The Fascinating Life of Tallulah Bankhead Quiz

Answer: Huntsville

Tallulah Bankhead was born on January 31, 1902, in an apartment inside the historic I. Schiffman Building on Courthouse Square in downtown Huntsville, Alabama. She was named after her paternal grandmother, who herself was named after Tallulah Falls, Georgia. Less than three weeks after giving birth, her 22-year-old mother, Ada, died of blood poisoning.

On her deathbed, Ada reportedly told her sister-in-law, "Take care of Eugenia (Tallulah's older sister), Tallulah will always be able to take care of herself". Before the family left Huntsville, infant Tallulah was baptized right beside her mother's coffin. Today, while Bankhead is buried in Maryland, her mother is buried in Huntsville's historic Maple Hill Cemetery, a quiet reminder of where the legendary star's story began.

Answer: Speaker of the House of Representatives

William Brockman Bankhead served as a U.S. Congressman from Alabama for over two decades, culminating in his leadership as U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives during Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal era. Tallulah adored her father, and her deep devotion to him translated into a fierce lifelong allegiance to the Democratic Party. Tallulah is 2nd from left in photo and her father is 3rd from left.

Despite her rebellious, non-conformist lifestyle, she became one of the party's most vocal celebrity supporters. She campaigned enthusiastically for Harry S. Truman in 1948 and routinely used her star power to advocate for civil rights, anti-fascist causes, and Democratic candidates throughout her life.

Answer: Chronic Bronchitis

Tallulah Bankhead was not born with her famous deep, smoky voice; it was actually the result of medical complications during her childhood. As a young girl she suffered from chronic bronchitis, a long-term inflammation of the airways that causes a daily cough and mucus production. The violent coughing fits permanently scarred and thickened her vocal cords at an early age, dropping her pitch into a surprisingly low register.

Rather than trying to change it, Bankhead embraced her unique sound, further deepening the velvet rasp through decades of heavy smoking and using her iconic, drawling voice to become one of the most recognizable personalities on stage and radio.

Answer: The Algonquin Hotel

At just 15 years old, Tallulah Bankhead won a contest in "Picture Play" magazine that brought her to New York in 1918. Accompanied by her chaperone aunt, she soon moved into the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan, placing her directly in the heart of the city's theatrical and literary scene. Bankhead quickly embedded herself with the legendary Algonquin Round Table, which was a gathering of sharp-witted writers, critics, and performers, including Dorothy Parker and Robert Benchley.

Known for her lavish spending, uninhibited behavior, and dramatic flair, she formed an infamous group dubbed the "Four Riders of the Algonquin" alongside young actresses like Eva Le Gallienne. Her stay at the hotel established her early reputation as a captivating socialite and rising stage presence.

Answer: The Gallery Girls

Frustrated by a slow start on Broadway, a 21 year old Tallulah Bankhead sailed to England in 1923 and almost instantly became a theatrical phenomenon. Her most ecstatic fan base consisted of young working-class British women who idolized her modern, liberated, and glamorous persona. Called the "Gallery Girls" because they camped out for days to buy cheap seats in the theater's upper gallery, these fans created a cult-like atmosphere at her shows.

They would scream "Tallulah!" whenever she made an entrance, imitate her style, and gather in massive crowds outside the stage door. There Bankhead would show up and begin blowing kisses, signing autographs, and often learning her fans' names.

Answer: Gone With The Wind

When David O. Selznick launched his famous nationwide search to cast Scarlett O'Hara for the 1939 film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's bestselling novel "Gone with the Wind", Tallulah Bankhead was widely considered the early favorite. As an authentic Southern belle from Alabama with top acting credentials, she fit the persona naturally and delivered a screen test that Selznick praised as exceptional.

However, Bankhead was 36 years old at the time of testing. Selznick ultimately decided she was too mature to believably play Scarlett as a 16 year old at the beginning of the story, eventually bestowing the iconic role on British actress Vivien Leigh.

Answer: Lifeboat

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the 1944 movie "Lifeboat" starred Tallulah Bankhead as Connie Porter, a cynical journalist surviving alongside other passengers in an open boat after their ship is torpedoed by a German U-boat. Despite the damp, challenging conditions of the water tank set, Bankhead delivered a performance that won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress.

However, her behavior behind the scenes generated just as many headlines as her acting as she routinely refused to wear undergarments under her dress. When crew members complained about her (maybe) unintended exposures while climbing up and down the ladders, Hitchcock dryly quipped that he wasn't sure if the issue fell more for the costume department, make-up, or hairdressing.

Answer: True

Tallulah Bankhead was famously uninhibited regarding her sexuality, declaring that her father warned her about "men and booze, but he never mentioned a word about women and cocaine". Unlike many Hollywood contemporaries who hid behind sham marriages or secretive private lives, Bankhead spoke openly about her relationships with both men and women.

Among her most enduring female relationships was her decades-long bond with comedic actress Patsy Kelly. The two first met in Hollywood in the early 1930s and maintained an on-and-off romantic and personal connection throughout their lives. In the 1950s, when Kelly needed work and stability, Bankhead hired her as her personal assistant and maid, and the two lived together at Bankhead's country estate in New York.

Answer: Cruella de Vil

When Disney animator Marc Davis was tasked with designing the villainous fur-obsessed antagonist for "101 Dalmatians", he drew heavy inspiration from Tallulah Bankhead's real-life persona. Bankhead was famous for her gaunt frame, exaggerated cheekbones and arched brows, constant chain-smoking, dramatic grand gestures, and habit of tearing around city streets in her automobile.

To complement the animation, voice actress Betty Lou Gerson specifically modeled her vocal delivery after Bankhead's unmistakable deep, theatrical drawl. The result was one of the most memorable villains in cinema history.

Answer: The Big Show

Launched in November 1950 as NBC's effort to keep audiences tuned into radio rather than switching to television, "The Big Show" featured Tallulah Bankhead as its grand mistresses of ceremonies. Drawing many listeners weekly, Bankhead traded sharp banter with legendary guests like Groucho Marx, Ethel Merman, Louis Armstrong, and Judy Garland, closing every broadcast with her signature ensemble rendition of "May the Good Lord Bless and Keep You".

The program solidified her status as a pop-culture icon late in her career. Decades of relentless smoking and heavy drinking eventually caught up with her health, and on December 12, 1968, Bankhead passed away in New York City at the age of 66 from double pneumonia complicated by emphysema and influenza. Her famous last words, reportedly whispered to her nurse, perfectly defined her character: "Codeine... bourbon".