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Ann-Margret has fond memories of working with the iconic Bette Davis.
Although Davis was known as a flawed perfectionist and clashed with her co-stars on many film sets, this was not the case between the two actresses during the filming of 1961’s Pocketful of Miracles.
Ann-Margret, 84, recently spoke to Interview Magazine and recalled the moment Davis paid attention to her on a movie set.
“I was trying to do close-ups, and of course ‘Pocketful of Miracles’ was my first movie. I didn’t know about close-ups or medium shots,” she explained.
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“She was there, and at one point she stopped all the shots and said, ‘Ann-Margret, this is a close-up of you. I want you to look as good as you can. Makeup! Hair!’ The makeup person and the hair person came and when they were done, she looked at her face and said, ‘Okay, you can go on now.’ Oh, she was looking out for me. ”
He added, “I played her daughter, and I really felt that way.”
A Pocketful of Miracles was Ann-Margret’s first film, but it was far from her last. She went on to appear in more than 55 films, including “Bye Bye Birdie,” “Viva Las Vegas,” and “Tommy.”
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Regarding the film, Ann-Margret talked about her positive experience with director Ken Russell. “I had heard about him and heard him screaming a lot, so I was prepared,” she admitted.
“He didn’t scream at all in front of me. He was just very…calm. I had a really good relationship with him.”
Her acting career has had many ups and downs, but she has learned how to stay calm and ride the waves.
“I knew I had something to offer. No matter what people said, I just kept going,” she explained of her mental state.
In 2010, she won an Emmy Award for her guest role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her most recent works include 2021’s Queen Bees and two episodes of Netflix’s The Kominsky Method. In 1967 she married actor Roger Smith, who became her manager. They remained together until his death in 2017.
