Joan Crawford Up close and Personal

One my very favorite silver screen stars is Joan Crawford. I’ve heard it said that her beauty did not allow the audience to appreciate her talent. Maybe. But as for me, I go beyond Joan Crawford’s beauty and most definitely see her talent in many of her movies. I’ve also heard it said that she and Betty Davis were nemesis. I can see why. Competition was fierce. And let’s not forget Christina’s rendition of her mother in the book, “Mommy Dearest.” I think highly of Joan Crawford not only for her talent, but also for her determination and resolve. It was this tenacity that made her a Hollywood legend. Abandoned as a child by her father, and mistreated by her mother made her wish for better at a very early age. Where most of us would probably fall apart, Crawford used to her advantage. It made her stronger and more determined to make it in life. And that’s admirable.

Well many others knew Joan very well and that brings me to the new book on Joan titled Joan Crawford: An Illustrated Guide to Her Appearances in Film, Radio and Television, By Michelle Vogel, and Neil Maciejewski. You can call this a reference guide on Joan Crawford. It will cover her career from its start to its end. We’ll learn how she was introduced to the world of show biz in her stepfather’s opera house, her first work in show biz as a dancer, and her eventual step into the silver screen when she acted as a double for Norma Shearer in Lady of The Night. We will learn of her relationship with the big wigs of MGM and Warner Bros. The juicy info we get is about her marriages to heartthrobs like, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Franchot Tone, Phillip Terry, and Alfred Steele. Her relationship, ah, affairs maybe, with big movie actors like Henry Fonda, Clark Gable, and Fred Astaire are discussed. Details of her films and rare never-before-seen photos of Joan are also in this book. An amazing story of a woman that came from nothing and became larger than life and Hollywood legend. Meet Joan Crawford up close and personal.