Editing Bette Davis (section)

== Reception and legacy ==
===Roles and performances===
As early as 1936, [[Graham Greene]] summarized Davis: {{blockquote|Even the most inconsiderable film...seemed temporarily better than they were because of that precise, nervy voice, the pale ash-blond hair, the popping, neurotic eyes, a kind of corrupt and phosphorescent prettiness.... I would rather watch Miss Davis than any number of competent pictures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/19th-june-1936/15/the-cinema|title=The Cinema » 19 Jun 1936|website=The Spectator Archive}}</ref>}}
[[File:BetteDavisVote64.jpg|left|thumb|Davis registering to vote in 1964]]
In 1964, Jack Warner spoke of the "magic quality that transformed this sometimes bland and not beautiful little girl into a great artist",<ref name="goddamprologueIX" /> and in a 1988 interview, Davis remarked that, unlike many of her contemporaries, she had forged a career without the benefit of beauty.<ref name=MeetingMissDavis>{{cite web|first=Jim |last=Emerson |url=http://www.cinepad.com/bettedavis.htm |title=Meeting Miss Davis |publisher=Jeeem's Cinepad |access-date=August 24, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512012121/http://www.cinepad.com/bettedavis.htm |archive-date=May 12, 2008 }}</ref> She admitted she was terrified during the making of her early films, and that she became tough by necessity. "Until you're known in my profession as a monster, you are not a star", she said, "[but] I've never fought for anything in a treacherous way. I've never fought for anything but the good of the film."<ref name="Movietalk">Shipman (1988), p. 13</ref> During the making of ''All About Eve'' (1950), Joseph L. Mankiewicz told her of the perception in Hollywood that she was difficult, and she explained that when the audience saw her on screen, they did not consider that her appearance was the result of numerous people working behind the scenes. If she was presented as "a horse's ass...forty feet wide, and thirty feet high", that is all the audience "would see or care about".<ref>Spada (1993), p. 272</ref>

While lauded for her achievements, Davis and her films were sometimes derided; Pauline Kael described ''Now, Voyager'' (1942) as a "shlock classic",<ref>Kael (1982), p. 421</ref> and by the mid-1940s, her sometimes mannered and histrionic performances had become the subject of caricature. Edwin Schallert, for the ''Los Angeles Times'', praised Davis's performance in ''Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), while observing, "The mimics will have more fun than a box of monkeys imitating Miss Davis"; and Dorothy Manners, at the ''Los Angeles Examiner'', said of her performance in the poorly received ''Beyond the Forest'' (1949): "No night club caricaturist has ever turned in such a cruel imitation of the Davis mannerisms as Bette turns on herself in this one." ''Time'' magazine noted that Davis was compulsively watchable, even while criticizing her acting technique, summarizing her performance in ''Dead Ringer'' (1964) with the observation, "Her acting, as always, isn't really acting: It's shameless showing off. But just try to look away!"<ref>Ringgold (1966), p. 178</ref>

Her film choices were often unconventional: Davis sought roles as manipulators and killers in an era when actresses usually preferred to play sympathetic characters, and she excelled in them. She favored authenticity over glamour, and was willing to change her own appearance if it suited the character.<ref name="Movietalk" />

[[File:Grauman's Chinese Theatre, bette davis.JPG|thumb|upright|Davis's signature and handprints at [[Grauman's Chinese Theatre]]]]
As she entered old age, Davis was acknowledged for her achievements. John Springer, who had arranged her speaking tours of the early 1970s, wrote that despite the accomplishments of many of her contemporaries, Davis was "the star of the thirties and into the forties", achieving notability for the variety of her characterizations and her ability to assert herself, even when her material was mediocre.<ref>Springer (1978), p. 81</ref> Individual performances continued to receive praise; in 1987, Bill Collins analyzed ''The Letter'' (1940), and described her performance as "a brilliant, subtle achievement", and wrote: "Bette Davis makes Leslie Crosbie one of the most extraordinary females in movies."<ref>Collins (1987), p. 135</ref> In a 2000 review for ''All About Eve'' (1950), Roger Ebert noted: "Davis was a character, an icon with a grand style; so, even her excesses are realistic."<ref>{{cite web | first = Roger | last = Ebert | url = http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000611/REVIEWS08/6110301/1023 | title = Review of ''All About Eve'' | publisher = RogerEbert.com | date = June 11, 2000 | access-date = August 24, 2008 | archive-date = July 9, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070709051542/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20000611%2FREVIEWS08%2F6110301%2F1023 | url-status = dead }}</ref> In 2006, ''Premiere'' magazine ranked her portrayal of Margo Channing in the film as fifth on their list of 100 Greatest Performances of All Time, commenting: "There is something deliciously audacious about her gleeful willingness to play such unattractive emotions as jealousy, bitterness, and neediness."<ref>{{cite journal|title=100 Greatest Performances of All Time|journal=Premiere|date=April 2006}}</ref> While reviewing ''What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?'' (1962) in 2008, Ebert asserted that, "No one who has seen the film will ever forget her."<ref>{{cite web |first=Roger |last=Ebert |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080216/REVIEWS08/14917937/1023 |title=What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) |publisher=RogerEbert.com |date=February 16, 2008 |access-date=December 29, 2011 |archive-date=September 20, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920074936/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20080216%2FREVIEWS08%2F14917937%2F1023 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 1977, Davis became the first woman to be honored with the AFI Life Achievement Award.<ref>Sikov (2007), p. 405</ref> In 1999, the [[American Film Institute]] published its list of the "[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars]]", which was the result of a film-industry poll to determine the "50 Greatest American Screen Legends" in order to raise public awareness and appreciation of classic film. Of the 25 actresses listed, Davis was ranked at number two, behind Katharine Hepburn.<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/stars.aspx | title = AFI's 100 Years, 100 Stars, Greatest Film Star Legends |publisher = American Film Institute | access-date = August 24, 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080822055357/http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/stars.aspx| archive-date = August 22, 2008}}</ref>

===Memorials===
A few months before her death in 1989, Davis was one of several actors featured on the cover of ''Life'' magazine. In a film retrospective that celebrated the films and stars of 1939, ''Life'' concluded that Davis was the most significant actress of her era, and highlighted ''Dark Victory'' (1939) as one of the more important films of the year.<ref name="life">"Hollywood 1939–1989, Today's Stars Meet the Screen Legends". ''Life''. Spring 1989.</ref> Her death made front-page news throughout the world as the "close of yet another chapter of the Golden Age of Hollywood". [[Angela Lansbury]] summarized the feeling of those of the Hollywood community who attended her memorial service, commenting, after a sample from Davis's films was screened, that they had witnessed "an extraordinary legacy of acting in the twentieth century by a real master of the craft" that should provide "encouragement and illustration to future generations of aspiring actors".<ref>Spada (1993), pp. 480–481</ref>

The [[United States Postal Service]] honored Davis with a commemorative postage stamp in 2008, marking the 100th anniversary of her birth.<ref>{{cite news
 |title        = Bette Davis Stars in 2008 Postage Stamps
 |publisher    = Fox News
 |date         = December 27, 2007
|url          = https://www.foxnews.com/story/bette-davis-stars-in-2008-postage-stamps
 |access-date   = August 24, 2008
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20081220063912/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,318649,00.html
 |archive-date = December 20, 2008
|url-status     = live
}}</ref> The stamp features an image of her in the role of Margo Channing in ''All About Eve''. The First Day of Issue celebration took place September 18, 2008, at [[Boston University]], which houses an extensive Davis archive. Featured speakers included her son Michael Merrill and [[Lauren Bacall]]. In 1997, the executors of her estate, Merrill and Kathryn Sermak, her former assistant, established The Bette Davis Foundation, which awards college scholarships to promising actors and actresses.<ref name="BetteDavisofficialsite">{{cite web | url =http://www.bettedavis.com/about/bio.htm | title = Bette Davis official site| publisher=Estate of Bette Davis| access-date = August 24, 2008| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20080723014931/http://www.bettedavis.com/about/bio.htm <!--Added by H3llBot-->| archive-date =July 23, 2008}}</ref>

In 2017, Sermak published the memoir ''Miss D & Me: Life With the Invincible Bette Davis'', a book Davis had requested Sermak to write, detailing their years spent together.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kathryn-sermak/miss-d-and-me/|title=Miss D and Me &#124; Kirkus Reviews|via=www.kirkusreviews.com}}</ref>

===In popular culture===
* In 1981, the song "[[Bette Davis Eyes]]", performed by [[Kim Carnes]], won two [[Grammy Award]]s ([[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]] and [[Record of the Year]]) and spent a total of nine weeks at the top of the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]. Davis wrote letters to [[Kim Carnes|Carnes]] and the writers of the song, [[Donna Weiss]] and [[Jackie DeShannon]], to thank them for making her "a part of modern times", and said that her grandson now looked up to her. After their Grammy wins, Davis sent them roses.<ref>{{cite book|first= Fred |last= Bronson |year= 1992 |title= Billboard Book of Number One Hits |edition= 3rd |publisher= Billboard Publications, Inc. |location= New York, NY |page= [https://archive.org/details/billboardbookofn0000bron/page/543 543] |isbn= 0-8230-8298-9 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/billboardbookofn0000bron/page/543}}</ref>

* Other references to Davis are made in [[Bob Dylan]]'s "[[Desolation Row]]", in the song "Celluloid Heroes" by [[the Kinks]], in the 1990 [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] song "[[Vogue (Madonna song)|Vogue]]", in “Silver Screen Romance” by American rock band [[Good Charlotte]], and in "Girl on TV" by the boy band [[LFO (American band)|LFO]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/47696/|title=LFO - Girl On Tv Lyrics - SongMeanings|website=SongMeanings|date=July 10, 2002 }}</ref>  There is also the line "I don't know how you came to get the Bette Davis knees, but worst of all young man, you've got industrial disease" in the hit song 'Industrial Disease' by the band Dire Straits (1982).

* Davis attracted a following in the [[gay subculture]], and was frequently imitated by [[Drag queen|female impersonator]]s such as [[Arthur Blake (American actor)|Arthur Blake]] and [[Charles Pierce (female impersonator)|Charles Pierce]].<ref>{{cite web| title = Charles Pierce as Bette Davis| url = http://www.bochynski.com/charlespierce/davis.htm#top| publisher=Bochynski.com| access-date = August 24, 2008}}</ref> Attempting to explain her popularity with gay audiences, the journalist Jim Emerson wrote: "Was she just a camp figurehead because her brittle, melodramatic style of acting hadn't aged well? Or was it that she was 'Larger Than Life', a tough broad who had survived? Probably some of both."<ref name= MeetingMissDavis />

* In [[House of Wax (2005 film)|''House of Wax'']] (2005), in her attempt to blend in with the other wax figures in the local movie house, the lead female character has to sit through a scene from ''Whatever Happened to Baby Jane .''<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 6, 2005|title=House of Wax (2005)|url=https://www.popmatters.com/house-of-wax-2496246355.html|access-date=October 23, 2020|website=PopMatters|language=en}}</ref>

* The alleged feud between Davis and Joan Crawford is the subject of the 1989 book ''[[Bette and Joan: The Divine Feud]]''.<ref name="nypost">{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2017/02/26/why-bette-davis-and-joan-crawfords-feud-lasted-a-lifetime|title=Why Bette Davis and Joan Crawford's Feud Lasted a Lifetime|first=Robert |last=Rorke|work=[[New York Post]]|date=February 26, 2017|access-date=February 26, 2017}}</ref> It was later depicted in the 2017 television series ''[[Feud (TV series)|Feud: Bette and Joan]]'', with [[Susan Sarandon]] as Davis and [[Jessica Lange]] as Crawford.<ref name="variety">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/tv/news/feud-ryan-murphy-fx-anthology-jessica-lange-susan-sarandon-1201758686|title=''Feud'': Ryan Murphy Lands Third FX Anthology With Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange|first=Elizabeth|last=Wagmeister|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=May 5, 2016|access-date=May 5, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/fx-premiere-dates-feud-the-americans-archer-1201959126|title=FX Sets Premiere Dates for ''Feud'', ''The Americans'', ''Archer''|work=Variety|first=Debra|last=Birnbaum|date=January 12, 2017|access-date=January 12, 2017}}</ref>

* The Bette Davis Picnic Area is in [[Griffith Park]] in Los Angeles. It was named after Davis because she once lived in one of the homes along Rancho Avenue, across the street from the park.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bette Davis Picnic Area, Griffith Park |url=https://www.pbssocal.org/departures-field-guides/bette-davis-picnic-area-griffith-park |website=PBSsocal.org |date=March 30, 2011 |access-date=1 March 2025}}</ref>