Joan Crawford
Biography
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "box office poison".
After an absence of nearly two years from the screen, Crawford staged a comeback by starring in Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1955, she became involved with the Pepsi-Cola Company, through her marriage to company president Alfred Steele. After his death in 1959, Crawford was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors but was forcibly retired in 1973. She continued acting in film and television regularly through the 1960s, when her performances became fewer; after the release of the horror film Trog in 1970, Crawford retired from the screen. Following a public appearance in 1974, after which unflattering photographs were published, Crawford withdrew from public life. She became more and more reclusive until her death in 1977.
Acting (144 movies)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962
Mildred Pierce
1945
Daisy Kenyon
1947
Possessed
1947
The Women
1939
The Karate Killers
1967
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
1929
Mannequin
1938
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
It's a Great Feeling
1949
Above Suspicion
1943
Johnny Guitar
1954
Grand Hotel
1932
The Unknown
1927
Flamingo Road
1949
Humoresque
1947
A Woman's Face
1941
Queen Bee
1955
Reunion in France
1942
I Saw What You Did
1965
Strait-Jacket
1964
The Damned Don't Cry
1950
Our Dancing Daughters
1928
Berserk!
1967
Autumn Leaves
1956
Rain
1932
They All Kissed the Bride
1942
Susan and God
1940
Dancing Lady
1933
Love on the Run
1936
The Big Rock Candy Mountain
1969
Sadie McKee
1934
Trog
1970
Hollywood Canteen
1944
Female on the Beach
1955
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
2000
West Point
1928
Chained
1934
Sudden Fear
1952
Strange Cargo
1940
Possessed
1931
The Stolen Jools
1931
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
1937
When Ladies Meet
1941
The Best of Everything
1959
Bette and Joan
2017
Harriet Craig
1950
The Caretakers
1963
This Woman Is Dangerous
1952
Joan Crawford's Home Movies
1942
Laughing Sinners
1931
Today We Live
1933
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
Montana Moon
1930
Our Modern Maidens
1929
Across to Singapore
1928
Forsaking All Others
1934
The Gorgeous Hussy
1936
The Shining Hour
1938
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
1926
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
2008
The Bride Wore Red
1937
No More Ladies
1935
Goodbye, My Fancy
1951
Dance, Fools, Dance
1931
Our Blushing Brides
1930
Torch Song
1953
Journey to the Unknown
1969
Letty Lynton
1932
The Story of Esther Costello
1957
Pretty Ladies
1925
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
Untamed
1929
The Boob
1926
Spring Fever
1927
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
This Modern Age
1931
The Ice Follies of 1939
1939
I Live My Life
1935
Paid
1930
Della
1964
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
2006
Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
2006
Johnny Guitar: A Western Like No Other
2016
Tell Us She Was One of You: The Hollywood Blacklist and 'Johnny Guitar'
2016
Johnny Guitar: A Feminist Western?
2016
Dream of Love
1928
The Law of the Range
1928
Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death
1972
The Circle
1925
The Duke Steps Out
1929
At Home with Joan Crawford
1953
That's Entertainment!
1974
Winners Of The Wilderness
1927
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
1996
Twelve Miles Out
1927
Fast Workers
1933
Journey to Murder
1971
We're switching to Hollywood
1931
Directing (1 movie)
| Title | Year | Job |
|---|---|---|
| Woman on the Run | 1959 | Producer |
| Della | 1964 | Producer |