Oscar winning actress Bette Davis had a nearly sixty-year long career in film and on Broadway, but in 1953 it was nearly cut short by a debilitating case of osteomyelitis. The bone disease, caused by bacteria, struck Davis in the jaw. She was in the midst of a Broadway show when she collapsed on stage.
Unbeknownst to her, her jawbone had become riddled with infection. An oral surgeon had to remove nearly half of her jaw. Concerned that he would ruin her career as an actress, the doctor used an unconventional operating technique. Davis’ jawbone was saved, though it took her nearly two years to recover.
She and her young family moved from Hollywood to Maine. She wondered if she would ever work again. Fortunately for movie fans everywhere, she made a comeback in the 1955 film The Virgin Queen. She went on to star in dozens of films, continuing to act into her eighties.
Learn more about the life and career of Bette Davis by reading the Daniel Taradash papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.