Miss Bankhead isn't well enough known nationally to warrant my imitating her. (In response to accusations she imitated Bankhead in the role of Margo Channing in All about Eve. Bankhead resented Davis for the perceived imitation, which she considered mocking, and for portraying her Broadway Roles on film [Dark Victory, Jezebel, The Little Foxes].http://cree.newsvine.com/_news/2011/04/01/6390804-bette-davis-v-tallulah-bankhead-by-harvard-hollenberg This comment is unusual in that Davis usually tried to deflate the myth [started by Tallulah for amusement and publicity] of any sort of conflict between them, instead expressing her admiration for Bankhead. https://books.google.com/books?id=xUFplyZZAZsC&pg=PA221&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false Similarly, when Bankhead was asked to do an imitation of Davis, she said "Why should I dahling, she's been imitating me long enough". Before candidly remarking "But really, it's been sheer coincidence that Bette's been playing the leading roles in films like Dark Victory. I really admire her very much.")" - Meaning and context.">
Colin Jarman, The Book of Poisonous Quotes, McGraw-Hill Professional, 1993, , p. 130.
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Miss Bankhead isn't well enough known nationally to warrant my imitating her. (In response to accusations she imitated Bankhead in the role of Margo Channing in All about Eve. Bankhead resented Davis for the perceived imitation, which she considered mocking, and for portraying her Broadway Roles on film [Dark Victory, Jezebel, The Little Foxes].http://cree.newsvine.com/_news/2011/04/01/6390804-bette-davis-v-tallulah-bankhead-by-harvard-hollenberg This comment is unusual in that Davis usually tried to deflate the myth [started by Tallulah for amusement and publicity] of any sort of conflict between them, instead expressing her admiration for Bankhead. https://books.google.com/books?id=xUFplyZZAZsC&pg=PA221&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false Similarly, when Bankhead was asked to do an imitation of Davis, she said "Why should I dahling, she's been imitating me long enough". Before candidly remarking "But really, it's been sheer coincidence that Bette's been playing the leading roles in films like Dark Victory. I really admire her very much.")

— Bette Davis

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Miss Bankhead isn't well enough known nationally to warrant my imitating her. (In response to accusations she imitated Bankhead in the role of Margo Channing in All about Eve. Bankhead resented Davis for the perceived imitation, which she considered mocking, and for portraying her Broadway Roles on film [Dark Victory, Jezebel, The Little Foxes].http://cree.newsvine.com/_news/2011/04/01/6390804-bette-davis-v-tallulah-bankhead-by-harvard-hollenberg This comment is unusual in that Davis usually tried to deflate the myth [started by Tallulah for amusement and publicity] of any sort of conflict between them, instead expressing her admiration for Bankhead. https://books.google.com/books?id=xUFplyZZAZsC&pg=PA221&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false Similarly, when Bankhead was asked to do an imitation of Davis, she said "Why should I dahling, she's been imitating me long enough". Before candidly remarking "But really, it's been sheer coincidence that Bette's been playing the leading roles in films like Dark Victory. I really admire her very much.")" in the context of "Colin Jarman, The Book of Poisonous Quotes, McGraw-Hill Professional, 1993, , p. 130." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Bette Davis" (Attributed) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Bette Davis

About Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theatre. Known for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres; from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional comedies, though her best remembered films are romantic dramas. In 1999, Davis was placed second, behind Katharine Hepburn, on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema.