Bette Davis on Not Being Cast as Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With The Wind' | The Dick Cavett Show

In her second appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, 10-time Oscar nominee Bette Davis discusses her Southern accent and missing out on "the role of a lifetime" as Scarlett O'Hara.

Date aired - November 17th, 1971 - Bette Davis

Dick Cavett has been nominated for eleven Emmy awards (the most recent in 2012 for the HBO special, Mel Brooks and Dick Cavett Together Again), and won three. Spanning five decades, Dick Cavett’s television career has defined excellence in the interview format. He started at ABC in 1968, and also enjoyed success on PBS, USA, and CNBC.

His most recent television successes were the September 2014 PBS special, Dick Cavett’s Watergate, followed April 2015 by Dick Cavett’s Vietnam. He has appeared in movies, tv specials, tv commercials, and several Broadway plays. He starred in an off-Broadway production ofHellman v. McCarthy in 2014 and reprised the role at Theatre 40 in LA February 2015.

Cavett has published four books beginning with Cavett (1974) and Eye on Cavett (1983), co-authored with Christopher Porterfield. His two recent books -- Talk Show: Confrontations, Pointed Commentary, and Off-Screen Secrets (2010) and Brief Encounters: Conversations, Magic moments, and Assorted Hijinks(October 2014) are both collections of his online opinion column, written for The New York Times since 2007. Additionally, he has written for The New Yorker, TV Guide, Vanity Fair, and elsewhere.

#thedickcavettshow #BetteDavis

[RobVespa]

The complete package. She's so glamourous, strong, charming, witty, interesting, and intelligent.

[anthonyhebisen]

“ I shall play Scarlett, but Larry won’t be playing Rhett .” - said the unknown actress Vivien Leigh to reporters two years before she even auditioned to play Scarlett . So confident, she merely stated it as fact. I wish I felt the moment Selznick first laid eyes on Vivien. He said it was the most amazing moment of his life .

[gregcruse]

Bette was both magnificent and terrifying in equal measure

[jamesdrynan]

A woman for all seasons! Starting in 1930, she was a force to reckon with, taking on directors, studio moguls and the press.

[hollygolightly]

Great sense of humor🧡 could watch her all day

[chrisr]

Sharp woman.
Sense of humor to boot.

[quintbromley]

In watching this you realize that we have lost something in the way of mutual respect, class and decorum over the years and, sadly, it's never coming back.

[MrQbenDanny]

Bette played her Scarlett O'Hara in "JEZEBEL", and was good enough to win an Oscar.
But, Vivien Leigh WAS Scarlett O'Hara.

[wadedavid]

Vivien Leigh was BORN to PLAY Scarlett O’Hara!

[jmad]

I absolutely love her, and wish I had met her.

[billzuhdi]

Class act! Love Bette, one of the Greats

[greggc.touftree]

The entire interview of this on youtube elsewhere. It's very much worth watching her 2 (3?) that are you youtube at this time, when she was with Cavett ofc. These conversations and that which was with Katherine Hepburn should be tied down to corporate accounts, they should be free to be viewed by all. A glimpse in to the minds of national treasures long gone. (Yes I say this despite knowing the dark site of Davis' life)

[commanderkeen]

Burt Reynolds says in his memoirs that he had a close friendship with Bette Davis. A few interesting anecdotes there. She despised Joan Crawford

[cliffordroberts]

Bette Davis had a wicked sense humour 😂

[stephenremington]

As an English person I think the southern US accent is the easiest the way words stand out. Ah preefer mah bahsickle to mah cahrr, never hayv to chenge the ol.
I didn't realise someone called Mitchell wrote Gone With The Wind, well aware that 'Columbo' Thomas Mitchell was in it.

[timelordvictorious]

Bettie Davis looks like my Aunty here god bless her

[kengaskins]

Vivien Leigh is still my favorite actress. Loved her in 'Waterloo Bridge' in particular. 'Gone With The Wind' was a great movie, but it was too long for my taste even as an epic. I also liked Leigh in 'A Street Car Named Desire' and 'St. Martins Lane'.
Bette Davis is also one of my favorites. Loved her first in 'Of Human Bondage' with Leslie Howard ; they both put in excellent performances. Then there was 'Dark Victory', and 'Jezebel' to name a few.
I thought she was HOT in an unconventional way like Katherine Hepburn, another outstanding actress. Personally, Stanwyck, Crawford, Streep, Julianne Moore, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren, Emma Thompson and Glenda Jackson are also my favorites.
I thought Audrey Hepburn was the most elegant. The most sensual had to be Greta Garbo The most beautiful for me would be Heddy Lamarr, Vivien Leigh, and Rosalind Russell in that order.
The one actor/actress who never seem to get a bad script was Sidney Poitier, though he had to fight discrimination I'm sure. It's a testament to him & his agent. The guy was a very good actor and a class act.

[poetcomic]

Bette was not gorgeous like Vivien Leigh but it is worth remembering the FIRST sentence of GWTW, the novel is "Scarlett was not pretty..."

[sheismymom]

Bette Davis as Scarlett O'Hara could have been amazing I love Vivien Leigh though.

[felixthelmocevallosmorales]

DICK CAVETT

19 DE NOVIEMBRE DE 1936

85 AÑOS (86)