Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (1902 - 1968)

Born 31 Jan 1902 in Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States

Ancestors

Wife of John Edward Emery — married 31 Aug 1937 (to 13 Jun 1941) in Jasper, Walker, Alabama, United States

Died 12 Dec 1968 at age 66 in Manhattan, New York, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Crystal Briskey [send private message]

Biography

Tallulah Bankhead is Notable.

Tallulah Brockman Bankhead was born on January 31, 1902 in Huntsville, Alabama. Her father was a mover and shaker in the Democratic Party who served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from June 4, 1936, to September 16, 1940. Tallulah had been interested in acting and, at age 15, started her stage career in the local theater troupes of Huntsville and the surrounding areas. At age 16, she won a beauty contest and, bolstered by this achievement, moved to New York City to live with her aunt and to try her hand at Broadway. She was offered a role in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), but did not take it after she refused John Barrymore's invitation for a visit to the casting couch. Unfortunately, for the young Miss Bankhead, she did not make any headway on the stages of New York, so she pulled up stakes and moved to London, in 1923, to try her luck there.

For the next several years, she was the most popular actress of London's famed West End, the British equivalent of Broadway. After starring in several well-received plays, she gained the attention of Paramount Pictures executives and returned to the United States to try her hand at the film world. Her first two films, Woman's Law (1927) and His House in Order (1928), did not exactly set the world on fire, so she returned to do more stage work. She tried film work again with Tarnished Lady (1931), where she played Nancy Courtney, a woman who marries for money but ultimately gets bored with her husband and leaves him, only to come back to him when he is broke. The critics gave it a mixed reception. Tallulah's personality did not shine on film as Paramount executives had hoped. She tried again with My Sin (1931) as a woman with a secret past about to marry into money. Later that year, she made The Cheat (1931), playing Elsa Carlyle, a woman who sold herself to a wealthy Oriental merchant who brands her like she was his own property and is subsequently murdered. The next year, she shot Thunder Below (1932), Faithless (1932), Make Me a Star (1932) (she had a cameo role along with several other Paramount stars) and Devil and the Deep (1932). The latter film was a star-studded affair that made money at the box-office due to the cast (Gary Cooper, Charles Laughton and newcomer Cary Grant). The films she was making just did not do her talent any justice, so it was back to Broadway--she did not make another film for 11 years. She toured nationally, performing in all but three states.

She was also a big hit at social affairs, where she often shocked the staid members of that society with her "untraditional" behavior. She chain-smoked and enjoyed more than her share of Kentucky bourbon, and made it a "habit" to take her clothes off and chat in the nude. A friend and fellow actress remarked on one occasion, "Tallulah dear, why are you always taking your clothes off? You have such lovely frocks." She was also famous--or infamous--for throwing wild parties that would last for days. She returned to films in 1943 with a cameo in Stage Door Canteen (1943), but it was Lifeboat (1944) for director Alfred Hitchcock that put her back into the limelight. However, the limelight did not shine for long. After shooting A Royal Scandal (1945) she did not appear on film again until she landed a role in Die! Die! My Darling! (1965). Her film and small-screen work consisted of a few TV spots and the voice of the Sea Witch in the animated film The Daydreamer (1966), so she went back to the stage, which had always been first and foremost in her heart. To Tallulah, there was nothing like a live audience to perform for, because they, always, showed a lot of gratitude. On December 12, 1968, Tallulah Bankhead died at age 66 of pneumonia in her beloved New York City. While she made most of her fame on the stages of the world, the film industry and its history became richer because of her talent and her very colorful personality. Today, her catchphrase greeting of Hello Dah-ling is fondly remembered by her fans, young and old alike.

Sources

"Alabama, County Birth Registers, 1881-1930," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:W8T9-NHZM : 12 December 2019), MM9.1.1/W8T9-NHZM:, 31 Jan 1902; citing Birth, Huntsville, Madison, Alabama, United States, multiple county Probate Judges, Alabama; FHL microfilm 004254844.

"United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKW8-XXQ : accessed 14 December 2019), Tallulah Bankhead in household of William B Bankhead, Precinct 1, Walker, Alabama, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 171, sheet 24A, family 512, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 35; FHL microfilm 1,374,048.

"United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXDR-X4K : accessed 14 December 2019), Tallullah Bankhead in household of William B Bankhead, Jasper, Walker, Alabama, United States; citing ED 98, sheet 10A, line 17, family 212, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 44; FHL microfilm 1,820,044.

"United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKDX-D1D2 : 16 March 2018), Tallulah Brockman Bankhead, 1923; citing Passport Application, New York, United States, source certificate #240807, Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925, 2158, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KXM5-PWX : 12 March 2018), Tallulah Bankhead, 1925; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24NQ-7DR : 12 March 2018), Tallulah B Bankhead, 1931; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"New York, New York Passenger and Crew Lists, 1909, 1925-1957," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:24J4-ZBY : 12 March 2018), Tallulah Bankhead, 1934; citing Immigration, New York, New York, United States, NARA microfilm publication T715 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

"Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q21C-YZ69 : 28 November 2018), John Edward Emery and Tallulah Brockman Bankhead, 31 Aug 1937; citing Election Precinct 29 Alabama City, Etowah, Alabama, United States, County Probate Courts, Alabama; FHL microfilm 1,877,197.

"British Newspaper Archives, Obituaries," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q269-4N14 : 26 October 2019), Miss Tallulah Bankhead in entry for Mr William Brockman Bankhead, 16 Sep 1940; citing Obituary, Bristol, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom, page , Records extracted by FindMyPast and images digitized by FamilySearch. The British Library, London; FHL microfilm 102,001,275.

"United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JTYD-13D : 20 May 2014), Tallulah Bankhead, Dec 1968; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/52
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallulah_Bankhead
• http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000845/

Acknowledgements

• Biography by IMDb user Denny Jackson.