Trivia of Tallulah Bankhead

 Trivia of Tallulah Bankhead (31 January 1902 - 12 December 1968)

*Bankhead's famously husky voice (which she described as "mezzo-basso") was the result of chronic bronchitis due to childhood illness.As a child, Bankhead was described as "extremely homely" and overweight, while her sister was slim and prettier. Her parents were William Brockman Bankhead and Adelaide Eugenia ‘Ada’ Bankhead. She had an elder sister, Eugenia. Her father belonged to the Bankhead-and-Brockman political family and was the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940.Her mother died of blood poisoning just three weeks after Tallulah’s birth. After her mother’s death, her father suffered from depression and alcoholism. As a result, her paternal grandmother took care of her and her sister.

*When Tallulah Bankhead was 15, she sent her photo to a ‘Picture Play’ contest, which promised a trip to New York and a role in a movie to the winners. Although she forgot to send her name and address with her photo, later she came to know that she was one of the winners.

She contacted the magazine and soon arrived in New York. She was given a minor role in ‘Who Loved Him Best (1918)’.

*In 1931, she appeared in the film ‘Tarnished Lady’. Although she found filmmaking to be boring, she could not ignore it as she was making $50,000 per film.It's Tallulah Bankhead's first film after spending years on stage in New York and London.

*She was infamous for not wearing underwear. During the filming of Lifeboat (1944) the crew complained about her flashing them when she had to climb a ladder to go into the mock-up of a lifeboat. When their objections to Bankhead's exhibitionism reached director Alfred Hitchcock, he reportedly quipped that he did not know if it was a matter for wardrobe or hairdressing.

*Bankhead's career and her popularity started fading in the mid-1950s mainly due to her drug abuse, alcoholism, and her scandalous personal life. Despite being a heavy smoker and drinker and a regular consumer of sleeping pills, she continued to perform on the stage, radio, television and films till the1960s.

*She was said to be the inspiration for the character of Cruella De Vil in Walt Disney's One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961).

*Fanatic (1965) was Tallulah's final film before her death on December 12, 1968 at the age of 66.The producers considered replacing Tallulah Bankhead during filming after she became ill and was unable to work. However, Bankhead put up her salary for the film as a guarantee. She also sued Columbia Pictures after they renamed the film 'Die! Die! My Darling' for its U.S. release.