This 'N That by Bette Davis

Buckle your seatbelts! I've just re-read one of Bette Davis's memoirs for the first time in about a decade. Bette wrote The Lonely Life in 1962, while this one was published in the late '80s, so it only covers her later years and career. 

This 'N That was published in 1987, after her bout with breast cancer, her four strokes, and the publication of her daughter's tell-all, My Mother's Keeper, an attempt to tarnish her mother's reputation in the vein of Christina Crawford's Mommie Dearest about Joan Crawford. 

Let's be very clear: Bette Davis believes, without a doubt, that she is the heroine of her own story. And honestly, why shouldn't she? She was a singular performer in the heyday of Hollywood and was unapologetic about her talent and power. I stan, honestly.

So, as is my wont, here are some of the juiciest passages from This 'N That: 

• About actor and President Ronald Reagan, Bette writes that his political history "is an enigma to those of us who knew him then." He started out a liberal Democrat but became a staunch Republican when he started hosting a TV series sponsored by General Electric. He lost residual payments for actors while he was President of the Screen Actors Guild. Bette posits that with all the revelations coming out in the '80s about Hollywood it's a wonder nothing ever came out about Reagan. "It must mean that he was as dull as his first wife, Jane Wyman, said he was." 
• In Jezebel, Bette filmed the close-ups meant for scenes with Henry Fonda with a stick that had a face painted on it. Fonda's contract stipulated that he could be with his wife when she gave birth, which happened during the shoot. That baby was Jane Fonda. 
• When a reporter asked her about all the 'soap operas' she filmed in the '30s and '40s, Bette replied, "What soap operas?" The reporter meant films like Now, Voyager, Dark Victory and Payment on Demand. Bette wrote: "I think I showed my restraint by not pulling her hair out by the roots. If those were soap operas, give me more."
• "I can imagine no circumstances under which I would work again with Miss [Faye] Dunaway. It is possible she feels the same about me, but I believe I have the stronger claim," Bette writes after discussing a made-for-TV movie (The Disappearance of Aimee) she made with Faye Dunaway.
• While travelling with her one-woman show, an audience member in London asked if she'd ever had a facelift. Bette summoned the woman to the front of the theatre. "I guess she thought I might hit her. When she arrived, I walked to the edge of the stage, knelt down with my face out over the footlights so she could see me clearly, and said, 'Don't you think I'd look better if I had had a facelift?'"
• When James Cagney, in 1983, complimented her by saying that she still cared. "I still do care about everything, and especially my career. The big things, little things and in-between things. Titles, casting, hair, clothes, makeup, scripts, directors, everything." 
• There's a letter at the end from Bette to B.D., that concludes with: "I hope I will someday understand the title My Mother's Keeper. If it refers to my money, if my memory serves me right, I've been your keeper all these many years. I am continuing to do so, as my name has made your book a success." 
• In B.D.'s book, she alluded to the fact that Bette disliked Peter Ustinov and Faye Dunaway. In her final letter at the end of the book, Bette writes about Peter Ustinov: "Ustinov I was thrilled to work with and I had great admiration of him as a person and as an actor." About Faye Dunaway: "You have stated correctly my reactions to working with Faye Dunaway. She was a most exhausting costar." 

Have you read This 'N That? What were your thoughts? What are some of your favourite celebrity tell-alls? Let me know!