Editing Bette Davis (section)

===1971–1983: Later career===
[[File:Lo scopone scientifico (1972) Bette Davis.png|thumb|Davis in ''[[The Scientific Cardplayer]]'' (1972)]]

In the early 1970s, Davis was invited to appear in New York City in a stage presentation titled ''Great Ladies of the American Cinema''. Over five successive nights, a different female star discussed her career, and answered questions from the audience; [[Myrna Loy]], [[Rosalind Russell]], [[Lana Turner]], [[Sylvia Sidney]], and Joan Crawford were the other participants. Davis was well-received, and was invited to tour Australia with the similarly themed ''Bette Davis in Person and on Film''; its success allowed her to take the production to the United Kingdom.<ref>Chandler (2006), pp. 258–259</ref>

In 1972, Davis played the lead role in two television films that were each intended as pilots for upcoming series for ABC and NBC, ''[[Madame Sin]]'', with [[Robert Wagner]], and ''[[The Judge and Jake Wyler]]'', with [[Doug McClure]] and [[Joan Van Ark]], but in each case, the network decided against producing a series.

She appeared in the stage production ''Miss Moffat'', a musical adaptation of her film ''The Corn Is Green'', but after the show was panned by the Philadelphia critics during its pre-Broadway run, she cited a back injury, and abandoned the show, which closed immediately.

She played supporting roles in [[Luigi Comencini]]'s ''[[The Scientific Cardplayer|Lo Scopone scientifico]]'' (1972) with Joseph Cotten and Italian actors [[Alberto Sordi]] and [[Silvana Mangano]]; ''[[Burnt Offerings (film)|Burnt Offerings]]'' (1976), a Dan Curtis film, for which she won the award for [[Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress|Best Supporting Actress]] at the [[Saturn Awards]]; and ''[[The Disappearance of Aimee]]'' (1976); but she clashed with [[Karen Black]] and [[Faye Dunaway]], the stars of the two latter productions, because she felt that neither extended her an appropriate degree of respect and that their behavior on the film sets was unprofessional.<ref>Spada (1993), pp. 414 (Karen Black), 416 (Faye Dunaway)</ref>

[[File:DavisTaylor.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Davis (left) and [[Elizabeth Taylor]] in late 1981 during a show celebrating Taylor's life]]
In 1977, Davis became the first woman to receive the American Film Institute's [[AFI Life Achievement Award|Lifetime Achievement Award]]. The televised event included comments from several of Davis's colleagues, including William Wyler, who joked that given the chance, Davis would still like to re-film a scene from ''The Letter'' to which Davis nodded. [[Jane Fonda]], [[Henry Fonda]], [[Natalie Wood]], and Olivia de Havilland were among the performers who paid tribute, with de Havilland commenting that Davis "got the roles I always wanted".<ref>Spada (1993), p. 424</ref> That same year, Davis's lifelong rival Joan Crawford died. Davis reportedly stated, "You should never say bad things about the dead; you should only say good… Joan Crawford is dead. Good."<ref name=":3" /> 

Following the telecast, she found herself in demand again, often having to choose between several offers. She accepted roles in the television miniseries ''[[The Dark Secret of Harvest Home]]'' (1978) and the theatrical film ''[[Death on the Nile (1978 film)|Death on the Nile]]'' (1978), an [[Agatha Christie]] murder mystery. The bulk of her remaining work was for television. She won an [[Emmy Award]] for ''[[Strangers: The Story of a Mother and Daughter]]'' (1979) with [[Gena Rowlands]], and was nominated for her performances in ''[[White Mama]]'' (1980) and ''[[Little Gloria...Happy at Last]]'' (1982). She also played supporting roles in the Disney films ''[[Return from Witch Mountain]]'' (1978) and ''[[The Watcher in the Woods (1980 film)|The Watcher in the Woods]]'' (1980).

Davis's name became well known to a younger audience when [[Kim Carnes]]'s song "[[Bette Davis Eyes]]" (written by [[Donna Weiss]] and [[Jackie DeShannon]]) became a worldwide hit and the best-selling record of 1981 in the U.S., where it stayed at number one on the music charts for more than two months. Davis's grandson was impressed that she was the subject of a hit song and Davis considered it a compliment, writing to both Carnes and the songwriters, and accepting the gift of [[Music recording sales certification|gold and platinum records]] from Carnes, and hanging them on her wall.<ref>Davis (1987), p. 112</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nmjetV92THsC&pg=PA49 |title=The women of Warner Brothers: the ... |access-date=April 14, 2010|isbn=978-0-7864-1137-5|year=2002|last1=Bubbeo |first1=Daniel |publisher=McFarland }}</ref>

She continued acting for television, appearing in ''[[Family Reunion (film)|Family Reunion]]'' (1981) with her grandson J. Ashley Hyman, ''[[A Piano for Mrs. Cimino]]'' (1982), for which she won the Best Actress Award at [[Monte-Carlo Television Festival|The Monte Carlo Television Festival]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tvfestival.com/img/history/documents/1983/1983_palmares.pdf |title=Golden Nymph Award Winners |publisher=Féstival de Télévision de Monte-Carlo |access-date=August 14, 2023}}</ref> and ''[[Right of Way (film)|Right of Way]]'' (1983) with [[James Stewart]]. In 1983, she was awarded the [[Women in Film Los Angeles|Women in Film]] Crystal Award.<ref name=WIF>{{cite web|title=Past Recipients: Crystal Award |url=http://wif.org/past-recipients |work=Women In Film |access-date=May 10, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110724120329/http://www.wif.org/past-recipients |archive-date=July 24, 2011 }}</ref>