Lauren Bacall "Cactus Flower" (1965), "Applause" (1970), and "Woman of the Year" (1981). She won Tony Awards for her performances in the latter two. "Applause" was a musical version of the film "All About Eve", in which Bette Davis had starred as stage diva Margo Channing. According to Bacall's autobiography, she and a girlfriend won an opportunity in 1940 to meet her idol Bette Davis at Davis' hotel. Years later, Davis visited Bacall backstage to congratulate her on her performance in "Applause". Davis told Bacall, "You're the only one who could have played the part." The few films Bacall made during this
Bette Davis lukewarm reviews and failed at the box office, Hollywood columnists wrote that Davis' comeback had petered out, and an Academy Award nomination for "The Star" (1952) did not halt her decline. In 1952, Davis appeared in a Broadway revue, "Two's Company" directed by Jules Dassin. She was uncomfortable working outside of her area of expertise; she had never been a musical performer, and her limited theater experience had been more than 20 years earlier. She was also severely ill, and was operated on for osteomyelitis of the jaw. Margot was diagnosed as severely brain-damaged due to an injury sustained during