Joan Crawford been left near-penniless following Alfred Steele's death, accepted a small role in "The Best of Everything" (1959). Although she was not the star of the film, she received positive reviews. Crawford would later name the role as being one of her personal favorites. By 1961 Joan Crawford was once again her own publicity machine with a new script, "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", sent by Robert Aldrich. Crawford starred as Blanche Hudson, an elderly, disabled former A-list movie star who lives in fear of her psychotic sister Jane, in the highly successful psychological thriller "What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?"
Bette Davis performer, Greer Garson, who also earned five consecutive nominations in the Best Actress category (1941-1945), including three years when both these actresses were nominated. In 1962, Bette Davis became the first person to secure 10 Academy Award nominations for acting. Since then only three people have surpassed this figure, Meryl Streep (with 21 nominations and three wins), Katharine Hepburn (12 nominations and four wins), and Jack Nicholson (12 nominations and three wins) with Laurence Olivier matching the number (10 nominations, 1 award). Steven Spielberg purchased Davis' Oscars for "Dangerous" (1935) and "Jezebel" (1938), when they were offered for auction for