It may have escaped your notice but Sex in the City co-star Sarah Jessica Parker, aka Carrie, and Kim Cattrall, who played maneater Samantha hate each other – but they’re not the only ones
A celebration of female friendship, fierce fashion and, obvs, bed-breaking bonking, Sex and the City had it all. However, behind the scenes it was high heels at dawn between co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker, aka Carrie, and Kim Cattrall, who played man-eater Samantha.
With spin-off And Just Like That… returning for a third series – again, without Kim – THOMAS STICHBURY reveals the other rivalries that have rocked Hollywood…
Clash of the Tinseltown Titans
Grande dames Joan Crawford and Bette Davis waged war for four decades.
It all began in 1933 when news of Crawford’s divorce (purposely?) overshadowed the opening of her rival’s film Ex-Lady. Two years later, Davis fell in love with co-star Franchot Tone, who went on to marry, yup, Crawford.
Bitter Bette once remarked: “I have never forgiven her for that and never will.” Stolen parts, blistering burns – “[Crawford] slept with every male star at MGM, except Lassie” – and rumours Crawford nursed a crush on Davis added seasoning to this prime beef.
However, the piece de resistance was 1962’s Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? which they toplined together. In one scene, Davis’s character Jane beats wheelchair-bound Blanche, played by Crawford, and reportedly left her arch-nemesis needing stitches. Davis insisted she “barely touched her.”
Crafty Crawford took her revenge in another sequence where Jane has to yank Blanche out of bed and across the floor. Knowing her foe had painful back problems, Crawford filled her pockets with rocks and dragged out filming, so they’d have to do multiple takes. Touché!
Love Triangle
Things were initially hunky-dory for A-list gal pals Elizabeth Taylor and Debbie Reynolds. They even used to double-date with their respective husbands, Mike Todd and Eddie Fisher.
But the proverbial seriously hit the fan when, in 1958, Taylor tragically lost director hubby Mike in a plane crash. Reynolds tried to help her chum, even sending Eddie to lend emotional support.
Of course, he provided more than a shoulder to cry on. Quite the scandal, he ended up divorcing Reynolds and marrying Taylor. That rug-pulling romance didn’t last, with Liz famously sinking her claws into Cleopatra co-star Richard Burton. In a nifty plot twist, Lizzy and Debbie kissed and made up.
In 1966, they both found themselves aboard the Queen Elizabeth, sailing to Europe. The two passed notes on the ship, met for dinner and “got smashed.” Building bridges, they even went on to star in 2001’s These Old Broads.
Later Debs reflected: “You have to look at what life is all about, and is it worth it? And is he [Eddie] worth it?”
All that glitters isn’t Gold
Sorry to break it to you but Golden Girls Bea Arthur and Betty White apparently didn’t get on – and no, I’m not taking the (ahem) OA-pee.
Casting their personal differences aside, the comedy pros still managed to concoct crackling chemistry as biddies Dorothy and Rose in the cockles-warming 80s/early 90s sitcom.
The duo are said to have had opposing approaches to work, with bubbly Betty chatting to the studio audience in between takes, much to Arthur’s annoyance. Her son, Matthew, said: “It was almost like Betty became her nemesis. Someone she could always roll her eyes about.”
According to co-star Rue McClanahan – Blanche from the blue-rinse brigade – bad blood really boiled over when White became the first cast member to score Best Actress at the Emmys in 1986.
Matthew added: “My mum was the real deal. I think she felt she was more of an actress than Betty.”
Each would go on to receive their flowers at the awards show, mind. Veteran White, who died at the age of 99 in 2021, acknowledged the rift, saying: “[Bea] was not that fond of me. It was my positive attitude.”
Sister Act
If you thought Liam and Noel Gallagher sealed the deal when it comes to epic sibling rivalries, think again. Some Might Say that squabbling sisters Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine gave ‘em a run for their money.
In 1942, the old-school thesps went head-to-head for Best Actress at the Oscars, with Joan trumping her elder sis to the trophy.
She recalled: “I felt Olivia would spring across the table and grab me by the hair. I felt like age four, being confronted… damn it, I’d incurred her wrath again!”
Years later, Joan – not-so-sweetly christened the “Dragon Lady” by Liv – claimed that, while on tour for a play, she wasn’t informed that their mother was dying of cancer, nor was she invited to the funeral. She did make it to the service, but supposedly the sisters never spoke to one another.
In a 1978 interview, Joan attempted to get to the root of the resentment: “Olivia has always said I was first at everything – I got married first, got an Academy first, had a child first. If I die [first] she’ll be furious.”
She passed away aged 96 in 2013, followed by Olivia at the grand old age of 104 in 2020.
- Series three of And Just Like That… airs Friday (May 30) at 9pm on Sky Comedy & Now.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
