“I never go out unless I look like Joan Crawford the movie star. If you want to see the girl next door, go next door.”
Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur in 1904 in San Antonio, Texas. Joan had a fairly unstable childhood as her parents split up before she was born and her mother married twice more. From an early age, Joan Crawford loved watching vaudeville acts perform in her stepfather’s theater and aspired to be a dancer. After leaving high school, Crawford began dancing in the chorus line at the Winter Gardens on Broadway in New York City but wanted additional work so approached a Loews Theaters publicist who arranged for her to do a screen test which was then sent to Hollywood. As a result of this, MGM offered Joan Crawford a contract in 1924 and she moved to California.
Joan appeared in her first film, the silent film “Pretty Ladies” in 1925 under her birth name but afterwards changed her name to Joan Crawford when people commented that her surname sounded like the word ’sewer’. Crawford first made an impression on audiences in the film “Sally, Irene and Mary” (1925). The same year she also appeared in “Lady of the Night” where she was a screen double for actress Norma Shearer. In 1926, Crawford was named one of the thirteen annual WAMPAS Baby Stars. For the next two years, Crawford appeared in increasingly important films and in 1926, starred in the film “Paris” where she was able to show her sex appeal. This led to her becoming the romantic interest for some of MGM’s leading male stars including Ramon Navarro and William Haines. In 1928, Crawford starred opposite Ramon Navarro in “Across to Singapore” but it was her role as Diana Medford in “Our Dancing Daughters” (1928) which catapulted her to stardom. Joan continued to appear in a stream of hits where she embodied an idealized vision of the free-spirited, all American girl for her fans, many of whom were women. Crawford worked hard to rid herself of her Southern accent and in 1929 appeared in her first speaking role in the film “Untamed” opposite Robert Montgomery which was a box office hit. Following this, she made a successful transition to speaking roles.
In 1931 Joan Crawford starred opposite Clark Gable in “Possessed” which led to an affair during the production which studio chief Louis B. Mayer demanded that they put an end to. Although Gable complied, for many years their affair resumed sporadically and in secret. Crawford then starred in MGM’s “Grand Hotel” which was their best film of 1932 A year later, Crawford appeared with Clark Gable again in the smash hit, “Dancing Lady” for which she received top billing. Crawford’s next films, “Sadie McKee”, “Chained” and “Forsaking All Others” which were all made in 1934, were among the top earners of the mid-1930’s and marked Crawford’s peak as a popular star. However, in 1938, Crawford’ s film career began to decline and for a little while she was regarded as “box-office poison” along with other great actors such as Greta Garbo and Fred Astaire. Crawford made a small comeback in George Cukor’s “The Women” in 1939 where she played a bitchy home-wrecker. A year later, she starred in her eighth film with Clark Gable, “Strange Cargo” where she broke her formula by appearing as an unglamorous character. MGM terminated Joan Crawford’s contract in 1943 as they were eager to promote new actors such as Greta Garbo, Judy Garland and Hedy Lamarr. The same year, Crawford signed a contract with Warner Bros. for five hundred thousand dollars for three films. In 1944, she appeared in the G.I. morale booster film, “Hollywood Canteen”. Several years later, Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in “Mildred Pierce”. By now, Crawford was regarded as a top star and appeared in respected roles such as Helen Wright in “Humoresque” in 1946 and “Possessed” in 1947 for which she was nominated for a second Oscar as Best Actress. In 1952, Crawford requested that she be released from her Warner Bros. contract and shortly afterwards appeared in the RKO-made film, “Sudden Fear” which earned her her third and final Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Crawford continued to appear in films ranging from the cult western film, “Johnny Guitar” (1954) to the drama “Autumn Leaves” in 1956 although by the early 1960’s, her film status had diminished. Crawford made a comeback in 1962 in the blockbuster hit, “Whatever Happened To Baby Jane” in which she co-starred with her old rival, Bette Davis.
As well as appearing on the big screen, Crawford made the transition to television as well and in 1969, appeared in “Night Gallery”, one of Steven Spielberg’s earliest directing jobs. A year later, Crawford made her last appearance on the big screen in the sci-fi/horror film “The Trog” which brought to an end a career spanning over 45 years and over 80 motion pictures. In 1972, Joan made her final television performance in an episode of the series, “The Sixth Sense”.
Off-screen, Joan had a turbulent life, having married four times. Her first marriage was to Douglas Fairbanks Jr. in 1929, followed by Franchot Tone, Phillip Terry, and finally Pepsi-Cola president, Alfred N. Steele. In addition, she had several affairs. In 1962, Joan Crawford published her autobiography, “A Portrait of Joan” and in 1971 published her next book “My Way of Life” which rather than being a racy book, revealed her meticulous ways in her advice on grooming, her wardrobe and even food storage.
Crawford died in May 1977 in her New York apartment, at the age of 73, from a heart attack. Joan Crawford’ hand and footprints are immortalized in the forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood and she also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, Playboy listed Crawford as one of the “100 Sexiest Women of the Twentieth Century”.
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[...] in America and the main female star at MGM. Unlike other female stars at MGM including Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer whose popularity was waning, Jean was a young woman with her star continuously on [...]
Jean Harlow - Red Dust | Classic Actresses added these pithy words on Oct 16 08 at 3:25 pm