The Sad Reason Bette Davis Appeared on ‘Gunsmoke’

On October 1, 1966, viewers were surprised to tune in to a new episode of Gunsmoke and find Bette Davis herself as that week’s guest star. Davis was one of the most iconic actresses of Golden Age Hollywood; she’d won two Best Actress Oscars, and had been nominated again in 1962 for her comeback vehicle, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? But while she put in a strong performance on the show, the story of how she got there is a sad tale of how limited opportunities were for older actresses in the 1960s.