Joan Crawford (March 23, 1905 - May 10,
1977) was an Academy Award winning American actress.
Trained as a dancer, she was signed to a contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in the mid
1920s and groomed to play flappers. As her popularity grew she was cast in numerous movies in
which she played hardworking young women who eventually found romance and success. These "rags
to riches" stories were well-received by Depression era audiences; women, particularly, seemed
to identify with her struggle. By the end of the decade she had become one of Hollywood's most
prominent movie stars, and one of the highest paid women in the U.S.
Moving to Warner Bros. in the early 1940s, Crawford won an Academy Award for her performance
in Mildred Pierce and achieved some of the best reviews of her career over the following years.
In 1955, she became involved with PepsiCo, the company run by her last husband. After his
death in 1959, she was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors and was forcibly
retired in 1973. She continued acting regularly until the 1960s when her performances became
fewer, and by the mid 1970s she became a recluse.
Early life
She was born Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas, the third child of Thomas E. LeSueur
(1868-1938) and Anna Bell Johnson (1884-1958), who was of Irish and Scandinavian descent. Her
older siblings were Daisy LeSueur, who died as a very young child, and Hal LeSueur. Her father,
who was born in Tennessee, was of distant French Huguenot extraction. His ancestors
immigrated from London, England, in the early 1700s to Virginia, where they lived for several
generations. LeSueur was said to have abandoned the family in Texas; Crawford later said she
had been only a few months old when her father left.
Her mother later married Henry J. Cassin (born 1867). The family lived in Lawton, Oklahoma,
where Cassin ran a movie theater. The 1910 Comanche County, Oklahoma, Federal Census,
enumerated on April 20, shows Henry and Anna living at 910 "D" Street in Lawton. Lucille was
then 5 years of age.
For most of her life, Crawford maintained that she was born in 1908. It has been generally
accepted, however, that she was born earlier. Some believe she was born in 1904, but her
brother, Hal, was born in September 1903, making a birth for Crawford only 6 months later
impossible. As birth records for San Antonio are not available for years earlier than 1908,
and in the absence of a birth certificate, her year of birth has been estimated to be 1905
based on the April 1910 census when she was 5.
Lucille preferred the nickname "Billie," and she loved watching live acts of vaudeville
perform on the stage of her stepfather's theater. Her ambition was to be a dancer.
Unfortunately, she cut her foot deeply on a broken milk bottle when she leapt from the front
porch of her home in an attempt to escape piano lessons and run and play with friends. A
neighbor, Don Blanding, who became a poet, carried her into the house and phoned the doctor.
She was unable to attend elementary school for a year and a half and eventually had three
operations on her foot. Demonstrating the steely determination that would serve her for the
rest of her life, she eventually overcame the injury and returned not only to walking normally,
but to dancing as well.
In about 1916, the family moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Henry Cassin was first listed in the
City Directory in 1917, living at 403 East Ninth Street.
While still in elementary school, she was placed in St. Agnes Academy, a Catholic school in
Kansas City. Later, after her mother and stepfather broke up, she stayed on at St. Agnes as a
work student. She then went to Rockingham Academy as a work student. And in 1922 she
registered at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, and gave her year of birth as 1906. She
attended Stephens for less than a year, however, as she recognized that she was not
academically prepared for college at that time.
Career
Joan CrawfordShe began her career as a dancer in a chorus line under the name Lucille LeSueur,
eventually making her way to New York. In 1924, she signed a contract with MGM, and arrived in
Culver City, California, in January 1925.
Starting out in silent movies, she worked hard to ensure that her contract with the studio
would be renewed. Studio chief Louis B. Mayer was unhappy with her name, reportedly saying
that "LeSueur" sounded too close to "sewer." A contest in the fan magazine Movie Weekly was
the source of her well-known stage name. The female contestant who entered the name "Joan
Crawford" was awarded $500.
Though Crawford reportedly detested the name at first, saying it sounded like "crawfish," and
called herself JoAnne for some time, she eventually became used to it. She was named one of
the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1926, along with Mary Astor, Mary Brian, Dolores Costello, Dolores
Del Rio, Janet Gaynor, and Fay Wray.
Crawford studied diction and elocution to rid herself of her Southwestern accent. Her first
talkie was Untamed (1929). During the 1930s, she was "Queen of the MGM Lot," and was best-
known for her steamy pairings opposite Clark Gable in eight movies.
Eventually, her movies began to lose money and she was one of the unfortunate stars to be
labeled "box-office poison," along with Katharine Hepburn and Fred Astaire, among others.
After appearing in numerous productions at MGM, Crawford's contract was terminated by mutual
consent on June 29, 1943. In lieu of one more movie owed under her contract, she paid the
studio $100,000. That same day, she drove herself to the studio and personally cleaned out her
dressing room. She signed with Warner Bros. for $500,000 for three movies and was placed on
the payroll July 1.
She received the Academy Award for Best
Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Mildred Pierce (1945).
Mildred Pierce was a huge hit for Warners and greatly expanded her status as a star. In the
movie, Crawford played opposite a stellar cast, including Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve
Arden, Ann Blyth, and Butterfly McQueen. Director Michael Curtiz and producer Jerry Wald
developed the property specifically for Crawford from the popular James M. Cain novel, which
was adapted for the screen by Ranald MacDougall. In what may have been a publicity stunt,
Crawford was "ill" the night of the Oscar ceremony and the award was delivered to her home,
where she rallied for the cameras. A photograph of her in bed wearing a negligee, holding her
award, was widely published in newspapers.
She was later nominated for Oscars for Possessed (1947), opposite Van Heflin and Raymond
Massey; and for Sudden Fear (1952), the movie that introduced co-star Jack Palance.
Joan Crawford acted in 81 motion pictures over the course of her career. She also worked in
radio and television.
Marriages
In 1929, at the time she wed her first husband, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Crawford bought a
mansion at 426 North Bristol Avenue in Brentwood, midway between Beverly Hills and the
Pacific Ocean, which was her primary dwelling for the next 26 years. Over the years, she had
her home decorated and redecorated by William Haines, her former silent movie co-star and
lifelong friend, who was much in demand as an interior designer after receiving Crawford's
recommendation.
She had four husbands: actors Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (married June 3, 1929 in New York,
divorced 1933), Franchot Tone (married October 11, 1935 in New Jersey, divorced 1939), and
Phillip Terry (married July 21, 1942 at Hidden Valley Ranch in Ventura County, California,
divorced 1946); and Pepsi-Cola president Alfred N. Steele (married May 10, 1955 in Las Vegas,
Nevada).
Crawford moved to a lavish apartment, number 22-G in the Imperial House, in New York with her
last husband, Alfred Steele. He died there on April 19, 1959. She then sold her Brentwood
mansion and stayed on in New York, although she kept a small apartment in Los Angeles for her
frequent trips there.
Adopted children
She adopted six children, according to L.A. Times articles from the time, though she kept
only four.
The first was Christina (born June 11, 1939). Crawford was a single, divorced woman when she
adopted her in 1940. The second was a boy she named Christopher Crawford (born April 1941).
She adopted him in June of that year. In 1942, his biological mother found out where he was
and managed to get him back. The third was an eight year old boy she named Phillip Terry, Jr.
(born 1935). She and Terry adopted him in April 1943, but did not keep him either. The fourth
was Christopher (born October 15, 1943). She and Terry adopted him that same year, and he
remained her son after she and Terry divorced. (According to Christina, Joan changed this
second Christopher's birth date to October 15 because she was afraid he would also be taken
away.) The fifth and sixth were twin girls Cynthia "Cindy" Crawford and Cathy Crawford (both
born January 13, 1947). Crawford adopted them in June of that year, while she was a single
woman. (According to Christina, Joan called them twins but they were not. Cindy and Cathy
both dispute that claim. According to them, they are twins born in Dyersburg, Tennessee, to
an unwed mother who died seven days after their birth. They said that Crawford was afraid
their biological parents might try and get them back and would therefore say they were not
twins. Their version is consistent with newspapers reports at the time of their adoption.)
Religion
Crawford was raised Catholic; her stepfather, Henry Cassin, was said to be Catholic, although
he and Anna were ultimately divorced, and Crawford insisted on marrying her first husband in
the Catholic Church. She later became a Christian Scientist.
Work at Pepsi
Besides her work as an actress, from 1955 to 1973, Crawford traveled extensively on behalf of
husband Al Steele's company, PepsiCo. Two days after Steele's death in 1959, she was elected
to fill his vacancy on the board of directors. She was forcibly retired from the company in
1973 at the behest of company executive Don Kendall, whom Crawford had referred to for years
as "Fang."
She was the recipient of the Sixth Annual "Pally Award," which was in the shape of a bronze
Pepsi bottle. It was awarded to the employee making the most significant contribution to
company sales.
Final Years
In the late 1950s Crawford's career slowed down: movie after movie saw her relegated to menial
roles. She made a surprising comeback in the highly successful What Ever Happened to Baby
Jane? (1962), directed by Robert Aldrich, which cast her as a physically disabled woman in
conflict with her demented sister, played by old rival Bette Davis, whom she detested. Similar
roles in the handful of low-budget horror movies that followed rounded out a film career that
spanned more than forty years and included performances in more than eighty films. Her final
appearance on the silver screen was a 1970 flop horror film called Trog.
Crawford's appearance as Claudia Menlo on a 1969 TV episode of Night Gallery titled Eyes
marked one of Steven Spielberg's earliest directing jobs.
In 1970, she was presented with the Cecil B. DeMille Award on the Golden Globes, which was
telecast from the Coconut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, by John Wayne. She
also spoke at her "alma mater," Stephens College, from which she never graduated.
Her book, My Way of Life, was published in 1971 by Simon and Schuster. In September 1973, she
moved from apartment 22-G to the smaller apartment 22-H in the Imperial House. Her last public
appearance was September 23, 1974, at a party honoring Rosalind Russell at New York's Rainbow
Room. On May 8, 1977, she gave away her Shih Tzu dog named Princess Lotus Blossom.
Joan Crawford died two days later at her apartment in New York of a heart attack while ill
with pancreatic cancer at the age of 72. A funeral was held at Campbell Funeral Home, New
York, on May 13, 1977, at 10 a.m. All four of her adopted children attended, as did her niece,
daughter of her late brother, Hal LeSueur. Crawford's Last Will and Testament was read to the
family that evening.
In the will, which was signed February 28, 1976, she bequeathed to the two youngest of her
children, Cindy and Cathy, $77,500 each from her $12,000,000 estate. However, she explicitly
disinherited the eldest two, Christina and Christopher, with the phrase "...for reasons which
should be well known to them."
A memorial service was held for Crawford at All Souls' Unitarian Church on Lexington Avenue in
New York May 16, attended by, among other, her old Hollywood friend Myrna Loy. Another
memorial service, organized by George Cukor, was held June 24 in the Samuel Goldwyn Theater
at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.
She was cremated and her ashes placed in a crypt with her last husband, Alfred Steele, in
Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.
Legacy
Joan Crawford's hand and foot prints are immortalized in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese
Theater on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, and she has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
at 1750 Vine Street.
Shortly after her death, the eldest of her four children, Christina, published a best selling
exposé containing allegations that Crawford was emotionally and physically abusive to her and
her brother, Christopher. Though it was harshly criticized by many of Crawford's friends, her
reputation was severely tarnished by the claims. The book was later made into a movie of the
same title starring Faye Dunaway. For further detail and comment, see: Mommie Dearest (book)
and/or Mommie Dearest (motion picture).
In 2005, transcripts reportedly from Marilyn Monroe's sessions with her psychologist revealed
that she allegedly had a one-night stand with Crawford. According to Monroe, Crawford enjoyed
the sexual encounter and wanted to have another. Monroe claimed to have declined Crawford's
offer, which made the older actress "spiteful."
In pop culture
In 1981, Blue Öyster Cult released the song "Joan Crawford" (Lyrics), on the album Fire of
Unknown Origin.
Filmography
Lady of the Night (1925) (MGM) (uncredited) ... double for Norma Shearer
Proud Flesh (1925) (MGM) (uncredited) ... bit part
A Slave of Fashion (1925) (MGM) (uncredited) ... mannequin
The Merry Widow (1925) (MGM) (uncredited) ... extra
Pretty Ladies (1925) (MGM) (credited as Lucille LeSueur) ... Bobby, a showgirl
The Circle (1925) (MGM) (uncredited) ... Young Lady Catherine
The Midshipman (1925) (MGM) (uncredited) ... extra
Old Clothes (1925) (MGM) (credited as Lucille LeSueur) ... Mary Riley
The Only Thing (1925) (MGM) (uncredited) ... party guest
Sally, Irene and Mary (1925) (MGM) (credited as Joan Crawford) ... Irene
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp (1926) (First National) ... Betty Burton
Paris (1926) (MGM) ... the girl
The Boob (1926) (MGM) ... Jane
Winners of the Wilderness (1927) (MGM) ... Renée Contrecoeur
The Taxi Dancer (1927) (MGM) ... Joslyn Poe
The Understanding Heart (1927) (MGM) ... Monica Dale
The Unknown (1927) (MGM) ... Estellita or Nanon, Zanzi's Daughter
Twelve Miles Out (1927) (MGM) ... Jane
Spring Fever (1927) (MGM) ... Allie Monte
Dream of Love (1928) (MGM) ... Adrienne Lecouvreur
Our Dancing Daughters (1928) (Cosmopolitan Production/MGM) ... Diana Medford
Four Walls (1928) (MGM) ... Frieda
Across to Singapore (1928) (MGM) ... Priscilla Crowninshield
Rose-Marie (1928) (MGM) ... Rose-Marie
The Law of the Range (1928) (MGM) ... Betty Dallas
West Point (1928) (MGM) ... Betty Channing
Hollywood Snapshots #11 (1929) (MGM) ... Herself
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) (MGM) ... Specialty (With sound. In color. Singing,
dancing, and part of an all-star cast performing the song "Singin' In The Rain.")
Untamed (1929) (MGM) ... Alice "Bingo" Dowling
Our Modern Maidens (1929) (MGM) ... Billie Brown
The Duke Steps Out (1929) (MGM) ... Susie
Paid (1930) (MGM) ... Mary Turner
Our Blushing Brides (1930) (MGM) ... Gerry Marsh
Montana Moon (1930) (MGM) ... Joan "Montana" Prescott
Possessed (1931) (MGM) ... Marian Martin
This Modern Age (1931) (MGM) ... Valentine "Val" Winters
Laughing Sinners (1931) (MGM) ... Ivy "Bunny" Stevens
The Slippery Pearls (1931) ... Herself
Dance, Fools, Dance (1931) (MGM) ... Bonnie "Bon" Jordan
Letty Lynton (1932) (MGM) ... Letty Lynton
Grand Hotel (1932) (MGM) ... Flaemmchen
Rain (1932) (United Artists) ... Sadie Thompson
Screen Snapshots (1932) ... Herself
Today We Live (1933) (MGM) ... Diana "Ann" Boyce-Smith
Dancing Lady (1933) (MGM) ... Janie "Duchess" Barlow
Sadie McKee (1934) (MGM) ... Sadie McKee Brennan
Chained (1934) (MGM) ... Diane Lovering, also called "Dinah"
Forsaking All Others (1934) (MGM) ... Mary Clay
No More Ladies (1935) (MGM) ... Marcia Townsend
I Live My Life (1935) (MGM) ... Kay Bentley
The Gorgeous Hussy (1936) (MGM) ... Margaret O'Neal "Peggy" Eaton
Love on the Run (1936) (MGM) ... Sally Parker
The Bride Wore Red (1937) (MGM) ... Anni Pavlovitch
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney (1937) (MGM) ... Fay Cheyney
Mannequin (1937) (MGM) ... Jessica Cassidy
The Shining Hour (1938) (MGM) ... Olivia Riley
Ice Follies of 1939 (1939) (MGM) ... Mary McKay
The Women (1939) (MGM) ... Crystal Allen
Strange Cargo (1940) (MGM) ... Julie
Susan and God (1940) (MGM) ... Susan Trexel
A Woman's Face (1941) (MGM) ... Anna Holm
When Ladies Meet (1941) (MGM) ... Mary Howard
They All Kissed the Bride (1942) (Columbia) ... Margaret Drew
Reunion in France (1942) (MGM) ... Michelle de la Becque
Above Suspicion (1943) (MGM) ... Frances Myles
Hollywood Canteen (1944) (Warmer Bros.) ... Herself
Mildred Pierce (1945) (Warner Bros.) ... Mildred Pierce
Humoresque (1946) (Warner Bros.) ... Helen Wright
Possessed (1947) (Warner Bros.) ... Louise Howell Graham
Daisy Kenyon (1947) (20th Century Fox) ... Daisy Kenyon
Flamingo Road (1949) (Warner Bros.) ... Lane Bellamy
It's a Great Feeling (1949) (Warner Bros.) (uncredited) ... Herself
The Damned Don't Cry! (1950) (Warner Bros.) ... Ethel Whitehead / Lorna Hansen Forbes
Harriet Craig (1950) (Columbia) ... Harriet Craig
Goodbye, My Fancy (1951) (Warner Bros.) ... Agatha Reed
This Woman Is Dangerous (1952) (Warner Bros.) ... Beth Austin
Sudden Fear (1952) (RKO) ... Myra Hudson
Torch Song (1953) (MGM) ... Jenny Stewart
Johnny Guitar (1954) (Republic) ... Vienna
Female on the Beach (1955) (Universal) ... Lynn Markham
Queen Bee (1955) (Columbia) ... Eva Phillips
Autumn Leaves (1956) (William Goetz/Columbia) ... Millicent Wetherby
The Story of Esther Costello (1957) (Valiant Films/Columbia) ... Margaret Landi
The Best of Everything (1959) (20th Century Fox) ... Amanda Farrow
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) (Seven Arts/Warner Bros.) ... Blanche Hudson
The Caretakers (1963) (United Artists) ... Lucretia Terry
Strait-Jacket (1964) (Columbia) ... Lucy Harbin
I Saw What You Did (1965) (Universal) ... Amy Nelson
Berserk! (1968) (Columbia) ... Monica Rivers
Trog (1970) (Warner Bros.) ... Dr. Brockton
Television performances
Revlon's Mirror Theater (1953) (CBS) Because I Love Him ... Margaret Hughes
General Electric Theater (1954) (CBS) The Road to Edinburgh ... Mary Andrews
General Electric Theater (1958) (CBS) Strange Witness ... Ruth
General Electric Theater (1959) (CBS) And One Was Loyal ... Ann Howard
The Joan Crawford Show (1959) (Pilot) Woman On The Run ... Susan Conrad
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater (1959) (CBS) Rebel Range ... Stella Faring
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater (1961) (CBS) One Must Die ... Sarah/Melanie Davidson
The Foxes (1961) ... Millicent Fox
Route 66 (1963) (CBS) Same Picture, Different Frame ... Morgan Harper
Della (1966) (TV Movie) AKA Fatal Confinement ... Della Chappell
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (1967) (NBC) The Karate Killers or The Five Daughters Affair ... Amanda True
The Lucy Show (1968) (CBS) Lucy and Joan Crawford or The Lost Star ... Herself
The Secret Storm (1968) (CBS) (daytime soap opera) ... Joan Boreman Kane #2 (temporary replacement for Christina Crawford)
Night Gallery (1969) (NBC) Eyes ... Claudia Menlo
The Virginian (1970) (NBC) The Nightmare ... Stephanie White
The Name of the Game (1971) (NBC) Los Angeles ... Board Member
Beyond the Water's Edge (1972) (TV Movie) ... Allison Hayes
The Sixth Sense (1972) (ABC) Dear Joan: We're Going To Scare You To Death! ... Joan Fairchild (Later re-edited into the syndication package of Night Gallery.)
This article is licensed under the GNU
Free Documentation License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire
work (including additions) remains under this license. See
http://www.gnu.org/
copyleft/fdl.html
for details. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Joan Crawford", which you can find
at http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Joan_Crawford
|