Happy Birthday, Joan Crawford

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 10:13am

That's right, folks. Today is the Widow Steele's birthday. Also known as Lucille LeSueur or Billie Cassin. Her performances range from the truly great; Mildred Pierce, Baby Jane, Grand Hotel, The Women to the camp delights of Torch Song, Berserk, Strait-Jacket and Trog.
A big birthday shout-out to Pally or as her good friend Billy Haines always called her, Cranberry.
Take some time this Easter to lift your Pepsi bottle to America's Sweetheart!

Updated On: 3/25/08 at 10:13 AM

[kooky]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 11:40am

Happy B. Day -- Joan, and hide those clothes hangers!

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 11:54am

Updated On: 3/23/08 at 11:54 AM

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 12:54pm

Happy Birthday, Joan.





You're dead.

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 1:42pm

Everyone please note Borstalboy's gentle reminder that Joan was indeed called home.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 1:47pm

As Bette Davis said when Joan died, "My mother allllllllways taught me to say good things about the dead. Joan Crawford is dead. Good."

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 1:51pm

Joan told Bette to roll her foot on top of an empty Pepsi bottle because it was 'good for the tootsies'.
Bette's reply: "You hang around that broad long enough, you pick up all kinds of useless ****."

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 2:27pm

I choose to wish a Happy Birthday to the fiery young Joan who starred in "Grand Hotel" and "The Women"

And the mature Joan who starred in "Mildren Pierce" and "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane"

And to the dead Joan who was able to slap her thankless daughter down with a stroke after that risible book (and the campily enjoyable movie version) came out.

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/23/08 at 9:51pm

The documentary on TCM tonight was very good, and they tried their best to keep it balanced. Anita Page was giving an excellent physical impersonation of Baby Jane Hudson.

[Urban]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 1:06am

Everybody remember Blue Oyster Cult's song "Joan Crawford Has Risen From the Grave"?

:)

The only thing Joan did wrong was she clearly didn't beat Christina enough.

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 1:17am

I watched the documentary for my second time on TCM tonight- I saw it originally a long time ago. It is a beautiful piece about Joan Crawford- a woman who rose above her terrible childhood to fight for her place in Hollywood, a man's world at that time. She made some of the best films for MGm and Warner Brothers, and was a remarkable actress. How dare they include her spiteful, low life, nasty daughter in this documentary. Christina Crawford ruined Joan Crawford's entire lifetime of work by making her a campy joke in "Mommie Dearest." If someone never watched a Joan Crawford movie or knew about her life, this is the impression that they are left with after watching that movie- an alcoholic, abusive, deranged, loveless, deperate woman. That's why Christina didn't include the "twins" in that movie- the other two girls that Joan adopted. They said, if anyone can remember, that they objected to that movie because it was all lies. I also remember them going on the talk show circuit talking badly about Christina for writing the book and movie. What a shame to include Christina ina documentary that paid homage to a beautiful, talented actress. Joan is turning over in her grave.

[Urban]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 1:23am

Couldn't of said it better myself jeniferrenepatricia.

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 1:30am

Thank you...a lot of hate going for Christina.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 1:44am

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 2:16am

Christina never looked as good as this actress...and Faye Dunaway, although she tried, wasn't as beautiful as Joan Crawford.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 2:18am

"I am NOT one of your FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANSSSSS!"

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 2:22am

choke, choke, knock down to floor. Carol Ann and Barbara come running in to save Christina's life. "Get out!!!" shouts Joan. Off to the convent school for Christina.

[lildogs]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 8:49am

Sorry I missed your special day, Joanie. Thanks for telling that skank to shut up in THE DAMNED DON'T CRY, fingering your daughter's boyfriend's mouth in STRAIT JACKET and for changing those light bulbs on the ladder in MILDRED PIERCE.

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 9:11am

I love Joan's line on the phone in The Best of Everything:
"You and your rabbit-faced wife can both go to hell."

If you love Miss C and don't know about this site, you'll love it.

Joan Site Updated On: 3/24/08 at 09:11 AM

Posted: 3/24/08 at 10:40am

Proof that astrology means nothing: I share Miss Crawford's birthday.

[Elphaba]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 10:47am

"How dare they include her spiteful, low life, nasty daughter in this documentary. Christina Crawford ruined Joan Crawford's entire lifetime of work by making her a campy joke in "Mommie Dearest."

what a ridiculous statement. Christina ruined nothing as Joan's work still stands. Truly a very, VERY stupid statement.

sounds like you have Christina issues, my dear.......

[nmartin]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 11:21am

I do not find the poster's statement at all stupid. Crawford's work is vastly overshadowed by Christina's book and the subsequent movie. Major damage was done.

[justme2]

Posted: 3/24/08 at 1:42pm

Yeah, it's kind of hard when I mention Joan Crawford and the first response you hear from someone is..."Tina, bring me the axe!" or "No more wire hangers"...instead of how they loved her in "Rain" or "Grand Hotel".

I'd agree with nmartin here...people tend to disregard her career in favor of the easy quip line.

[jeniferrenepatricia]

Posted: 3/25/08 at 12:27am

Thank you, nmartin and justme2....well said.

[RetroBoy]

Posted: 3/25/08 at 5:00am

I don't understand how you can blame Cristina Crawford for the campy MOMMIE DEAREST movie. She didn't make the film, Frank Perry and Frank Yablans (who adapted the book) did. If Joan Crawford is known to many only through this unintentionally campy film blame them along with Dunaway for her equally unintentionally campy portrayal. All Cristina did was write an autobiography on her life with her adoptive mother, if abuse was part of the picture then so be it...sometimes the truth hurts and although many claim that some things were probably exagerrated we never will really know will we? We weren't there and we didn't live the life, she did. Obviously something was terribly wrong in that household to compell her to write the book in the first place. Joan Crawford was a good actress but she was also a human being....flaws and all. It's almost laughable how some have the tendency to take actors and actresses and propell them to almost mythic proportions as if they can do no wrong.
Updated On: 3/25/08 at 05:00 AM