November 01, 2005
Tallulah Bankhead
lived a colourful life.
She reportedly engaged in hundreds of affairs with both men and women. Her biting wit, salty language and outlandish behavior – like the propensity for taking off her clothes at the drop of a hat – shocked and outraged everyon[e]
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Alfred Hitchcock was shooting his picture Lifeboat, with showbiz goddess Tallulah Bankhead. The whole movie took place in a…well, lifeboat – which made for a very circumscribed studio environment. Creative and varied camera angles were, of course, front-and-centre, with lots of upward tilts and pans moving upwards from the roiling sea. Bankhead, for her part, was infamous for never wearing underwear… anywhere. During one particularly innovative scene, when the camera was placed at a very low angle in regard to the action, Hitchcock was compelled to set the shot by looking up at the actors from a crouched position. After establishing Bankhead, in a gown, as the centre of the frame, he rose up on creaking knees, shook his head in bemusement, and “Oh, gracious me… I’m not sure whether to call for costume, hair or makeup.”
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I like the sound of this dame...
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Madonna is a Tallulah-wannabe.
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Coincidentally, two weeks ago I stayed in a house in Memphis that was owned by Tallulah's parents in the 30's. Evidentally, they summered there and she would visit them. It's an incredible old house, that has since been redecorated in what I would call "High Southern Gothic" (think Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil meets Anne Rice). I wish I had uploaded the pics.
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I studied drama with a great old broad who knew Tallulah and had some great stories, none of which I can remember because I did too many drugs. Good day.
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Thanks for fucking nothing, you good-for-nothing drop out.
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/finger
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If she can remember the stories and you can't, probably they weren't all that great. Do you think she was one of the 'hundreds'? Koko, least you can do is present us with your stories of drug abuse.
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Yeah, goddam skank bitch crack ho!
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Once read that TB was the guest at a celebrity wedding and as the happy couple walked down the aisle she whispered to her neighbour: "I've had them both and they were both rubbish."
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Ah! So Koko is most definitely not associated with the Librarian's cat!
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Depends on the librarian and the cat, I'd say!
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present us with your stories of drug abuse One time, me and a friend were jonesing so hard, and we had to drive this van back from Mexico, only we didn't know the van was made of weed! Oh, wait, that wasn't me ...
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An amazing woman and, especially for her era, a very courageous one. Even in this new century, many are disapproving of women with such an uncompromising individuality. For instance, one thinks of Angelina Jolie in this context. Madonna, on the other hand, appears to be a more amorphous personality, lacking both humility and humour.
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Great story, Skrik