World-renowned actress Bette Davis wasn’t just Ogunquit, Maine’s first female lifeguard.
Davis also acted in several productions at the town’s storied summer theater later in her career.
The playhouse that Bette Davis helped build in stature is now gearing up for a huge makeover.
The landmark summer theater has stood in southern Maine for nearly a century, featuring such legendary actors as Davis, William Shatner, Steve McQueen and Betty White.
Developers came before the Ogunquit Planning Board on Monday to discuss the $62 million project.
“Our proposal is total reconstruction of the Ogunquit Playhouse,” Corey Colwell with land planning firm TFMoran said.
The plans also call for a new event space and entry plaza, a concessions building, courtyard, offices, accessibility improvements and better pedestrian access.
The playhouse also wants to build on-site housing for performers and staff.
Davis had a major presence in Maine throughout her lifetime.
Her father, Harlow Morrell Davis, was from Augusta.
Davis as a young woman helped patrol Ogunquit Beach as a lifeguard – the beach’s first female guard when she was just 18 years old.
She and her fourth and final husband, Gary Merrill, lived with their three children on an estate on the coast of Cape Elizabeth.
Davis and Merrill also stayed at Homewood Inn in Yarmouth, Maine, for several months. (Merrill was also her co-star in All About Eve in 1950.)
After semi-retirement in the mid-1950s, Davis starred in several movies during her time in Maine, including The Virgin Queen, in which she played Queen Elizabeth.
