JOAN CRAWFORD
Date of birth: March 23, 1904
San Antonio, Texas, USA
Date of death: May 10, 1977
New York, New York, USA. (pancreatic cancer)
Joan Crawford is my second favorite actress. Bette Davis is number one always but Joan is right there with her. I've always loved these strong women and there great talent. In my book nobody will ever come close to these two ladies.
She not only was a great actress but she was also a beautiful woman. This is my humble salute to a woman who has given me many hours of pure enjoyment watching her movies.
Lucille Fay LeSueur was her birth name but one of her stepfathers had given her the name of Billie Cassin. By 1915 she and her mother lived in Kansas City and Billie worked in a laundry and also as a menial to pay school tuition. Winning an amateur dance contest in 1923 led to chorus work in Chicago, Detroit and New York. New Year's Day of 1925 she left for Hollywood. With the film "Our Dancing Daughters" she became a star. Photoplay held a contest and that is how she was given the screen name of Joan Crawford. She stayed with MGM's for eighteen years, signing with Warner's in 1943.. Mildred Pierce (1945) was a defining role and won an Oscar for Joan. she married the Chairman of the Board of Pepsi Cola Company with which she remained after his fatal heart attack in 1959;until 1972 when corporate powers saw no further use for her and pushed her out.
Horrified by a photo taken of her in 1974, she retired completely, devoting herself to Christian Science and increasing use of vodka. Her four adopted children received little from her two million dollar estate: $77,500 each for Cathy and Cindy, nothing for Christopher or Christina "for reasons best known to them".
Her I have to say while most people including her daughter Christina have written what a bad mother she was I neither care or wanted to know this. Even if this is true I feel that we should remember her for her wonderful performances she gave us. We are all human and make mistakes big and small.
It is said that Bette Davis said of Joan, "She's slept with every male star at MGM except Lassie." In return Joan said, "I don't hate Bette Davis even though the press wants me to. I resent her. I don't see how she built a career out of a set of mannerisms, instead of real acting ability. Take away the pop eyes, the cigarette, and those funny clipped words and what have you got? She's phony, but I guess the public really likes that". Even if these two great ladies said this or not it still is interesting.
SPOUSES
James Welton (1923 - 1924) (divorced)
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (1929 - 1933) (divorced)
Franchot Tone (1935 - 1939) (divorced)
Phillip Terry (1942 - 1946) (divorced)
Alfred Steele (14 January 1956 - 6 April 1959)(his death)
Worked as an elevator operator at Harzfeld's department store in downtown Kansas City, Missouri.
Each time Crawford married, she changed the name of her Brentwood estate and installed all new toilet seats.
Was asked to take over Carole Lombard's role in "They All Kissed The Bride" after she died in a air crash during a war bond tour. She then donated all of her salary to the Red Cross who found Lombard's body, and promptly fired her agent for taking his usual 10%.
She was so dedicated to her fans that she always personally responded to her fan mail by typing them responses on blue paper and autographing it. A great deal of her spare time and weekends were spent doing this.
At the time of her death, the only photographs displayed in her apartment were of Barbara Stanwyck and the late President John F. Kennedy. On May 10, 1977, Joan died of cancer in New York City. She was 73 years old.Her final words before dying were quoted as being "Damn it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me." which was said to her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.
Her cleanliness obsession lead her to prefer showers to tubs, as she abhorred sitting in her own bathwater. After hearing that a plumber had used a toilet after installing it in her Brentwood home, she immediately had the fixture and pipes ripped out and replaced.
In her final years at MGM, Crawford was handed weak scripts in the hopes that she'd break her contract. Two films she hungered to appear in were "Random Harvest" (1942) and "Madame Curie" (1943). Both films went to bright new star Greer Garson instead, and Crawford left the studio soon after.
She disliked her 'new' name and initially encouraged others to pronounce it Jo-Anne Crawford. In private, she liked to be referred to as Billie.
Joan always considered Unknown, The (1927) a big turning point for her. She said it wasn't until working with Lon Chaney in this film that she learned the difference between standing in front of a camera and acting in front of a camera. She said that was all due to Lon Chaney and his intense concentration, and after that experience she said she worked much harder to become a better actress.
Drank excessively and smoked until she began practicing Christian Science, at which time she abruptly quit doing both. During her later years, Crawford was drinking up to a quart of vodka a day.
Met her biological father only once when he visited her on the set of "Our Dancing Daughters". She would never see him again.
QUOTES BY JOAN
"I need sex for a clear complexion, but I'd rather do it for love."
"If you want to see the girl next door, go next door".
"In Women, The (1939)Norma Shearer made me change my costume sixteen times because every one was prettier than hers. I love to play bitches and she _helped_ me in this part."
"If you start watching the oldies, you're in trouble. I feel ancient if Grand Hotel (1932) or Bride Wore Red, The (1937) comes on. I have a sneaking regard for Mildred Pierce (1945),but the others do nothing for me."
"They were all terrible, even the few I thought might be good. I made them because I needed the money or because I was bored or both. I hope they have been exhibited and withdrawn and are never heard from again." - regarding her films that followed "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?"
"Love is fire. But whether it is going to warm your hearth or burn down your house, you can never tell."
"Nobody can imitate me. You can always see impersonations of Katharine Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. But not me. Because I've always drawn on myself only."
"I think the most important thing a woman can have -- next to talent, of course, is -- her hairdresser."
"Women's Lib? Poor little things. They always look so unhappy. Have you noticed how bitter their faces are?"
"You have to be self-reliant and strong to survive in this town. Otherwise you will be destroyed."
"Recently I heard a 'wise guy' story that I had a party at my home for twenty-five men. It's an interesting story, but I don't know twenty-five men I'd want to invite to a party."
"Look, there's nothing wrong with my tits, but I don't go around throwing them in people's faces!" (Crawford, criticizing Marilyn Monroe).
"Damn it...Don't you dare ask God to help me." [Last words, spupposedly said to her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.]
The following are some of my favorite Joan Crawford films.
| GRAND HOTEL |
1932 |
| RAIN |
1932 |
| THE GORGEOUS HUSSY |
1936 |
| THE WOMEN |
1939 |
| STRANGE CARGO |
1940 |
| SUSAN AND GOD |
1940 |
| A WOMAN'S FACE |
1941 |
| ABOVE SUSPICION |
1943 |
MILDRED PIERCE |
1945 |
| HUMORESQUE |
1946 |
| POSSESSED |
1947 |
| DAISY KENYON |
1947 |
| FLAMINGO ROAD |
1949 |
| THE DAMNED DON'T CRY |
1950 |
| THIS WOMAN IS DANGEROUS |
1952 |
| SUDDEN FEAR |
1952 |
| TORCH SONG |
1953 |
| FEMALE ON THE BEACH |
1955 |
| AUTUMN LEAVES |
1956 |
| THE BEST OF EVERYTHING |
1959 |
Okay before someone sends me e-mail wondering why I didn't add the film "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" I have to tell you that while the film is okay and I like to watch it when it comes on the television but I don't think it's one of her best or Bette Davis best performance. Below are some of my favorite pictures of joan.
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