Tallulah & Greta
Tallulah Bankhead was an original, to say the least. Her father was William Brockman Bankhead, an Alabama politician who served as the 42nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940. She amassed nearly 300 film, stage, television and radio credits during her career. Although she did not win a Tony or Oscar, she won the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Actress in a Production, The Skin of Our Teeth (1942) and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, Lifeboat (1944), her most notable movie, directed by Alfred Hithcock. She is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame. She married once, a four-year union. She passed away at 66 in 1968. Here are choice quotes from the Hollywood bad girl, gleaned from goodreads.com:
“If I had to live my life again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner.”
“I’ll come and make love to you at five o’clock. If I’m late start without me.”
“I’m as pure as the driven slush.”
“Here’s a rule I recommend: Never practice two vices at once.”
“It’s the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time.”
“Cocaine isn’t habit forming. I should know, I’ve been using it for years.”
“I’ve had a man and I’ve had a woman, and there’s got to be something better.”
Greta Garbo was a polar opposite of Bankhead, an actress subtle and understated, although adept at comedy, a woman who sought privacy. A three-time Oscar nominee, she never took home the prize. Her career spanned 1920-’41, her first American film in 1926, Torrent. She twice received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress: Anna Karenina (1935), Camille (1936). She received many honors, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She never married. Despite being a heavy smoker, she lived until 84, passing in 1990. Here are quotes from the Swedish beauty, gleaned from brainyquote.com:
“I never said, ‘I want to be alone.’ I only said, ‘I want to be left alone.’ There is all the difference.”
“Your joys and sorrows. You can never tell them. You cheapen the inside of yourself if you do tell them.”
“Life would be so wonderful if we only knew what to do with it.”
“If only those who dream about Hollywood knew how difficult it all is.”
“There seems to be a law that governs all our actions so I never make plans.”
“I wish I were supernaturally strong so I could put right everything that is wrong.”
“My talents fall within definite limitations. I am not as versatile an actress as some think.”
My thanks to the young beauty who bought Garbo and Hitchcock/Truffaut, a collection of interviews done by the latter, and to the young man who purchased Tallulah; and to all the others who opened their wallets on this gorgeous day, especially the guy who took home 17 DVDs, including The Godfather series.
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