Though Kim Carnes (pictured above) made "Bette Davis Eyes" a hit, the song actually preceded her by a number of years, having been written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon, as The Sun reports. She had other successful songs, but none was as successful as this. But tragedy caused Davis to become more unreasonable on set than ever before. She also adopted two children namely Margot and Michael, together with her fourth husband, Gary Merrill. Through the eyeballs, we can see signs of alcohol and drug abuse, allergies, infections, high cholesterol, certain types of cancer, stress, sleep issues, and a host of other diseases and conditions. Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes (1981) HQ Clay Culver 26.7K subscribers Subscribe 9.5K 657K views 4 years ago "Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written and composed by Donna Weiss and Jackie. The description of the woman in the song paints a portrait of someone who resembles Davis: Shell expose you, when she snows you, off your feet/ With the mysteries that flow from her face. Theyre commentaries on how aging women are treated by society and also exploitive fantasies of the supposed inherent horror of older womenthey were parts Davis thrived in while also being ashamed of. She was also known for her distinctive eyes. His passion for Davis was palpable. According to "The Lonely Life,"Davis made her interest in the role well known, saying the role "could have been written for me." Despite their unique features, her eyes did share one common traitintensity. Furthermore, the video for Bette Davis Eyes featured actress Margie David impersonating the star, further leading viewers to make the connection. Davis, beginning her 1962 autobiography, The Lonely Life: I have always been driven by some distant musica battle hymn no doubtfor I have been at war from the beginning. Is this what we see when we look into her eyes: beyond the unlikely result of genetics and her skill as an actress, do we see the lonely starlet, at war with the world, the self perpetually bursting through the role she's playing? Few stars of her era even have names that register today and yet, even as most of her films sink out of favor, Davis continues to glare at us, living on in her infamy. [7], The video was directed by Australian film director Russell Mulcahy.[19]. The original of these versions was recorded in 1974. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); Your email address will not be published. I dont know her secrets, my life and world are nothing like hers, but I like the possibilities her famed eyes present: a windows-of-the-soul Rorschach test spanning nearly a century of pop culture. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Tags: Bette DavisDonna WeissJackie DeShannon. In 1989, her cancer returned, and she died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, on October 9, at the age of 81. Bette Davis had a reputation for being a "difficult" actress, while her admirers argue that she was simply an overt perfectionist with a passion for making the best films she possibly could. No other Actress would take such a risk at that time, but her dedication was the character, not to glamour, although she does flash those twinkling Bette Davis eyes in dinner scenes as she manipulates Leslie Howards character! It may be unthinkable today, but the actress whose allure was celebrated in the Grammy Award-winning song "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes in 1981 wasn't considered a screen beauty in her Hollywood heyday. Broadly, its a song in the Maneater veina woman who seduces for sportbut to listeners unaware of who Bette Davis is, there are few lyrical clues to what these eyes actually look like. As Davis recalls in "The Lonely Life," the early days of her career were plagued by concerns from studio executives, such as Universal Pictures founder Carl Laemmle, that Davis was not suitable to play a romantic lead. Your youngest daughter .the mother to your only son, my little brother. Eventually, Merrill was convinced, and Margot was enrolled at the Lochland School, a facility where she would remain for the rest of her life. Outside America, the song charted at number one in many a country across the globe. Bette Davis at the BFI the eyes have it Hollywood's queen of mean remains so magnetic, you barely notice her co-star drones as an upcoming film season reminds us Bette Davis in 1949's. In 1982, the song won two Grammies in the following categories: Song of the Year and Record of the Year. She said the success of the song also made her grandchild look up to her because she thought she was super cool. . Its been described as a hybrid of 70s soul and 80s synthesizer pop. She achieved great success being a finalist for eightBest Actress Academy Awardsand winning two of them. Davis eventually made it through several theater productions to begin screen testing at various Hollywood studios, but this was just the start of several fresh humiliations. When the same frustrations emerged with the productions "The Golden Arrow," "Satan Met a Lady," and "God's Country and the Woman," Davis accepted work in the United Kingdom, which was against the terms of her contract. Nelson filed for divorce from Davis in 1938. While just six years after her breakthrough, and only 32 years old, she looks as if she's aged a couple decadesher character a curious mix of noir femme fatale and quaint grandmother. So said the critic Rex Reed in 1968, by which time Davis was a renowned Hollywood legend whose idiosyncrasies were such that she was in danger of becoming a parody of herself. Same here. Yet despite having the reputation of being so, based on her outstanding looks, she seems to still be able to seduce men. We have corrected the date. But while Ruthie was supportive, Davis' father, Harlow, wasn't. Davis's lids can hang so low, their weight so palpable, a biological anomaly. Joan Crawford died in 1977, and Bette Davis reportedly said "You should never say bad things about the dead, only good. An adaptation is a musical work which uses most of the music or lyrics of another musical work. Her career spanned more than fifty years and included a plethora of awards and accolades. With Simone Missick, Wilson Bethel, Jessica Camacho, J. Alex Brinson. Nominated for the Album of the Year of the Grammy Award, Mistaken Identity is the sixth studio album of Kim Carness illustrious career. Published in 1985, the book painted Davis as spiteful and controlling, and shocked many of the actresses fans with its revelations. . The production was already highly anticipated after the success of the 1936 Margaret Mitchell novel on which the film was based. Davis nevertheless exploited her seemingly unusual look to great effect, by branching out to take various roles that typical leading ladies would not. Bette Davis, born Ruth Elizabeth Davis was esteemed as one of Hollywoods most remarkable actresses with a career spanning over six decades. Looking to the ground, lids heavy, having struck down her enemies once again.). Some saw ugliness, disdain, even some form of evil. I recited Marx Brothers lines by heart and imitated Charlie Chaplin's walk. Theyre out there, on display, functional. I remember I was about 7 yo. She went where no actresses dare to go. She was playing Santa Claus at a school fair when she got too close to the candles and her costume went on fire . She was an actor and a film producer known for her many award-winning motion picture roles between the 1930s and 1950s. At another, Davis was given no script, but told simply to lie on a couch, so that scores of male actors could be tested kissing her, an experience the young actress found excruciating. Davis later wrote that the resulting test footage was horrifying. His work has appeared inTin House,The Rumpus,The Los Angeles Review of Books,Columbia Journal Online, andVol. Is Bette Davis eyes a compliment? Her performance proved exactly how far shed go in an unglamorous role for the sake of authenticity! Sikov: She had, more than any performer I have ever studied, a blazing ability to imprint herself onto every character she ever playedto make me believe in those fictive characters while never letting me forget that I was watching her, a calculating actress, an intuitive star. He's currently working on a book about eyes, vision, and blindness. She is very welcoming, seductive and will go out of her way to please the object of her affection. However, Davis refused to play opposite Flynn, as she didn't rate him particularly highly as an actor, and the deal fell through. Soon after defining the glamorous Golden Age close-upgiant eyes, soft-focused over a glass of champagneher character sinks into disrepute. But the future icon who was also well-respected in her own lifetime as a campaigner for war veterans, earning a Distinguished Civilian Service Medal for her work with the Hollywood Canteen (via Biography) didn't have an easy route to Hollywood stardom. You may also like: Marlon Brando: The life story you may not know 6 / 25 Archive Photos // Getty Images Because of this, Davis could have taken the song as either an insult or a compliment. What does each person see? With tender hands, Eddie reached up to caress the curve of Steve's hips. So revered is "Baby Jane" that in 2021 it was one of the 25 films selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. Nevertheless, Davis believe it was "insanity" that she never portrayed O'Hara in what is now considered one of the greatest movies of all time. I wish I would have been softer with you about it tho, maybe you would have pulled out of it & became an actual mother to me and my baby brother, you were one to our older sisters but I guess by the time we came along you were too into yourself to want us or to love us the way a mother SHOULD.idk, sorry sweetie you will be all the stronger for what you have been through I promise. Thank you for all the information about her personal life and career. Its not objectification, but a way of understanding. However, she did perform a few memorable dance numbers for a few of her movies, including Possessed (1931), Sadie McKee (1934), and Dancing Lady (1933). Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. It is a forty minute, thirteen second album which features ten tracks. The song was recorded in the studio on the first take. [66], Last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:24, Australian Recording Industry Association, List of number-one singles in Australia during the 1980s, List of Top 25 singles for 1981 in Australia, List of Cash Box Top 100 number-one singles of 1981, List of number-one singles of 1981 (France), List of number-one hits of 1981 (Germany), List of number-one singles of 1981 (Spain), List of number-one singles of the 1980s (Switzerland), "Jackie DeShannon: Jackie DeShannon, Me About You / To Be Free, New Arrangement", "The Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs (20-11)", "Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes Digital Sheet Music", "10 More Famous Songs with Unknown Originals", "Classic Tracks: Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes", "80sonVEVO GAMV Takeover Week 9 w/ FEATURED VIDEO Kim Carnes' "Bette Davis Eyes", "Toutes les Chansons N 1 des Annes 80's", The Irish Charts Search Results Bette Davis Eyes", "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 1989 Acts (C)", "Kim Carnes Chart History (Adult Contemporary)", "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles Week ending MAY 30, 1981", "Kim Carnes Chart History (Mainstream Rock)", Offiziellecharts.de Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes", "Forum ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts 1980s", "Canadian single certifications Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes", "French single certifications Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes", "Italian single certifications Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes", "British single certifications Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes", "American single certifications Kim Carnes Bette Davis Eyes", Recording Industry Association of America, "Original Soundtrack Duets [Original Soundtrack]", "New Releases Singles Week Commencing 26th March 2001", "Australian-charts.com Gwyneth Paltrow Bette Davis Eyes", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bette_Davis_Eyes&oldid=1140753302, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 16:24. 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