Transforming Today's World Magazine - JAN 2014 Special Edition Vol 5 Issue 3 | Page 65

JOAN CRAWFORD

Ara celi

Photo by:
Capture La Vie

“People want to see a Hollywood star. They want to see Joan
Crawford.
If you want the girl next door, go next door.”
Three pivotal films for Crawford’s career were The Women, 1939, Mildred Pierce, 1945 and What Ever Happened to Baby
Jane?, 1962. In The Women, Joan lobbied for a part which did not provide top billing. She played a hard-edged shop girl,
Crystal Allen, who steals a husband. The all-female cast included Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard and
Joan Fontaine. Mildred Pierce, a film noir classic, featured Crawford playing a long suffering mother accused of murder
while an ungrateful daughter, Ann Blyth, demands a better life. Joan’s performance earned her an Academy Award. Years
later, Joan played the tortured sister in an aging sibling relationship in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? Her co-star was
another Hollywood legend of the time, Bette Davis.

“They gave me this wonderful life, and for that, I owe them everything.
The least I can do is take a moment to say thank you.”
Joan Crawford was known as a letter writer all her life, especially as she grew older. It is said that she wrote back to every
fan, except those schoolmates of many years ago. She sometimes spent over 12 hours a day at the task of communicating
with admirers who took the time to write to her. In the 1950s, Joan traveled back to San Antonio for an appearance at San
Antonio Academy. A student who was lucky enough to be in attendance, mentioned that she stayed for hours, visiting with
her fans and signing dozens of autographs that day. Until her death in 1977, Joan Crawford continued to portray the
Hollywood icon she had created and reinvented in 70 films over a 45 year career. Hard working, distinctly beautiful,
professional and talented, she was a woman committed to her craft and her persona.

“They don’t write for ladies anymore, but I’ll tell you what, we’re here to stay.”

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