What do you think?
Rate this book
Tallulah, Darling: A Biography of Tallulah Bankhead
A revealing biography of the headstrong and wildly unpredictable actress adds new insight into both the public and private lives of the earthy woman who managed to scandalize even Hollywood
- GenresBiography
Hardcover
First published June 1, 1980
34 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 7, 2017
The volcano of tinsel town
Tallulah Bankhead was a ravishing beauty and an incredible stage and screen actress. She brutalized her body, broke her bones, deprived her sleep, smoked marijuana, sniffed cocaine, took upper and downers, boozed bourbon, gave the coat off her back to the needy, cherished her friends, infuriated her rivals, pained puritans, and was a joy to fellow nonconformists and social revolutionaries. If she had cared for her trade deeply she would have been the greatest actress of her times. She played in many memorable roles in movies and Broadway. Many roles for which she was screen-tested did not materialize which made her awfully sad. She indulged in almost everything that is frowned upon by the righteous and condemned by the cautious. One of her greatest fears was that she would disgrace her father, a man most dear to her soul. She once described her father as a fusion of "Santa Claus, Galahad and Demosthenes." He was a source of love, pride and encouragement in spite many nightmares she gave him by her uninhibited antics.
Tallulah Bankhead soaked up pain and pleasures much of her life; "codeine-bourbon" was her last coherent words before she died in the winter of 1968. She took off her clothes in public so often that many of her friends learnt to ignore it. Part of her secret of her fame was that she and the press were made for each other; almost everything she did was reported on both sides of the Atlantic. This is the life and times of Tallulah Bankhead that describes her personal and professional life in great detail in this book. Most of the books and blogs that write about her are to do with her taboo-breaking bacchanal behavior; but it is refreshing to read this book which also discusses her professional career in detail; both success and the failures.
Meredith Burgess recalls, when she was at a party at St Regis hotel, she appeared wild at the party, stark naked. Even though she had great figure no body paid any attention because they were so much used to those antics. When Vincent Price was a junior at Yale, he had serious crush on her. In one incident in 1938, he recalls; one evening he was in his dressing room for the set of "Tobacco Road," she entered his room and walked to the restroom and sat on the deck, took a leak as if that there was nothing unusual about it. Her stripping naked was to shock and attract attention, her friends say. Treating her toilet seat as another spot to carry on a conversation was startling to many but amusing and endearing to those who knew her well. Tennessee Williams found this behavior refreshing. He found her honesty and shamelessness intriguing and a little puzzling. When she met Joan Crawford and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. she told her; "Darling, you are divine and I have had an affair with your husband and you will be next." She once invited a taxi driver to spend the weekend with her and on Monday morning when he was leaving she told him that he as good as "King of England." To one young man at a party, who could not wait to have tryst with her, told him to go home and wait for 30 min, and if she is not in by then he can start by himself. Alfred Hitchcock was a great admirer of Tallulah and liked her tremendous sense of humor. On one set a lady complained about Tallulah without panties. Hitchcock directed the unit manager to Darryl Zanuck and eventually her companion Paula Strasberg informed her about it. Not many liked to mess with Tallulah about issues that she regarded as her own business. Once President Truman called her on the phone when she was in the middle of watching a soap opera; she promptly asked him to call later. She smoked non-stop, she drank when she was not talking and she took cocaine and lovers constantly. Her drug and alcohol abuse made her dangerously ill many times.
She played in many memorable roles on screen and Broadway. Her performance on "Little Foxes," which opened on Jan 30, 1939 was simply outstanding. She enthralled her fans, every stage/movie critic and her co-performers. Otto Preminger described her as tremendous; Lillian Hellman said that was the best part she ever had; and Norman Mailer and Joan Crawford both said that she was sensational and astonishing. Some roles for which she was screen-tested did not materialize which made her awfully sad. Tallulah did her first movie, the "Tarnished Lady" with George Cukor directing, and that was a hit. She became a life long friend of him and he called her very warm and a loving woman. Tallulah was Cukor's favorite for Scarlett O'Hara's role for "Gone with the wind;" about 90 actresses were tried for the role and eventually given to Vivien Leigh because Tallulah was considered "too old" for the role. She was heart-broken when she got the news. Tallulah turned down the offer to play in Tennessee Williams "A streetcar named Desiree," and Ted Hooks, her secretary revealed that she did not like to utter the N word in the movie. She was cared by mammies when she was young, and she didn't forget how loving they were to her. She cared about what was right and just in her own frame of consciousness. She was the first white woman to appear on the cover of Ebony magazine and was also on the original board of directors of NAACP. She strongly supported civil rights, and her maid Rose Riley was the first black maid allowed into the White House as a guest.
There are some rare pictures of Tallulah in this book, and one of my favorites is when she was sitting at the JFK's presidential campaign along with Otto Preminger, Eva Marie Saint and Henry Fonda. She entertained the crowd for five hours when Kennedy was late for the meeting.
Tallulah Bankhead was a ravishing beauty and an incredible stage and screen actress. She brutalized her body, broke her bones, deprived her sleep, smoked marijuana, sniffed cocaine, took upper and downers, boozed bourbon, gave the coat off her back to the needy, cherished her friends, infuriated her rivals, pained puritans, and was a joy to fellow nonconformists and social revolutionaries. If she had cared for her trade deeply she would have been the greatest actress of her times. She played in many memorable roles in movies and Broadway. Many roles for which she was screen-tested did not materialize which made her awfully sad. She indulged in almost everything that is frowned upon by the righteous and condemned by the cautious. One of her greatest fears was that she would disgrace her father, a man most dear to her soul. She once described her father as a fusion of "Santa Claus, Galahad and Demosthenes." He was a source of love, pride and encouragement in spite many nightmares she gave him by her uninhibited antics.
Tallulah Bankhead soaked up pain and pleasures much of her life; "codeine-bourbon" was her last coherent words before she died in the winter of 1968. She took off her clothes in public so often that many of her friends learnt to ignore it. Part of her secret of her fame was that she and the press were made for each other; almost everything she did was reported on both sides of the Atlantic. This is the life and times of Tallulah Bankhead that describes her personal and professional life in great detail in this book. Most of the books and blogs that write about her are to do with her taboo-breaking bacchanal behavior; but it is refreshing to read this book which also discusses her professional career in detail; both success and the failures.
Meredith Burgess recalls, when she was at a party at St Regis hotel, she appeared wild at the party, stark naked. Even though she had great figure no body paid any attention because they were so much used to those antics. When Vincent Price was a junior at Yale, he had serious crush on her. In one incident in 1938, he recalls; one evening he was in his dressing room for the set of "Tobacco Road," she entered his room and walked to the restroom and sat on the deck, took a leak as if that there was nothing unusual about it. Her stripping naked was to shock and attract attention, her friends say. Treating her toilet seat as another spot to carry on a conversation was startling to many but amusing and endearing to those who knew her well. Tennessee Williams found this behavior refreshing. He found her honesty and shamelessness intriguing and a little puzzling. When she met Joan Crawford and her husband, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. she told her; "Darling, you are divine and I have had an affair with your husband and you will be next." She once invited a taxi driver to spend the weekend with her and on Monday morning when he was leaving she told him that he as good as "King of England." To one young man at a party, who could not wait to have tryst with her, told him to go home and wait for 30 min, and if she is not in by then he can start by himself. Alfred Hitchcock was a great admirer of Tallulah and liked her tremendous sense of humor. On one set a lady complained about Tallulah without panties. Hitchcock directed the unit manager to Darryl Zanuck and eventually her companion Paula Strasberg informed her about it. Not many liked to mess with Tallulah about issues that she regarded as her own business. Once President Truman called her on the phone when she was in the middle of watching a soap opera; she promptly asked him to call later. She smoked non-stop, she drank when she was not talking and she took cocaine and lovers constantly. Her drug and alcohol abuse made her dangerously ill many times.
She played in many memorable roles on screen and Broadway. Her performance on "Little Foxes," which opened on Jan 30, 1939 was simply outstanding. She enthralled her fans, every stage/movie critic and her co-performers. Otto Preminger described her as tremendous; Lillian Hellman said that was the best part she ever had; and Norman Mailer and Joan Crawford both said that she was sensational and astonishing. Some roles for which she was screen-tested did not materialize which made her awfully sad. Tallulah did her first movie, the "Tarnished Lady" with George Cukor directing, and that was a hit. She became a life long friend of him and he called her very warm and a loving woman. Tallulah was Cukor's favorite for Scarlett O'Hara's role for "Gone with the wind;" about 90 actresses were tried for the role and eventually given to Vivien Leigh because Tallulah was considered "too old" for the role. She was heart-broken when she got the news. Tallulah turned down the offer to play in Tennessee Williams "A streetcar named Desiree," and Ted Hooks, her secretary revealed that she did not like to utter the N word in the movie. She was cared by mammies when she was young, and she didn't forget how loving they were to her. She cared about what was right and just in her own frame of consciousness. She was the first white woman to appear on the cover of Ebony magazine and was also on the original board of directors of NAACP. She strongly supported civil rights, and her maid Rose Riley was the first black maid allowed into the White House as a guest.
There are some rare pictures of Tallulah in this book, and one of my favorites is when she was sitting at the JFK's presidential campaign along with Otto Preminger, Eva Marie Saint and Henry Fonda. She entertained the crowd for five hours when Kennedy was late for the meeting.
June 8, 2025
Errors, recycled fables, downright fabrications -- this cut-paste bio leans toward bosh, except for basic info the author gleaned from other books and theatre zines. Author Denis Brian is not reliable.
December 22, 2015
This biography of Tallulah was much less sensational than the other. It had more details, but it wasn't what I was hoping for either. It gave more of a glossed over picture of her life. It wasn't that bad then it totally dismissed her bisexuality and tried to explain it away as "something of her youth" or because of psychological issues. While totally acknowledging that gay and homosexual people exist. "psychiatrists say it is a form of immaturity... others believe her drinking and her use of cocaine were partly responsible for her lesbian affairs...her lifelong attraction to homosexual men ... friends with heterosexuals of both sexes" (68). If you are going to write about a bisexual you probably shouldn't practice bi-erasure! One thing I did learn was that the Eiffel Tower Bea mentioned having out with Tallula in, was a restuarant in Soho (51)! (Definitely one to check in the trade directories at work).
November 17, 2014
Maybe it is impossible to write about someone like Tallulah Bankhead and make it as vibrant as she seemed to have been. Considering all of her escapades, I didn't really feel like I got to know much more about her than I already did. This was published decades ago, so perhaps some of what was new back then is common knowledge now.
The story for the most part is very linear, to the point of having chapters headlined with dates, but it still felt very disjointed to me. It almost comes off more as a laundry list than revealing individual stories about her. Paragraphs and brief glimpses, but nothing very deep.
The story for the most part is very linear, to the point of having chapters headlined with dates, but it still felt very disjointed to me. It almost comes off more as a laundry list than revealing individual stories about her. Paragraphs and brief glimpses, but nothing very deep.
August 3, 2014
So I found my previous life biography . . .
Having never read a biography that I could relate to so well, I was stunned to read one that I felt so connected personally to. Poor grammar and all. It was like having a palm reader tell me of a past life, completely believable and crazy at the same time.
I was mostly aware of Tallulah via other biographies and histories from the era, Dorothy Parker and the early Hollywood antics, Robert Benchley and wits, sots, and madmen. Now I can relate in an entirely different way, one that makes me feel smug and worldly and wise.
Now bring me a gimlet, my smokes, and a softer pillow, gods dammit!
Having never read a biography that I could relate to so well, I was stunned to read one that I felt so connected personally to. Poor grammar and all. It was like having a palm reader tell me of a past life, completely believable and crazy at the same time.
I was mostly aware of Tallulah via other biographies and histories from the era, Dorothy Parker and the early Hollywood antics, Robert Benchley and wits, sots, and madmen. Now I can relate in an entirely different way, one that makes me feel smug and worldly and wise.
Now bring me a gimlet, my smokes, and a softer pillow, gods dammit!
March 1, 2008
Humbling to anyone who thinks they might be a dynamo! This biography is mostly anecdotal, which is exactly what you want from a biography of someone like "Miss B." It is simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating to read about her exploits, but the glimpses of a woman who’s almost been consumed whole by the monster of Personality that she’s created are heartbreaking. Best read with booze on hand – You’ll either want to toast Tallulah or brace yourself for whatever she does next! Loads of fun.
Read
February 14, 2008791.092
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews