Bette Davis Mural

501 E. Washington St. (Route 66) Cuba, MO
Phone:

East < GO > West

The mural on the Cuba Free Press building tells the story of a day in 1948 when the actress and movie star Bette Davis and her husband stopped for a meal at the Southern Hotel in Cuba.

Apparently the visit went a bit differently than anyone had hoped when a photographer for the local newspaper snapped a photo of Davis as she and her husband left the hotel. They had already declined the photographer's request to take a photo, but he snapped a couple anyhow. That led to Davis husband giving chase on foot through the streets of Cuba. The chase apparently went on for several blocks but ended without the two men actually coming together to settle the matter, probably just as well.

This is pretty large mural.

A commemorative plaque below the mural reads, in part:

"
Bette Davis

In November 1948, Academy Award actress Bette Davis and her husband arrived in a Packard station wagon at the Southern Hotel. Reporter Wilbur Vaughn asked for a photo. Refused, he snapped a photo anyway and was chased by Davis irate husband. Vaughn raced down Main St. and across a lot behind the Shell Station. When Vaughn heard a thud he turned to find the husband face down in the mud. Lacking a flash to take another photo, he made good his escape and the stolen photo appeared in the Cuba News and Review.

September 2005

...

Plaque donated by Peoples Bank
"

Photo(s): 2012