Tallulah Bankhead is just a minor character in “Hollywood,” a new Netflix series that offers a fictionalized look at Tinseltown in the 1940s.
But she’s an unforgettable one.
As played by Paget Brewster of “Criminal Minds” fame, Bankhead is the ultimate hedonist -- guzzling cocktails, fondling lovers of both sexes, leaping into a pool filled with naked men and more. True, the husky-voiced diva appears in only a handful of scenes, popping up during two episodes -- No. 3 (“Outlaws") and No. 5 (“Jump”) -- of the seven-episode series.
But whenever the Bankhead character appears on screen, she’s an unpredictable force of nature. And yes, very naughty. Viewers might find themselves leaning toward the screen, so they won’t miss whatever she’s going to do, or say, next.
The real Bankhead, an Alabama native who was born in Huntsville and raised in Jasper, might appreciate this portrayal. From all accounts, the flamboyant actress (1902-1968) was a larger-than-life figure who rarely shied away from talking about her personal life, which included substance abuse and sexual adventures aplenty.
In fact, Bankhead is often quoted as saying, “My father warned me about men and booze, but he never said anything about women and cocaine.” Also: “I’m pure as the driven slush.” And: "It’s the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time.”
“Hollywood” allows the Bankhead character to indulge herself with abandon, even delving into an oft-repeated rumor that she had an affair with Hattie McDaniel, the Oscar-winning actress who played Mammy in “Gone With the Wind.” (Queen Latifah is cast as McDaniel.)
Ryan Murphy, the mastermind behind “Hollywood,” has a penchant for LGBTQ storylines, as evidenced by his work in “American Horror Story,” “Glee,” “Pose,” “Feud,” “The Politician” and more. “Hollywood,” which he created with Ian Brennan, is no exception. Murphy’s retelling of the Golden Age of Hollywood focuses on characters breaking stereotypes -- sexual, social, racial -- and defying traditions that bound that movie industry tightly during the 1940s.
Bankhead plays right into that mindset, and seems like an ideal subject for further examination by Murphy. Her stardom is tempered by tragedy, via failed marriages, erratic relationships, career disappointments and her own turbulent temperament.
“I was obsessed with Tallulah Bankhead, because she was so ballsy and out there, and also felt never seen and never appreciated,” Murphy told Vanity Fair. “A big Broadway actress, came to Hollywood, didn’t have the success that she wanted.”
Tallulah Bankhead, an Alabama native, made her fame in the theater during the 1930s and early '40s. Her most memorable roles included Regina Giddens in "The Little Foxes" and Sabina in "The Skin of Our Teeth." Her film career didn't burn as brightly, but Bankhead did earn acclaim for her performance in Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat," released in 1944.(AL.com file photo)
Bankhead, born into a family regarded as political royalty in Alabama, rebelled against convention at an early age. A natural performer, she turned to acting as a teenager and eventually found a home on the London stage during the 1920s. Her fame grew during the 1930s and early ’40s with performances on Broadway, most notably in Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes" and Thornton Wilder’s “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
Her film career didn’t have the same luster, but Bankhead earned acclaim for her performance in Alfred Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat,” released in 1944. When she received a best actress award that year from the New York Film Critics Circle, Bankhead proclaimed, “Dahlings, I was wonderful!”
Bankhead continued to appear in plays, movies, TV shows and radio programs during the 1940s and ’50s, with varying degrees of success. Her 1952 book, “Tallulah: My Autobiography,” was a best-seller, but the 1960s found her in decline, physically and emotionally.
“At least her sense of humor didn’t desert her,” Robert Gottlieb said in a 2005 profile of Bankhead for The New Yorker. “When people on the street asked, ‘Aren’t you Tallulah Bankhead?,' she’d answer, ‘I’m what’s left of her, darling.’”
Bankhead died on Dec. 12, 1968, in New York City, but her legend is an enduring one. As celebrity lore would have it, her last words were appropriately outrageous: a final request for “codeine ... bourbon.”
All seven episodes of “Hollywood” are available for screening on Netflix. Look for the Bankhead character in the trailer below, at the 1:51 and 2:33 marks.
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May 13, 2020 at 07:08AM
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Look for a naughty Tallulah Bankhead in Netflix’s ‘Hollywood’ - AL.com
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