Unlikely Mystery Fan #4: Tallulah Bankhead.

Part of a series on unexpected individuals who enjoy or enjoyed mystery-related works and authors.

Tallulah Bankhead,
by Carl Van Vechten.
Jan 1934. Library of
Congress, Prints and
Photographs Div

I'm a sucker for a detective story.
—Tallulah Bankhead, My Autobiography 303

Husky-voiced actress Tallulah Bankhead was not only the daughter of Alabama Congressman William Brockman Bankhead but also quite fond of mysteries. In her autobiography she mentions Graham Greene as a particular favorite and states that Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone was the first mystery that she ever read. She appeared in the comedy thriller The Creaking Chair in 1924, the play version of Blackmail in London in 1928 (filmed by Hitchcock in 1929), and George Batson's play Design for Murder with later TV veteran Joseph Campanella in 1958.