JOAN CRAWFORD, ONE CLASSY LADY
July 5th 2008 02:36
Joan Crawford
Mary Astor, Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo with whom Joan appeared in Grand Hotel, 1932. Joan idolized Garbo so much so she was too scared to speak to her, but one day summoned the courage and said hello to her idol. Garbo snubbed Crawford and she never forgot it. All throughout her career Joan made a point of being polite and friendly to all who requested a moment of her time, signing autographs and being cordial no matter what kind of day she was having.
Joan received an Academy Award for her portrayal of a mother struggling with her daughter in Mildred Pierce 1945, a role that would eerily reflect her real life. Joan married four times but was unable to fall pregnant, and she was desperate to have children. Joan was the Angelina of her day, single and divorced she adopted daughter Christina in 1940, and also adopted a boy named Christopher in 1941, who, in 1942, was reclaimed by his biological mother.
Years later, Joan’s eldest daughter Christina after failing at an acting career wrote a book about Joan entitled Mommie Dearest. The story goes that when Christina presented her manuscript to the editor he said the book was too soft and needed spicing up. He made a few changes which Christina stupidly agreed to. The book paints Joan Crawford as a vicious narcissist, who adopted her children for publicity. She was cruel and abusive throwing fits of rage, cutting off Christina’s hair, tearing the children’s bedrooms apart in the middle of the night and taking shears, shredding her rose garden to pieces in a fit of anger. When Joan heard about the book she felt so betrayed by Christina she explicitly disinherited Christina and brother Christopher. In the last paragraph of the will, she wrote, "It is my intention to make no provision herein for my son Christopher or my daughter Christina for reasons which are well known to them."
Joan died of heart attack on May 10 1977, while also ill with pancreatic cancer. According to her daughter Christina, Crawford's alleged last words were "Damn it...Don't you dare ask God to help me," which were directed at her housekeeper, who had begun to pray out loud.
The book Mommie Dearest was made into a film starring Faye Dunaway as Joan which in turn destroyed Dunaway’s career, a fact that Dunaway herself admits. It is now regarded as one of the "campiest films of all time”. Mommie Dearest is a scandal that tarnished Joan’s brilliant career and many people who knew Joan including her other children deny the allegations. I have seen many people who knew and worked with Joan speak of her and they all say the same thing.
Joan was a pro, a class act, driven and determined. She was easy to work with, knew her lines and had a great sense of humor. She was one of the boys and could laugh at herself, she was friendly, kind and giving, she was liked and deeply admired by all.
This is the truth of who Joan Crawford was, and this is how she should be remembered. Movie buffs love her, actresses aspire to be like her and Hollywood holds her in the highest regard. Crawford's hand and footprints are immortalized in the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1750 Vine Street and Joan Crawford is named as the tenth Greatest Female Star of All Time by the American Film Institute.
Footnote: In 1962 Joan Crawford and her fellow acting legend Bette Davis appeared in Whatever happened to Baby Jane. The rumors that they despised each other have followed this movie to this day, and the rumors are true. They hated each other more than words can say, but they were pros and you can’t spot it in the movie. I suggest you see the movie if you can get your hands on it. It is bloody brilliant.
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