Bette Davis’ Final Tally Adds Up to Paltry Sum
BETTE DAVIS BOUNTY A PALTRY $55G to $95G: On the screen she was totally regal. But privately, movie queen Bette Davis lived a spartan life and left behind an estate of paintings, furniture, dresses, jewelry and scripts worth an unglamorous $55,000 to $95,000.
That collection will be auctioned off at the William Doyle Galleries here Wednesday. The items are from her Hollywood home.
“She really didn’t keep much (of her vast film memorabilia) around,” said gallery spokesman Brian Smith. “She kept what she was comfortable with.”
Smith hopes the auction, which includes Bette’s leather-bound script cover ($50 to $100), will fetch more than $100,000.
The proceeds will be split between an adopted son, Michael Woodman Merrill, and Davis’ longtime secretary, Kathryn Cernak, the only beneficiaries in her will. Davis died in France last October at age 81.
DID BABS TURN DOWN A COOL MILLION FROM DONALD? How rich is Barbra Streisand? If you wanna believe the whisper making the rounds in Atlantic City, N.J., she’s rich enough to turn down a cool $1 million from Donald Trump for--you should pardon the expression--a one-night stand.
That’s what The Trumpster reportedly offered the lady with the missing vowel to open the Taj Mahal. We tried to check with Streisand’s people, but nobody called back.
A spokesperson for Trump, however, said he “would be happy to have Barbra Streisand play the Taj Mahal and would be willing to pay her $1 million, but he knows she doesn’t perform live anymore.” Hmmm.
WAYNE WINGS BIRTHDAY GREETINGS TO EDDIE MURPHY: How rich is Wayne Newton? Rich enough to rev up his jet and fly from Vegas to L.A. just to sing “Happy Birthday” to Eddie Murphy.
Newton got the urge Tuesday, which also was Wayne’s birthday. The singer surprised Murphy on the Paramount lot where he was filming “Another 48 Hours.” The cast and crew--as well as Henry Winkler, who’ll be directing Murphy soon in “Butterscotch Kid”--had been alerted and were waiting with a huge cake.
For you nosy types, Murphy turned 29; Newton hit 46.
HERE AND THERE: Katharine Hepburn took in “The Grapes of Wrath” at the Cort Theater Tuesday night and applauded enthusiastically at the finish. Hepburn must have fond memories of the theater. She appeared there in 1950 in “As You Like It.” . . . Opera singer Clamma Dale, fondly remembered for her “Porgy and Bess,” is dedicating her May 11 recital at Alice Tully Hall to Nelson R. Mandela. She plans to sing the black South African national anthem, “A Prayer for Africa,” a cappella in the Zulu and Sotho languages.
