When Bette Davis took to the stage of the UA Main Auditorium, in May 1978, she looked at the overflow crowd and declared “What a dump.” Honored at the insult, the crowd rose to their feet and answered with thunderous applause.
The well-known line was often associated with Davis who spoke the words in the movie “Beyond the Forest.” In that 1949 film, Davis was addressing her on-screen husband, Joseph Cotten.
[photo moved to image asset]
SHNS photo courtesy Warner Bros.
Davis in 1939, the year she made “Dark Victory.”
Davis’ sold out appearance was sponsored by the UA Concerts and Public Affairs Office. The evening began with an hour of film clips from her movies and was followed by 70 minutes of questions from the audience.
People are also reading…
When asked what her favorite movie was, she quickly responded “Dark Victory.” Her co-stars, in the 1939 movie, were George Brent and Humphrey Bogart. The credits also included Ronald Reagan.
At one point in the evening, Davis looked out into the crowd and asked if there were any college students in the audience. The students applauded. She then said “I think it’d be wonderful if you all stood up and sang your college song to me.” The auditorium remained quiet. “Oh, so you don’t know it, do you?”
At the end of the evening, Davis received another standing ovation and two bundles of flowers. As she left the stage, she uttered another of her famous film lines: “I’d love to kiss ya’, but I just washed my hair.”
Second wall planned across Arizona as Trump administration doubles down on border
