happy birthday bette davis

wow, i couldn't let this birthday go by... but i'm afraid by the time it's posted, it will be one day too late. still, i must give a cheer to the always crucial, always tough, always incredible miss bette davis. i did a little research before i posted this... and i learned something i think is very interesting. she was born in the town of lowell, massachussetts. that's not far from my house. i never knew that. she was born april 5, 1908. she died in france in 1989. if she'd lived, yesterday, she would've been 101 years old. when i went diving for a picture, i specifically wanted to get a shot i'd never seen before. and i also wanted to get a shot of her smoking. i think i lucked out with this ethereal shot of a very young bette, taking a 'film noir'-fied drag on a cig. looking at a shot like this, it seems almost impossible that some studios at the time shyed away from her; thinking she wasn't pretty enough. she was born ruth elizabeth davis. and wow, she was shorter than me! (5' 3") and, as morbid as it may sound to some... i dig what she has on her tombstone: 'she did it the hard way'