How Did The Pitt star Ernest Harden Jr know Bette Davis? Connection explored as former dedicates Emmy to late icon

Ernest Harden Jr. has made headlines recently, as The Pitt actor won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Louie Cloverfield. During his acceptance speech, Harden Jr. fulfilled a promise he had made to the late Bette Davis, his former co-star and mentor, who died at eighty-one years old in 1989.

The pair had appeared together in the 1980 television movie White Mama, in which Davis played a widow who takes in a troubled teenage delinquent played by Harden Jr. Bette Davis had been nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Special for her performance, but did not win. An actors' strike also prevented her from attending the ceremony that year. That being said, Harden Jr. did not forget her. As per a report shared by Entertainment Weekly, he had previously spoken about wanting to honor Bette Davis in an Emmy acceptance speech, sharing that

"I feel like 46 years later, I have some unfinished business to do, and she's with me in spirit."

True to his word, he closed his speech by dedicating the win to her.

"In '79, I did a movie with Bette Davis called White Mama. I just want to say, Bette Davis, we didn't make it then, but this one is for us."

How Ernest Harden Jr. landed the role in White Mama after being recommended by his best friend:

In an essay shared on Miss D and Me, Ernest Harden Jr. opened up about how the opportunity to work alongside Bette Davis first came his way.

"Just meeting the legendary Bette Davis for an actor was a blessing, and let alone being asked to work with her on film," he shared.

It all started with his best friend, fellow actor Dorian Harewood. Harewood had previously worked with Davis on a play, and she had wanted him to play the lead role in the CBS movie. As per the essay, the producers and the network felt Harewood looked too old for the part, as they were looking for someone who had the appearance of a young teenager. Harewood then recommended Harden Jr. Even though Ernest Harden Jr. had graduated from Michigan State University a couple of years prior, he still carried a youthful look.

At the time, he was also appearing on the hit television show The Jeffersons as Marcus Henderson, produced by Norman Lear. The meeting with Davis was arranged at her West Hollywood home, an apartment building called the Colonial House. Ernest Harden Jr. recalled trying to keep his composure upon arriving.

"When I got there I was trying my best to keep a cool front but all the while my insides were screaming, this can't be happening," he shared.

Ernest Harden Jr. noted that the first thing he spotted around the apartment was small silver cigarette holders engraved with the letters BD. He reflected on Davis's smoking habit, adding that

"She smoked a lot of cigarettes yet still lived a long life. That's how tough she was."

The conversation covered the script, Harden Jr.'s Detroit background, and the entertainment business in general. He shared that Davis made the whole interview feel easy and relaxed, and that by the end of it, he felt the two had genuinely hit it off. Davis then turned to him and said she really liked him, before asking whom they should get to direct them. Harden Jr. recalled the moment with a smile, writing that he said to himself

"us, oh yes of course yes us."

Davis later chose her longtime friend and fellow Hollywood legend Jackie Cooper to direct the picture. As per the essay, the movie remained untitled for much of the shoot before eventually being called White Mama, written by Robert C.S. Downs, with a cast that included Broadway star Virginia Capers and Oscar winner Eileen Heckart.

Ernest Harden Jr. on the real friendship he built with Bette Davis away from the cameras:

In his interview with Entertainment Weekly, Ernest Harden Jr. also opened up about the bond he and Davis built away from the set of White Mama. The connection between the two went well beyond their on-screen mother and son dynamic.

"Her playing my mother, she got into it so much that she was actually like my mother," he shared.

"She would come on holidays, maybe Thanksgiving, cook me Thanksgiving dinner and invite me over, all that, so we became really tight," he added.

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Ernest Harden Jr. shared that the two had even planned on working together again after White Mama, though that never came to pass. As per his interview with Entertainment Weekly, he reflected on what the experience ultimately gave him.

"We actually planned on doing other movies together, but, you know, she didn't last. But we had a great connection, and in working together, I got a chance to see Hollywood on that level," he shared.

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