A Tribute to Bette Davis

This was a wonderful tribute to Bette Davis, who arrived beaming and looking every inch, THE STAR. I was fortunate to see the show in a rebroadcast on American Movie Classics, I think, or was it PBS? I popped a cassette into my VCR and now I have a great copy. I cherish all the wonderful film clips and comments of all who attended. This is a treasure.

I think this can be purchased from The American Film Institute. I bought the James Cagney tribute directly from them several years ago.

I have long wanted the AFI to honor Doris Day. They wrote me back and informed me that they had offered to honor Miss Day several times, but she declined.

It's always interesting to see a well-deserved tribute to one of Hollywood's busiest actresses during the Golden Age, and especially when so many of her friends and co-stars were still living and able to attend such a ceremony.

The AFI's salute to BETTE DAVIS was a star-studded event, including brief talks from such luminaries as GERALDINE FITZGERALD, PAUL HENRIED, ROBERT WAGNER, NATALIE WOOD, OLIVIA DE HAVILLAND, WILLIAM WYLER and others.

I read afterwards that NATLIE WOOD was annoyed that Olivia brought up the fact that she too had won two Oscars while talking about Bette--as if she was taking some of the spotlight away from Bette's success. I do recall de Havilland saying something like: "I always wanted the career that Bette had." But since she and Bette Davis remained good friends, I don't think Olivia was trying to upstage Bette at all.

All in all, a fun evening--especially for fans of Bette Davis and the Golden Age of movies.