Joan Crawford

From flapper to Oscar winner: the enduring star of Hollywood's golden age.

Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas, of French-Huguenot, English, Dutch, and Irish ancestry.^[1] Crawford entered into matrimony on four occasions; the initial three unions concluded with divorce, while the final one ended upon the death of her spouse, Al Steele.^[2] Five children were adopted by Crawford, and one of them was later taken back by his biological mother.^[2]

Quick Facts

Birth name: Lucille Fay LeSueur
Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Died: 10 May 1977
Place of death: New York City, U.S.
Resting place: Ferncliff Cemetery; Hartsdale, New York, U.S.
Occupation: Actress; businesswoman
Years active: 1924–1972
Children: 4, including Christina

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Crawford's father Thomas LeSueur abandoned the family when she was ten months old, and her mother later married Henry J. Cassin, who ran the Ramsey Opera House in Lawton, Oklahoma.^[3] She began dancing in choruses of traveling revues and was spotted in Detroit by producer Jacob J. Shubert, who put her in his 1924 show Innocent Eyes on Broadway.^[4] She was named one of 1926's WAMPAS Baby Stars.^[5] Her role in Our Dancing Daughters (1928) catapulted her to stardom and established her as a symbol of modern 1920s-style femininity.^[6]

With her initial leading part in the fully talking feature Untamed (1929), Crawford effectively moved into sound films.^[7]

What the cited sources add

According to the same source, several of Crawford's peers, including Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Myrna Loy, disputed Christina's recollections, accusing her of embellishments.^[8] The Box Office Madness record lists Crawford's total box office gross as $4,105,200,000 (adjusted in 2016 USD).^[9] The Miller article states that Crawford feigned illness before the 1946 Academy Award ceremony, believing Ingrid Bergman would win.^[10] Crawford's adopted twin daughters, Cathy and Cindy, stated publicly that Christina's claims were false, maintaining that their mother was a caring parent.^[8]

References

Wikipedia, "Joan Crawford" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bret, "Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr", Da Capo Press, 2009, p. 1; Thomas, "Joan Crawford, a Biography", Simon & Schuster, 1978, p. 20; "THOMAS E. LE SUEUR; Father of Joan Crawford, Film Actress, Dies in Texas", The New York Times, January 2, 1938; "Joan's father's death notice 2 Jan 1938", Abilene Reporter-News, January 2, 1938, p. 7; Bret, "Joan Crawford: Hollywood Martyr", Da Capo Press, 2009, p. 1 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Joan Crawford" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Day, "I'll never forgive Mommie: Joan Crawford's daughter gives first interview in 10 years", The Guardian, May 24, 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Joan Crawford" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Considine, p. 4; Quirk, "Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography", University Press of Kentucky, 2013, p. 1; "Daily News-Republican", July 14, 1909; Casson, "United States Census, 1910", FamilySearch, 1910; Spoto, "Possessed – the Life of Joan Crawford", HarperCollins, 2010, p. 6–14 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Joan Crawford" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Denby, "Escape Artist, The Case for Joan Crawford", January 3, 2011 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Joan Crawford" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Golden, "John Gilbert: the last of the silent film stars", The University Press of Kentucky, 2013; Soares, "Beyond paradise: the life of Ramon Novarro", University Press of Mississippi, 2010 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Joan Crawford" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "A Feminist Reader in Early Cinema", Duke University Press, November 21, 2002, p. 235–236 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Joan Crawford" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Háy, "MGM: When the Lion Roars", Turner Publishing, Inc., 1991, p. 72 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Day, "I'll never forgive Mommie: Joan Crawford's daughter gives first interview in 10 years", The Guardian, May 24, 2008. facts only, no text reused. theguardian.com
"Joan Crawford Film Grosses 1925 – 1970", Box Office Madness, June 29, 2017. facts only, no text reused. boxofficemadness.wordpress.com
Miller, "The Academy Award That Joan Crawford Accepted in Bed Sells; Can You Guess for How Much?", September 26, 2012. facts only, no text reused. vanityfair.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Joan Crawford (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.