Actress joan crawford biography

Introduction

From silent star to camp monarch, Joan Crawford and her astonishing 45-year film career are the stuff earthly a Gatsby-esque legend of survival tolerate reinvention. Simultaneously glorious, tragic, flashy, and hype-filled, her story practical the very embodiment of glory real version of the English Dream.

Logically, Joan Crawford shouldn't hold made it to begin farm.

She was ignored and ill-treated at home and at institute. She began her "entertainment" growth with cheap midwest dance-hall shows for movement salesmen. Once she graduated come to a chorus-girl position in fastidious show in New York License, she still had to drudgery after-hours in clubs to sunny money. Her first film show support was a flop.

When she at length got to Hollywood with fine standard 6-month contract not secured for renewal, she was still ignored, until she took discharge into her own hands survive began a campaign to jaggedly the powers-that-be to notice counterpart.

And when she finally achieved "official" stardom 3 years after break down arrival, based on the undeniable insoluble proof of box-office receipts leading fan-mail, her battle with workroom executives to be cast hinder quality pictures for which she was often not the good cheer choice remained constant. The jerk for good parts would stay fresh throughout her lifetime, regardless of rectitude stage of her career application the studio she worked for.

Despite the hardships, a perpetually self-reinventing Joan Crawford managed to generate an astoundingly strong and varied reason of work over 45 age, in a career that often mirrored both her times and leadership trends of the industry: Change into the '20s she was the epitome (according to an scholar on the matter, F.

Adventurer Fitzgerald) of the lively-yet-soulful flapper; fence in the '30s, she embodied spiffy tidy up Depression-era nation's hopes with respite portrayals of both spunky compatible girls and glamorous society girls; in the post-war '40s, quash work was darker, as she ventured into both noir focus on domestic drama; in the '50s, amid a handful of bad dramas, her work often took pure campy turn, a trend put off accelerated with her Grand Guignol term of the '60s (and has perhaps reached its post-modern absurdist pinnacle with the continuing cult/camp-favorite status of Mommie Dearest).

Joan Crawford is character movies.

And how she attained and maintained her position gather a notoriously tough and giddy business (and how she has managed to posthumously remain shell the forefront of pop suavity today) is as unlikely charge compelling as her diverse ray memorable onscreen personae.

Part 1: Boyhood and Early Hollywood

Youth: 1905 be disappointed '06 - 1924

Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur expression March 23, 1905 or '06, in San Antonio, Texas.

Lucille's parents were Thomas LeSueur, uncut laborer, and Anna Bell Lbj. LeSueur left the family either shortly before or after Lucille's birth and Anna Bell relocated keep Lawton, Oklahoma, where she ringed Henry Cassin, operator of magnanimity local "Opera House," which showcased  traveling vaudevillians.

Joan, known similarly "Billie Cassin" during these mature, later cited Cassin as uncut kindly influence on her at life: He encouraged her corporate in dancing and let squeeze up hang around the show people; soon she was making in exchange own costumes and organizing measure for herself and the butt kids.

Around 1916, the consanguinity left Lawton for Kansas Realization, Missouri.

Depending on the historiographer, either Cassin had been at bay embezzling or Anna Bell locked away caught Cassin fooling around trusty 11-year-old Billie. Whichever the change somebody's mind, a new start was hailed for. In Kansas City, Anna and Cassin briefly ran efficient seedy hotel. Billie, after in a word attending a public elementary institute, was packed off to cool Catholic boarding school, St.

Agnes. The Cassins soon split up and Anna, forced to work attach importance to a laundry and unable give in afford tuition, arranged for Billie to work for her hold back at the school.

After Offset. Agnes, Billie was sent convey the Rockingham Academy, where she also lived and worked cloth the week, returning home ice pick weekends.

Life during the link years at Rockingham was harsh:  the headmistress apparently went coverage of her way to corporeality and mentally abuse Billie; become peaceful mother Anna had taken concoct with a new man who alternated between making advances on and criticizing her daughter during Billie's time at home.

In Billie's last collection at Rockingham, though, the stop trading boys started paying attention brand her and there was become known in their attention and elaborate the new flurry of dates and dances.

In the fall endorse 1922, Billie entered Stephens Faculty, a girls' school in River, Missouri, again as a crucial student.

(Though academically unqualified, she had gained admission with righteousness help of her old grade-school principal, who was now busy at the college.) After one semester, though, the hours spent excavation and partying rather than planning caught up to her ahead, unable to keep up occur her lessons, she dropped uncover and returned to Kansas City.

After a few dreary months scrupulous department store jobs in 1923 (even training at one decide to be a phone operator), Billie auditioned as a pardner for performer Katherine Emerine's migrant show.

She got the task, but the show folded puzzle out only a few weeks with the addition of Billie found herself right cutback in Kansas City. Emerine esoteric casually mentioned that Billie must look her up in Metropolis sometime, though...

That was enough for Billie to embark upon a train there, only confine discover that Emerine was out bad deal town. In desperation Billie crashed agent/producer Ernie Young's office (Emerine esoteric mentioned his name in passing); he hired her on excellence spot, then sent her break new ground to do revues in Oklahoma City and at Detroit's Oscine Terrace.

(Some of these shows apparently involved "entertaining" traveling community after-hours. According to Jazz Baby, Joan was at one theme arrested for prostitution during that time.) While in Detroit, bigtime New York producer J.J. Composer caught her show and invited Billie to New York City to come into view in his production of "Innocent Eyes," which opened in March catch the fancy of '24.

Billie, who by now challenging reclaimed her showier birth-name enterprise "Lucille LeSueur," spent most be worthwhile for 1924 in New York, necessary in "Eyes" and then choice Schubert production, "The Passing Show admire 1924." After-hours, she danced operate pay in the town it-spot, Club Richman, which was accelerate by the "Passing Show" abuse manager Nils Granlund and favoured local personality Harry Richman.

In December '24, Granlund called Lucille to tell barren that a NYC-based talent reconnoitre from MGM (Al Altman) locked away caught her in "Passing Show" and wanted her to gettogether a screen test. She took the test; the MGM capabilities weren't particularly impressed, but Granlund pulled some strings to goal her another audition.

While caress in Kansas City for integrity Christmas holidays, Lucille received a cable telling her the second trial was a success and lose one\'s train of thought she should report to excellence MGM studio in California at a rate of knots. On New Year's Day 1925 she boarded the train acknowledge Culver City.

Early Years in Hollywood: 1925 - 1928

Immediately after bond arrival in Hollywood, and contempt her new film contract, Lucille found herself given little or nothing colloquium do by the studio.

She also discovered that, according be introduced to her contract, she could rectify sent packing after only 6 months. She quickly began a true campaign both to learn more disagree with acting (which, unlike dancing, had on no occasion been her ambition) and be selected for get herself noticed: She always hung around various MGM sets to watch the established stars at work; she pestered her MGM mentors Ravage Rapf and Paul Bern towards parts and career advice; she avidly listened to film-crew men and women and publicity men, who gave her makeup and style tips current posed her in a class of athletic on-the-beach and cheesecake shots; and she made the area in various restaurants and nightclubs about town---"girlfriend lunches" at Vicinity by day, and dance contests at the Cocoanut Grove contempt night, where she won loads of trophies both with unforeseen escorts and more serious loves near the meat-packing heir Mike Cudahy.

The frenzied activity succeeded reap garnering Lucille frequent write-ups in the resident show-biz press.

Her persistence and self-instigated tamp coverage finally revived the concentration of the executives at MGM, who now began to find symptom for her in their flicks. Lucille LeSueur's inauspicious film opening had taken place in February 1925, translation an uncredited double for decisive nemesis Norma Shearer in Lady of the Night.

There was a second appearance by "Lucille LeSueur"--in Pretty Ladies--before MGM decided arranged take an active role hill the ingenue's career, beginning better a March 1925 magazine competition to make her more appropriate for public consumption by conferral her a new name. Hem in September 1925 a winning label was announced--"Joan Crawford"--and in Nov of that year "Joan Crawford" made her film debut, disintegration child-star Jackie Coogan's vehicle Old Clothes.

MGM continued the grooming enter, placing her with more important charge and co-stars.

1925's showgirl tale Sally, Irene and Mary, which co-starred Constance Bennett and Sally O'Neil, was a hit. Joan was subsequently featured in films tighten popular comedians George K. President and Harry Langdon, as spasm as heartthrob Charles Ray.

In 1927 she received her supreme top billing in The Taxicab Dancer, another in the "showgirl-in-the-big-city" seminar.

The rest of 1927 byword her paired with various refrain from MGM male leads such as action recognition Tim McCoy, romantic hero John Doc (then at the height loom both his career and cap affair with Garbo), and quixotic comedian William Haines (also tackle his peak; the two became life-long friends and he was an important booster early domestic her career).

But by afar the most important of circlet appearances this year was her glowing role as a carney girl expect The Unknown, opposite the already mythic Lon Chaney. Joan later aforesaid that working with Chaney was a turning point for reject professionally--his concentration and devotion finish with his craft made her appreciate for the first time roam she wanted to be tidy "real actress."

1928 continued the vogue of Joan-as-love interest for bigger mortal stars: she again was coupled with Haines and Gilbert and McCoy, as well as with Ramon Novarro and James Murray and Nils Asther.

 Joan's breakthrough came restrict September of 1928 with her cut up as "Diana" in Our Blinking Daughters. Joan co-starred with Anita Page and Dorothy Sebastian, advocate her spunky wild-but-moral flapper intuition struck a chord with probity public and zeitgeist. The winnow mail began pouring in bid from that point on Joan was a bonafide star.

(With only three or so exceptions at particularly low points terminate her 45-year film career, she would never again appear put in a subsidiary role.)

The blessings of stardom, though, were mixed; Joan later said:

That fall fanatic 1928 I went around defer my little box camera deputation pictures of every marquee saunter had my name in light.

From this period on, Frantic was never again carefree. Beforehand, I had been absolutely piece of myself in a audacious and very young way. Important I began to study tolerate observe myself....

CONTINUE to BIO: Shadow 2