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Tallulah Bankhead: A Life from Beginning to End
Discover the remarkable life of Tallulah Bankhead...
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Tallulah Bankhead was known just as much for her off-stage presence as she was for her on-stage performances. Fearless from birth, Tallulah charted her own course in life. She trudged off to New York to make it big in theater when she was still a teen. She then saw opportunity calling on the other side of the Atlantic and didn’t hesitate to hop on a steamship and head to England, chasing her dreams until they became a certain reality.
Tallulah Bankhead was a legendary stage performer, a strong voice in both radio and television, and an occasional blockbuster at the movie house. But more than any accolades from theater or film critics, Tallulah is celebrated for her personality and no-holds-barred approach to life. She was someone who refused to conform to anyone’s standards, determined to live life to its fullest and on her own terms. The life and legacy of Tallulah Bankhead is an impressive one by anyone’s standards.
Discover a plethora of topics such as
Early Life and Discovery The Road to England The Suicide Attempt Tallulah’s Return to America Hollywood Success Late Life and Death And much more! So if you want a concise and informative book on Tallulah Bankhead, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!
Free BONUS Inside!
Tallulah Bankhead was known just as much for her off-stage presence as she was for her on-stage performances. Fearless from birth, Tallulah charted her own course in life. She trudged off to New York to make it big in theater when she was still a teen. She then saw opportunity calling on the other side of the Atlantic and didn’t hesitate to hop on a steamship and head to England, chasing her dreams until they became a certain reality.
Tallulah Bankhead was a legendary stage performer, a strong voice in both radio and television, and an occasional blockbuster at the movie house. But more than any accolades from theater or film critics, Tallulah is celebrated for her personality and no-holds-barred approach to life. She was someone who refused to conform to anyone’s standards, determined to live life to its fullest and on her own terms. The life and legacy of Tallulah Bankhead is an impressive one by anyone’s standards.
Discover a plethora of topics such as
Early Life and Discovery The Road to England The Suicide Attempt Tallulah’s Return to America Hollywood Success Late Life and Death And much more! So if you want a concise and informative book on Tallulah Bankhead, simply scroll up and click the "Buy now" button for instant access!
45 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2019
114 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Hourly History
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
November 29, 2019
Interesting how stars lived in the past
Tallulah Bankhead: A Life From Beginning to End by Hourly History tells of her life from losing her mother when she was three weeks ago to age 66 from drugs, cigs, and a hard life partying. At the age 15 she started on the stage and from there she connected and worked hard. She had flops and hits.
Tallulah Bankhead: A Life From Beginning to End by Hourly History tells of her life from losing her mother when she was three weeks ago to age 66 from drugs, cigs, and a hard life partying. At the age 15 she started on the stage and from there she connected and worked hard. She had flops and hits.
January 23, 2022
Crucial Information Neglected
My late ex was related to Tallulah. She came from old money Alabama. These are people who don't approve of their relatives being in show business period. Her hijinks only made it worse. Her relatives were ashamed of her. Many still are as the Southern aristocracy never changes. Personally, I find it impressive she could transverse such different worlds and the biographer tragically negligent.
My late ex was related to Tallulah. She came from old money Alabama. These are people who don't approve of their relatives being in show business period. Her hijinks only made it worse. Her relatives were ashamed of her. Many still are as the Southern aristocracy never changes. Personally, I find it impressive she could transverse such different worlds and the biographer tragically negligent.
July 10, 2019
Decent enough, mainly about her roles
Lively written overview of Tallulah Bankhead's career, mainly about her roles and how well she was received. Not much outside that.
Lively written overview of Tallulah Bankhead's career, mainly about her roles and how well she was received. Not much outside that.
September 10, 2024
Before reading this I had only very vaguely heard of Tallulah Bankhead but had no clue of her significance or what she had done specifically.
After finishing the book I spent about an hour on Wikipedia and YouTube and that was very helpful in providing overall context.
It turns out Tallulah Bankhead was one of the biggest actresses of the 20th century and was very respected by critics and wildly popular with audiences.
She has faded from public memory compared to a contemporary like Katharine Hepburn because she worked primarily in theater.
But even the few clips I was able to find of her online show how good she was:
-Her performance in Hitchcock's Lifeboat.
-Her appearance on Lucille Ball's show "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" in an episode titled "The Celebrity Next Door"
You can feel her raw power and how she oozes with charisma.
She was also apparently quite scandalous and quite unapologetic about her life style! Lots of sex, drugs and more drugs.
in 1937 she was a leading contender to star in "Gone With The Wind" but was considered too old at age 36 (Vivien Leigh who eventually got the role was about 24 at the time). It's interesting to think how that would have changed one of the biggest movies of all time and maybe Bankhead's film career and how she is remembered.
But overall, I come impressed by how much Tallulah Bankhead managed to live life on her own terms, especially in the time that she lived.
After finishing the book I spent about an hour on Wikipedia and YouTube and that was very helpful in providing overall context.
It turns out Tallulah Bankhead was one of the biggest actresses of the 20th century and was very respected by critics and wildly popular with audiences.
She has faded from public memory compared to a contemporary like Katharine Hepburn because she worked primarily in theater.
But even the few clips I was able to find of her online show how good she was:
-Her performance in Hitchcock's Lifeboat.
-Her appearance on Lucille Ball's show "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" in an episode titled "The Celebrity Next Door"
You can feel her raw power and how she oozes with charisma.
She was also apparently quite scandalous and quite unapologetic about her life style! Lots of sex, drugs and more drugs.
in 1937 she was a leading contender to star in "Gone With The Wind" but was considered too old at age 36 (Vivien Leigh who eventually got the role was about 24 at the time). It's interesting to think how that would have changed one of the biggest movies of all time and maybe Bankhead's film career and how she is remembered.
But overall, I come impressed by how much Tallulah Bankhead managed to live life on her own terms, especially in the time that she lived.
July 9, 2023
Note: because i was interested in the subject (Tallulah) I paid little or no attention to the way this book was written (IE: misprints, typos, etc).
My father was born in 1910 so I received a good grounding in black and white films and the actor/esses that starred in them. While Tallulah Bankhead was more known for her Broadway acting, she did make a few films.
Through previous readings, I knew that Tallulah Bankhead was a free-spirited spitfire but I did not know how much of a spitfire she was. To say that she was a girl who made her own future is putting it mildly. In addition, when she made up her mind to do something nothing could sway her. She was what is known in modern times as "a wild child". I still haven't figured out if she did some of her wild acts because they would shock everyone or if she just got an idea and acted on it.
I will say that I enjoyed this book and while I could never be like Tallulah but I certainly enjoyed reading about her antics and her determination to be a Broadway Star and (for a short time) a motion picture actress.
My father was born in 1910 so I received a good grounding in black and white films and the actor/esses that starred in them. While Tallulah Bankhead was more known for her Broadway acting, she did make a few films.
Through previous readings, I knew that Tallulah Bankhead was a free-spirited spitfire but I did not know how much of a spitfire she was. To say that she was a girl who made her own future is putting it mildly. In addition, when she made up her mind to do something nothing could sway her. She was what is known in modern times as "a wild child". I still haven't figured out if she did some of her wild acts because they would shock everyone or if she just got an idea and acted on it.
I will say that I enjoyed this book and while I could never be like Tallulah but I certainly enjoyed reading about her antics and her determination to be a Broadway Star and (for a short time) a motion picture actress.
November 15, 2020
The book goes into her career in theater, films, radio and television. Her mother died only weeks after giving birth to her, her father was an alcoholic and she was raised by her grandmother. She started in silent films and was able to make the transition to 'talkies,' something which many silent film stars were unable to do.
She was not always successful in what she appeared in but she kept working. She contracted gonorrhea and had a hysterectomy as a result. She was also considered for the lead role in Gone with the Wind. The book has a good bit of information on her and it's interesting to learn about an actress who spanned silent to talkies, theater and television.
She was not always successful in what she appeared in but she kept working. She contracted gonorrhea and had a hysterectomy as a result. She was also considered for the lead role in Gone with the Wind. The book has a good bit of information on her and it's interesting to learn about an actress who spanned silent to talkies, theater and television.
March 28, 2021
“Tallulah Bankhead: A Life From Beginning to End” Not a bad read, but it was somewhat bewildering to see only a brief mention of her association with Alabama, and that only indirectly by mentioning her father was an attorney and served in the Alabama House of Representatives. Neither was it mentioned that he had also served in the U.S. Congress and there is no mention of the political influence the Bankhead family had on Alabama politics, or that Tallulah was born in the city I live-- Huntsville. This oversight is why I would have rated the book only a two, but gave it three out of five stars because of several very funny quotes attributed to Miss Bankhead.
March 30, 2022
The flapper that refused to age
Tallulah is celebrated for her personality and no-holds-barred approach to life. She was someone who refused to conform to anyone’s standards, determined to live life to its fullest and on her own terms. She was just as original off stage as she was in the limelight.
Tallulah is celebrated for her personality and no-holds-barred approach to life. She was someone who refused to conform to anyone’s standards, determined to live life to its fullest and on her own terms. She was just as original off stage as she was in the limelight.
March 22, 2023
Tallulah Bankhead was outrageous and talented. The book gives us information about her career in plays, movies and radio. We gain some insight about her personality and personal life.
I enjoyed the concise book but I would have loved to know a little more about the scandalous behavior that she was famous for.
I enjoyed the concise book but I would have loved to know a little more about the scandalous behavior that she was famous for.
September 24, 2023
Tallulah Bankhead
This is not typical of the quality of work one should expect from Hourly History. It seemed as though there wasn’t information available about this person so they had to add a bunch of filler. I feel like they added explanations of the plot of the movies she acted in unnecessarily.
#GoodreadsGiveaways
This is not typical of the quality of work one should expect from Hourly History. It seemed as though there wasn’t information available about this person so they had to add a bunch of filler. I feel like they added explanations of the plot of the movies she acted in unnecessarily.
#GoodreadsGiveaways
March 1, 2022
An interesting read -
Performers on stage, or in movies, seem to have to travel a trough path thru their careers. I'm hard pressed to believe all of these people have the same loose screws -- it's got to be is it the price of entry of is it rocks along the road to success they must walk on.
Performers on stage, or in movies, seem to have to travel a trough path thru their careers. I'm hard pressed to believe all of these people have the same loose screws -- it's got to be is it the price of entry of is it rocks along the road to success they must walk on.
June 5, 2023
Tallulah was born in 1902. She was fearless in her life and not afraid to take chances. This short 45-page bio alludes to many affairs but doesn’t give much detail. We mostly learn about her career and health. Would’ve liked more info about her personal life.
November 15, 2020
I love Tallulah!
April 2, 2021
This is a short biography that hits many of the major points of Tallulah Bankhead's life and career.
December 22, 2021
A snapshot of her life.
February 18, 2022
From theater to film she did it her way. Nice to see a woman stand up for herself.
March 24, 2022
An interesting crash course on Tallulah Bank head Tho so compressed it reminded me of reading a book report by a 10th grader
September 30, 2025
This book was really poorly written and glossed over so many details; the Wikipedia entry is more detailed and useful.
Overall, not enough detail and very repetitive.
Overall, not enough detail and very repetitive.
September 20, 2019
A good read
I did not really know much about Tallulah before reading this. However, I enjoyed learning about her life, her struggles and successes.
I did not really know much about Tallulah before reading this. However, I enjoyed learning about her life, her struggles and successes.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews