You’ll Never Believe What Bette Davis Told Melissa Gilbert During ‘Night of 100 Stars’
Melissa Gilbert was on hand for the 1982 Night of 100 Stars TV special — and for a Bette Davis zinger for the ages.
Gilbert recalled the anecdote last week, after an Instagram user shared footage from the fashion show part of the special on Instagram. As The Christian Science Monitor reported at the time, The Night of 100 Stars was actually a night of about 230 stars, who convened at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall for the “most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history” in a benefit for the Actors Fund. (And Gilbert and the Perry Ellis outfit she modeled for the fashion show got a shout-out from The New York Times in 2016.)
“That was an amazing night, actually,” the Little House on the Prairie alum recalled in an Instagram comment. “When we rehearsed the grand finale, they had us all on risers. Every single celebrity [who] was there — Orson Welles, Lena Horne, Grace Kelly, Liza Minnelli — I mean, you name it, they were there, for the most part.”
Gilbert recalled that during that part of the rehearsal — for which the celebs were wearing street clothes and no makeup — it was “deadly quiet” on set.
“And all of a sudden, Bette Davis blurts out, ‘If a bomb goes off in here, Charlene Tilton’s going to be a huge star!’”
To be fair, Tilton had certainly made a name for herself by that point. After landing the role of Lucy Ewing on Dallas, Tilton started making $50,000 an episode and appeared on 500 magazine covers, and 65 million viewers watched Lucy’s 1981 wedding, according to People.
Davis, however, was a Hollywood legend. She’d racked up 10 Best Actress in a Leading Role Oscar nominations and two wins, thanks to her performances in films like Dangerous, Jezebel, All About Eve, and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Plus, Davis got an invitation to The Night of 100 Stars…
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May 2025
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