Joan Crawford Biography
Date of Birth
23 March 1905, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Date of Death
10 May 1977, New York City, New York, USA (heart attack)
Birth Name
Lucille Fay LeSueur
Nickname
Billie Cassin
Cranberry
Billie
Height
5' 5" (1.65 m)
Mini Biography
Lucille LeSueur's parents separated before she was born. By age 16 she had known three fathers, one of whom (a vaudeville theater manager) had given her the name Billie Cassin. By 1915 she and her mother lived in Kansas City and Billie worked in a laundry and also as a menial to pay school tuition. Winning an amateur dance contest in 1923 led to chorus work in Chicago, Detroit and New York. On New Year's Day of 1925 she left for Hollywood. Before her second picture, a "Photoplay" contest led to the name "Joan Crawford". With Our Dancing Daughters (1928) she became a star. She had a string of successes playing a socialite or rags-to-riches shopgirl, most notably as Crystal Allen in The Women (1939). She stayed with MGM for 18 years, signing with Warners in 1943. Mildred Pierce (1945) was a defining role and won her an Oscar. After more than 70 films she married the Chairman of the Board of the Pepsi-Cola Co., a company with which she remained as an executive and spokesman after her husband's fatal heart attack in 1959 (in 1972 when the company's executives saw no further use for her, they pushed her out; after that she referred to the CEO as "Fang"). What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) brought new careers to both Crawford and Bette Davis in 1962--although the two despised each other--but the ensuing roles were neither numerous nor flattering. Horrified by a photo taken of her in 1974, she retired completely, devoting herself to Christian Science and increasing use of vodka. Her four adopted children received little from her $2-million estate: $77,500 each for Cathy and Cindy, nothing for Christopher or Christina Crawford "for reasons best known to them".
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Mini Biography
Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1905 in San Antonio, Texas. She was the product of a broken home before she was born in that her parents were already separated before the birth. Her mother had trouble keeping husbands after having married three times. Joan was fond of dancing and had entered several dance contests. She wanted a career in show business because it was much more glamorous than the odd jobs she was working. One dance contest she won landed her in a chorus line. Before long, Joan found herself dancing in the big cities of the Mid-West and along the Atlantic coast. After almost two years dancing, Joan decided to take a chance and packed her bags and moved to Los Angeles, California and the movie colony of Hollywood. She felt movies might afford her a chance of fame and glory and she was determined to succeed. Not long after arriving in California, Joan got her first bit role as a showgirl in Pretty Ladies (1925) in 1925. Three other films quickly followed. Although the roles weren't much to speak of, Joan continued to toil away. Throughout 1927 and the first part of 1928, Joan was handed menial roles. That ended with the role of Diana Medford in Our Dancing Daughters (1928). The film was the one to get her elevated to star status. She had made the tough hurdle of making the "big time". Now she was faced with another. The "talkie" era was upon the movie colony and many stars of the era were suddenly worried about their futures. With silent pictures, it didn't matter what kind of voice you had, but with sound pictures it made a tremendous difference. While some stars saw their livelihood halted, Joan's strong voice enabled her to continue. Her first film with sound was in Untamed (1929). The film was a success and Joan's career was still in top form. As she entered the 1930s, Joan became one of the top stars in the MGM stable. Films such as Grand Hotel (1932), Sadie McKee (1934), No More Ladies (1935), and Love on the Run (1936), kept movie patrons and film executives happy. Joan was in top form.
By the time the 1940s rolled around, Joan noticed she wasn't getting the plum roles which once came her way. There were new stars in town and the public wanted to see them. She left MGM and went to rival Warner Brothers Studio where she landed the role of a lifetime. In 1945, Joan landed the lead in Mildred Pierce (1945), a film depicting the rise of a housewife to a successful businesswoman. The film landed Joan her first and only Oscar for Best Actress. The following year she appeared with John Garfield in the well-received Humoresque (1946). In 1947, Joan landed the role of Louise Graham in Possessed (1947). Again she was nominated for a Best Actress from the Academy, but lost to Loretta Young in The Farmer's Daughter (1947).
Joan continued to pick and choose what good roles she wanted to appear in. 1952 saw Joan nominated for a third time for her role of Myra Hudson in Sudden Fear (1952). This time the coveted Oscar went to Shirley Booth in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952). Her career slowed down tremendously after that. Movie after movie saw her relegated to menial roles, with the possible exception of 1962's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) with her arch-rival, Bette Davis, who she detested. By now the feud, between the two was well-known. No one is sure exactly how it started, but one time Miss Davis said of Joan, "She's slept with every male star at MGM except Lassie." In return Joan said, "I don't hate Bette Davis even though the press wants me to. I resent her. I don't see how she built a career out of a set of mannerisms, instead of real acting ability. Take away the pop eyes, the cigarette, and those funny clipped words and what have you got? She's phony, but I guess the public really likes that".
Her final appearance on the silver screen was a 1970 flop called Trog (1970). Turning to vodka, she was not seen much afterward. On May 10, 1977, Joan died of cancer in New York City. She was 72 years old. After Joan cut her adopted daughter Christina and son Christopher out of her will, Christina wrote a tell-all book called "Mommie Dearest", published in 1978. The book cast Joan in a negative light and was cause for much debate, particularly among her friends and acquaintances, including Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Crawford's first husband. In 1981 "Mommie Dearest" was made into a movie starring Faye Dunaway which did well at the box office.
She is interred in the same mausoleum as her MGM cohort Judy Garland in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson
Date of Birth
23 March 1905, San Antonio, Texas, USA
Date of Death
10 May 1977, New York City, New York, USA (heart attack)
Birth Name
Lucille Fay LeSueur
Nickname
Billie Cassin
Cranberry
Billie
Height
5' 5" (1.65 m)
Mini Biography
Lucille LeSueur's parents separated before she was born. By age 16 she had known three fathers, one of whom (a vaudeville theater manager) had given her the name Billie Cassin. By 1915 she and her mother lived in Kansas City and Billie worked in a laundry and also as a menial to pay school tuition. Winning an amateur dance contest in 1923 led to chorus work in Chicago, Detroit and New York. On New Year's Day of 1925 she left for Hollywood. Before her second picture, a "Photoplay" contest led to the name "Joan Crawford". With Our Dancing Daughters (1928) she became a star. She had a string of successes playing a socialite or rags-to-riches shopgirl, most notably as Crystal Allen in The Women (1939). She stayed with MGM for 18 years, signing with Warners in 1943. Mildred Pierce (1945) was a defining role and won her an Oscar. After more than 70 films she married the Chairman of the Board of the Pepsi-Cola Co., a company with which she remained as an executive and spokesman after her husband's fatal heart attack in 1959 (in 1972 when the company's executives saw no further use for her, they pushed her out; after that she referred to the CEO as "Fang"). What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) brought new careers to both Crawford and Bette Davis in 1962--although the two despised each other--but the ensuing roles were neither numerous nor flattering. Horrified by a photo taken of her in 1974, she retired completely, devoting herself to Christian Science and increasing use of vodka. Her four adopted children received little from her $2-million estate: $77,500 each for Cathy and Cindy, nothing for Christopher or Christina Crawford "for reasons best known to them".
IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Mini Biography
Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur on March 23, 1905 in San Antonio, Texas. She was the product of a broken home before she was born in that her parents were already separated before the birth. Her mother had trouble keeping husbands after having married three times. Joan was fond of dancing and had entered several dance contests. She wanted a career in show business because it was much more glamorous than the odd jobs she was working. One dance contest she won landed her in a chorus line. Before long, Joan found herself dancing in the big cities of the Mid-West and along the Atlantic coast. After almost two years dancing, Joan decided to take a chance and packed her bags and moved to Los Angeles, California and the movie colony of Hollywood. She felt movies might afford her a chance of fame and glory and she was determined to succeed. Not long after arriving in California, Joan got her first bit role as a showgirl in Pretty Ladies (1925) in 1925. Three other films quickly followed. Although the roles weren't much to speak of, Joan continued to toil away. Throughout 1927 and the first part of 1928, Joan was handed menial roles. That ended with the role of Diana Medford in Our Dancing Daughters (1928). The film was the one to get her elevated to star status. She had made the tough hurdle of making the "big time". Now she was faced with another. The "talkie" era was upon the movie colony and many stars of the era were suddenly worried about their futures. With silent pictures, it didn't matter what kind of voice you had, but with sound pictures it made a tremendous difference. While some stars saw their livelihood halted, Joan's strong voice enabled her to continue. Her first film with sound was in Untamed (1929). The film was a success and Joan's career was still in top form. As she entered the 1930s, Joan became one of the top stars in the MGM stable. Films such as Grand Hotel (1932), Sadie McKee (1934), No More Ladies (1935), and Love on the Run (1936), kept movie patrons and film executives happy. Joan was in top form.
By the time the 1940s rolled around, Joan noticed she wasn't getting the plum roles which once came her way. There were new stars in town and the public wanted to see them. She left MGM and went to rival Warner Brothers Studio where she landed the role of a lifetime. In 1945, Joan landed the lead in Mildred Pierce (1945), a film depicting the rise of a housewife to a successful businesswoman. The film landed Joan her first and only Oscar for Best Actress. The following year she appeared with John Garfield in the well-received Humoresque (1946). In 1947, Joan landed the role of Louise Graham in Possessed (1947). Again she was nominated for a Best Actress from the Academy, but lost to Loretta Young in The Farmer's Daughter (1947).
Joan continued to pick and choose what good roles she wanted to appear in. 1952 saw Joan nominated for a third time for her role of Myra Hudson in Sudden Fear (1952). This time the coveted Oscar went to Shirley Booth in Come Back, Little Sheba (1952). Her career slowed down tremendously after that. Movie after movie saw her relegated to menial roles, with the possible exception of 1962's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) with her arch-rival, Bette Davis, who she detested. By now the feud, between the two was well-known. No one is sure exactly how it started, but one time Miss Davis said of Joan, "She's slept with every male star at MGM except Lassie." In return Joan said, "I don't hate Bette Davis even though the press wants me to. I resent her. I don't see how she built a career out of a set of mannerisms, instead of real acting ability. Take away the pop eyes, the cigarette, and those funny clipped words and what have you got? She's phony, but I guess the public really likes that".
Her final appearance on the silver screen was a 1970 flop called Trog (1970). Turning to vodka, she was not seen much afterward. On May 10, 1977, Joan died of cancer in New York City. She was 72 years old. After Joan cut her adopted daughter Christina and son Christopher out of her will, Christina wrote a tell-all book called "Mommie Dearest", published in 1978. The book cast Joan in a negative light and was cause for much debate, particularly among her friends and acquaintances, including Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Crawford's first husband. In 1981 "Mommie Dearest" was made into a movie starring Faye Dunaway which did well at the box office.
She is interred in the same mausoleum as her MGM cohort Judy Garland in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.
IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson
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