Bette Davis on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1988)

all right Maya my first guest tonight is is truly the indestructible first lady of the all-time great movie stars besides two Oscars 10 nominations and numerous awards she recently received the Legion of Honor from France and not too long ago the Kennedy Center Honors at the White House our latest movie is called the whales of August would you welcome Miss Betty Davis you are right did you see I forgot to kiss you when you came in you still play around don't you I didn't give you a compliment at this point yeah yeah I'm happy do you know I I was thinking this thing - you're really sensational mother thank you like nobody ever mentioned your monologues and and and their enormous work right yeah enormous work and and and so many times well thank you very well I got some very good writers no well you are very good a dream he has good writers of course but you're very good doing what they write well coming from you what else do you like about me where's my self somebody's here come on - what I've not seen you since yeah and I would like to congratulate you on your on your marriage thank you very much are you what did you just say you just say to me what else did I like about you yeah well you and I saw that twins in one way we never give up name of the game of survival right big name of the game is survival is it our choice what is it yeah do people change later they do rather change don't they yeah sometimes afterwards they fall in love with certain things we have that we didn't know about beforehand that's very delicately oh yes it is you understand oh yeah I sure do no interesting ly enough I paid alimony once you did - you paid alimony I paid alimony how do that work I must tell y'all you're telling your sorry well uh he arrived in a courtroom in Maine to do with the custody of our daughter Barbara and he was thrown out of court by the judge in Maine who said never in my courtroom will there be a man who accepts alimony ready through Sheree right out of the court yeah well you I love the Yankees I think they make breakfast but you did say yeah I do why what'd you do New Year's Eve why didn't you just New Year's Eve what you do this New Year's II I went to an enormous party in the valley for Melissa given by Melissa Manchester yes you are looking it was quite a different experience for me yeah I learned quite a lot about the new world yeah that night all right my her I'll I her very much she I was taken with Catherine my my wonderful friends uh by a gentleman who took us to the party and you can't ignore New Year's Eve yeah I mean you say now this New Year's I'm going to be very quiet and just don't do anything you can't you have a little wine or something or champagne and uh Oh had little guys that why I don't like champagne really I don't either I don't like it at all yeah makes me tear off excuse me I'm very sorry no I in jet I couldn't stop it very very good reason to do I didn't mean to be so explicit I'm just rainy and Queen Victoria and a big huge affair nobody and she did that several times and the next time Disraeli said to us have this one on me on there okay on that very eclectic high note we're gonna take a pause here but we're coming right back while the father sensor we are back tell you when I grow older we seem to have more and more in common sort of marriages but now we're in serious trouble oh we love to smoke oh should say what are you going to do about it I'm trying to quit you know what I think you're trying to quit yes ma'am well I will meet a lot more home meals does your new wife cook well yeah no allergies not Julia Child we would we would stay say home or from the restaurants I think if this continues dawn or as you say give up smoking man all your life had oh yes it's a long one along I really doubt that our you worry about it no really no I I feel that I have lived this long with it there's you know it must be all right yeah I think a lot of us probably in the genes well it is the being told like little children you know I could be told you do do you like to be told no no no not really no no not really yeah that we don't either if that's the thing in common we have can I show these couple wonderful pictures here Oh coming up you've had - magnificent honors the past year the Legion of Honor from France yes what a shows Italy that's uh yeah now where did this take place so Betty in the end in Deauville France Deauville Festival where I was that's first this this was really this was really a thrill and they don't say and then the same year the Kennedy Center yes had waited a very long time for the Kennedy Center yeah all right they sent out brochures each year as to who we think as to who we think would be a good choice I get my straight yeah yeah tilt makes it well after about eight or ten years of being disappointed I wrote on mine me it is an occasion it is an occasion the White House the the Kennedy Center Opera Theater you are so proud and was to be an American tell you were there with the birds right you were there with the president I have not seen since for many many many years you see good actor yes he I think I think he was wonderful that night in what he said to all of us that all of us had a lot in common which was hard work perseverance the funniest thing of course he said was if he'd been as good an actor as I was actress he never would have been president of the United States shadow it's kind of fun no he he was wonderful to everybody he really was speaking of films whales of August is kind of a milestone in your career it's each your hundredth film in actual fact it is not uh it was issued from the alive films office mm-hmm and where I thought maybe they wanted me to feel wanted people to feel I was a little older this oughta be on a par with this vicious age so they said a hundred hundred film not true I have not lived long enough to make eight hundred films even I have lived luck no it's about a eighty two or three films in actual fact oh yeah actual effect are you two good friends you and Elena Gish we had a web here we had a perfectly Pleasant time making the film that's right no I had never no never no judge no no I had no no no we did she's a she's really a lovely person miss Kish really lovely person definitely is there anybody you work with and is there anybody who worked with in the Hollywood I do not quite why you're laughing I'm being sincere about miss Gish I don't understand the laughter at all no I don't know they think they have you side some hidden meaning there I have no hidden meaning at all she's a delightful delightful person right so who's one of the worst people you know in Hollywood that I worked with but that you wouldn't want to work with again if you don't have like 1 million dollars Faison a everybody you can put into this chair will tell you exactly what is it about miss Dunaway that make sure well she just totally impossible really yes I don't think we have the time to go into all the reason she just let's put it she is just uncooperative doctor totally miss Donna way is for Miss Dunaway we did Amy Semple McPherson in Denver Colorado in a big big cabinet I was Amy's mother she was playing Amy of course so five thousand people who are going to get box lunches come in to the tabernacle 20 minutes later we are still all sitting there uh Amy sample is not appear just miss Dunaway at all the audience was getting a little upset as you can imagine so I thought well you better do something so I said well I think I'll entertain you for a while while we wait and I sang I've written a letter to Daddy and I sang the whole song for which helped a little bit know she truly all seriously is really on she's very unprofessional I should difficult woman yeah you meant you had a reputation certain times have been kind of tough yourself oh no I never have a reputation of that kind of thing no no oh never no no I have never behaved with in an unprofessional manner right ever know that includes keeping actors waiting keeping crews waiting all those things no yeah never never never well you are you are a true professional right that's for sure yes that is really what she isn't yup she's not well I guess we covered that pretty good yes do we have to weigh up to another commercial okay we'll interrupt here for a second but we're coming right back stay where you are we're back and we're talking at once again even in the picture picture I had no idea what this picture was about when somebody showed it to me it's your 70th birthday party that's you yes in the black and black black face Negro wig black clothes I had a funeral wreath on my front door oh is it so 70 God knows what I'll do in April when I Navy I don't know you just felt like doing this huh no I think at 71 should be rather mournful okay I felt very mournful yeah here I don't know who this gentleman is maybe this will recall oh that is the wonderful number from birth from thank you lucky straws where I did the the jitterbug with a young man oh who tossed me about and I said to him I said to him forget I am Betty Davis just treat me as you would a partner in this kind of a number okay and uh he was terrific he really did he really did he was absolutely sure and you comment on this no oh what is this picture ah well this is by a photographer named Francois there from from France just your feet and he obviously preferred my legs to my face well I have to say to you Monsieur there I think you're right I prefer my legs to my face at this point ok yes yes I love this picture book oh yes that was that was quite wonderful of you and Jimmy yeah another one of my favourite people's unit over mine too yes we were both making pilots for a new series the same day and let's roll put up a big sign welcome Betty and Jim and actually that was the first time I had ever met Jimmy you are really as two of the last major major motion picture stars from the 30s the 40s the 50s out there at Kennedy Center and we looked at each other and I had such fun making right away with him yes yes such he's so great and he said let's find another film Betty let's he's really it an't and the rendition at Kennedy sent up he's reading all those things about me he was so wonderful as worth it cry Cronin's absolutely misery I'm sorry terrific man yeah terrific man so many Tony you're superstitious Barry I mean I'm a breaking of ears I had on the bed oh yeah they had on the bed yes you know where that came from it's just you're so superstitious well I think it comes a little bit out of the theatre where you have whistling in the in the dressing room yeah I got very nervous for years when they whistle in my dressing room and during making a film but it's pretty hard to avoid the dressy for making a film so I gave it up yeah but in the theatre don't ever whistle in that dressing room oh sorry that's all bad news isn't it like the big good luck thing is break a leg right yes seems very strange thing doesn't it seem strange thing to sing on stage well that came out of ballet I hear yes like a reverse good lucky man yeah I guess it's a reverse good you know yes all right we're gonna take a break here Martin Short is gonna join us so stay where you are

Channel: CarsonTonight

Views: 831,129

Rating: 4.8142548 out of 5

Keywords: bette, davis, johnny, carson, tonight, show, 1988

Id: QfS-zyst1VA

Length: 16min 11sec (971 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 30 2011