The only co-star Bette Davis hated as much as Faye Dunaway: “Her own worst enemy”
If you’re remotely interested in the drama of Old Hollywood – and there’s a lot of it – you’ll know all about Bette Davis’ hatred for Faye Dunaway.
The iconic Whatever Happened to Baby Jane star had a tendency to say whatever was on her mind, even if she risked causing offence to others. She truly didn’t give a fuck about about how it would affect her reputation; after all, she was regularly heralded as one of the greatest stars of all time.
When you’ve got that level of acclaim surrounding you, it’s not hard to see why Davis (rightly) assumed that she could get away with a lot. If you were to say some of the things the actor mouthed about Dunaway without her level of stardom, you’d probably get blacklisted from the industry.
Discussing her hatred of Dunaway, Davis once told Johnny Carson that she would never work with her again following their collaboration on 1976’s The Disappearance of Aimee. “Well, she’s just totally impossible. I don’t think we have the time to go into all the reasons,” she explained, labelling her “uncooperative.” A few years later, the Bonnie and Clyde star went on to play Davis’ other mortal enemy, Joan Crawford, in Mommie Dearest, but these two aren’t the only ones that Davis absolutely despises.
In her book This ‘N’ That, Davis didn’t hold back in naming and shaming an actor that she believes to be one of the worst she ever had to work with. “In all my years as an actress, I have only criticised two actresses with whom I have worked. The first is Miriam Hopkins and the second is Faye Dunaway, whose name is most appropriate. Several times I wished I could have ‘Dun-away’ with her. Any race for witchery featuring Miss Hopkins and Miss Dunaway would most definitely end up in a tie.”
Hopkins never got to read this brutal takedown, having passed away almost two decades prior. Yes, even after that much time had passed, Davis still found the chance to slag off one of her long-deceased former co-stars – she always had to get the last word in. The pair starred together in The Old Maid and Old Acquaintance but it was no secret in Hollywood that the pair were not the best of friends.
Their hatred for each other stemmed from a mixture of components, including competitiveness. With Davis fast rising to the top ranks of Hollywood, combined with her particularly ruthless personality, it’s no surprise she made a few enemies. Another key part of their long-running feud was the accusation that Davis was engaging in an affair with Hopkins’ husband, Anatole Litvak, which has never been officially confirmed or denied.
Davis might’ve had her problems with Hopkins, but she could acknowledge her talents at least, once, writing: “Miriam was her own worst enemy. I usually had better things to do than waste my energies on invective and cat fights…. Yes, Miriam is a caution; but good actress she is.”
Whether Davis did sleep with Litavik or not, it seemed there was enough bad blood between her and Hopkins to last a lifetime. Still, it’s Davis versus Crawford that remains the most iconic of her feuds, with Davis once reportedly saying, “You should never say bad things about the dead; you should only say good… Joan Crawford is dead. Good.”
She really did get the last laugh.
