and try her hand on Broadway. After a few years in New York, the young Miss Bankhead did not make any headway on the stages of New York, so, in 1923, she moved to London to try her luck in the West End.

For the next several years she was the most popular actress of London’s famed West End. After starring in a string of well-received plays, Bankhead caught the attention of Paramount Pictures executives and returned to the United States to try a career in the film world. Her first two films, Woman’s Law (1927) and His House in Order (1928), were not exactly successful, so she returned to the stage. Tallulah’s personality did not shine on film in the way Paramount executives had hoped. However, in the early 1930s, the determined Bankhead tried again with the film My Sin (1931). In the next few years she appeared in The Cheat (1931), Thunder Below (1932), Faithless (1932), Make Me a Star (1932), and Devil and the Deep (1932). The films she was making, however, did not showcase her talent so she returned to Broadway for 11 years.

She returned to films in 1943 with a cameo in Stage Door Canteen (1943), but it was Lifeboat (1944) by director Alfred Hitchcock that put her back into the limelight. However, after a few more films, she returned to the stage again. Tallulah believed there was nothing like a live audience to perform for, because they always showed a lot of gratitude. 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.

• Born Tallulah Brockman Bankhead, January 31, 1902, Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
• Died December 12, 1968 (aged 66), New York City, New York, U.S.
• Years active 1918–68
• Spouse John Emery (m. 1937–1941)

Read more about Tallulah Bankhead at Wikipedia or at the Internet Movie Database

PLAYBILL VAULT'S Today In Theatre History: APRIL 21
Playbill Combined , 2012-04-21 04:00:00
1925 Tallulah Bankhead and Edna Best are Fallen Angels at London's Globe Theatre. Noel Coward's comedy describes two wives who get drunk while trying to get even with their husbands for their indifference. Angels will fly for 158 performances.

Valerie Harper Will Appear on "Desperate Housewives" in 2011
Playbill Combined , 2010-12-01 19:26:00
Valerie Harper, last seen on Broadway in a Tony Award-nominated turn as Tallulah Bankhead in Matthew Lombardo's Looped, will guest star on an upcoming episode of "Desperate Housewives."

Today in Theatre History: SEPTEMBER 15
Playbill Combined , 2010-09-15 04:00:00
1889 Robert Benchley, the acclaimed actor, critic, and humorist of the early Twentieth Century, is born today. Benchley will marry Gertrude Darling and make his stage debut in this month in 1923. An example of his wit can be seen in his 1926 review of Jean Bart's Squall, which is ...