Chandler - Not the girl next door: joan crawford, a personal biography

WITH SPECIAL APPRECIATION

Betty Barker, Bob Bender, George Cukor, Bette Davis, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Vera Fairbanks, Cathy Crawford LaLonde, Paul Morrissey, David Rosenthal, Vincent Sherman, Sean Sobeck, and John Springer.

WITH APPRECIATION

Michael Accordino, Enrica Antonioni, Michelangelo Antonioni, Amelia Antonucci, Jeanine Basinger, Marcella Berger, Fred Chase, Gypsy da Silva, Delmer Daves, Olivia de Havilland, Mitch Douglas, Lisa Drew, Mark Ekman, Jane Elias, Marie Florio, Henry Fonda, Leatrice Fountain, Joe Franklin, Steve Friedeman, Bob Gazzale, Tracey Guest, Dick Guttman, Robert Haller, Howard Hawks, Angela Herlihy, Peter Johnson, Van Johnson, Fay Kanin, Alexander Kordonsky, John Landis, Robert Lantz, Ted Landry, Johanna Li, Myrna Loy, Joseph Mankiewicz, Gummo Marx, Jeremiah Newton, Dale Olson, Otto Preminger, Elisa Rivlin, Robert Rosen, Isabella Rossellini, Ellen Sasahara, Jaime Sobeck, Carly Sommerstein, Steven Spielberg, Gary Springer, June Springer, Jeff Stafford, Brian Ulicky, Jack Valenti, King Vidor, John Wayne, Will Willoughby, and Billy Wilder.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Film Institute, Anthology Film Archives, the British Film Institute, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, illy, the Italian Cultural Institute of New York City, the Paul Morrissey Archive, the Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Television and Radio, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, the Sean Sobeck Archive, Turner Classic Movies, and the UCLA Department of Theater, Film, and Television.

I WAS AT P ICKFAIR with Douglas to see a film, Joan Crawford told me. It was one of the grandest evenings, when Douglas, Sr., and Mary Pickford were having guests in to see a new film, ahead of the time it would be seen in theaters.

I took my knitting along so I could keep my hands busy, because I was so nervous. I just couldnt feel at ease when Douglas and I were invited to Pickfair by his father and Mary. I didnt drink then, but I couldnt even hold a glass of water because my hand would be shaking so much, and I didnt want people to notice my shaking hand.

I could sit there and watch the film on the screen or I could watch the reactions of Charlie Chaplin, who was sitting a few feet away from me. The film hadnt started yet, because Douglas was still in the steam room with his father.

I saw a lady enter and join Chaplin. I noticed her beautiful hands. They were soft and white. Clearly she had never washed a dish. She was wearing the most beautiful blouse with a jabot and ruffles and wonderful tucks. It wasnt a style I wore, but it was so beautiful. I thought about how difficult it must be to launder

That led my mind back to a childhood memory of myself and my mother working in a laundry, which was our home. My mother was hidden behind a pile of clothes, and all I could see were her small red, rough hands. For a few seconds those horrible smells that made me feel sicklye, solvent, bleach, grease, and steamcame back to me.

The memory flashback fortunately didnt last long, and I was again in the beauty of Pickfair with the scent of fragrant flowers, expensive ladies perfume, everything fresh and clean. I was glad to be far from the laundry and its smells.

Memory is so strange, I thought. Sitting there and watching the film, I was certainly the only person at Pickfair who had that memory.

N OT KNOWING HOW it all ends, Joan Crawford told us, is the most important element in having a happy life. For me, knowing how ones life will end is the most terrible thing that could happen to anyone.

Joan was having lunch with her longtime friend and publicist, John Springer, and me. He had just asked Joan if she would like dessert, though he already knew the answer, based on the years of lunches they had eaten together.

No, thank you, Johnny, she said. As you know, I never, almost never, indulge in dessert. I always stop eating while the food still looks wonderful to me.

I personally look forward most to the end of the meal, Springer said, which I hope will be crme brle.

Well, Im still enjoying this delicious salad, Joan said. Ive had a wonderful meal, and a wonderful life, and I dont look forward to the end of either.

Springer was momentarily stopped by this unexpected train of thought. Then, he said, Youve had a great life, and youre going to continue having it!

Oh, I dont know, Johnny, about the future, I mean. Ive lived a life that was more than I could ever have dreamed, more than I ever even could have imagined. But Ill tell you what I do know about the future: I feel very proud of my films, some better than others, but Im at least a little bit proud of every one of them. They are my past and my future. They are forever. Nothing can change that.

Her confidence was based on the certainty that the legacy of her films and the image of Joan Crawford, the star, were secure, at least for as long as people cared about motion pictures. She didnt know yet about the book that her daughter would publish after her death.

What people think, she said, not only while Im alive, but afterwardsI hope far into the futurereally does matter to me.

Theres no actress whose reputation is more secure than yours, Springer said.

Joan smiled. Does that include Bette?

You and Bette Davis are both secure in film history, Springer said.

I can tell you one thing Bette and I had in common, Joan said. Our roles put men off.

Do you know, when we were making Baby Jane , Bette admitted to me she was absolutely smitten with Franchot [Tone], who had made Dangerous with her, but Franchot and I were already very much involved. That proves that Bette did have some good taste in men. Franchot said he thought Bette was a good actress, but he never thought of her as a woman. Our marriage didnt last, but we had some wonderful years. I wouldnt give them back for anything, and we remained friends as long as he lived.