Joan Blondell remembered Bette as someone who never changed in their friendship, "even when she became just about the biggest star in the world and even when we didn't see each other for years. Once you were friends with Bette, you were always friends. She was a straight-shooter, never jealous, never catty or a gossip. She was a true friend, and those don't grow on any trees I've known, especially Hollywood trees.
Bette broke her back in 1957 looking at a house and not paying attention. She was in terrible pain for a long time, but she was terribly brave. I don't know how she got through it, but she was never a whiner.
She had kind of a hard time when she was growing up because her mother didn't have much money and there were the three of them, the mother, Bette, and Bette's sister. They had to struggle, and that changes you. It takes its toll.
She avoided athletics when we were young because she said she couldn't afford an injury. Most of us didn't think like that. Bette had great energy. I had plenty of energy myself, but I was lazy. I spent my energy mostly on having fun.
Bette and I weren't exactly the same, but we really got along. I always had a lot of respect for her. She was a very serious person, dedicated, and she knew what she wanted, which was to be an actress, the best actress she could possibly be.
Bette always called me Rosebud, but my real name was Rose. Sometimes when she said it, I almost wondered who that was she was talking to. Most people only knew Joan Blondell. That's what the movies do.
She had to take a lot of cracks about her looks. She wasn't regular-looking, but that worked to her advantage. I never met a woman who loved men more than Bette did, but she didn't trust them. She kind of dared them to let her down, and sooner or later, they did just that. I was a blonde with a very nice figure, and men thought I was cute. They liked cute, nonthreatening, you know. Everything came easier to me, and I didn't have her unquenchable ambition. When you have that kind of ambition, it's a lot of pressure. You're always afraid of losing what you have. Bette hung on hard for a long time. She had the greatest talent...."