LUCILLE LeSEUER WAS BORN INTO POVERTY AND A FATHERLESS HOME IN LAWTON, KANSAS, 1908. LUCILLE SUFFERED ABUSE AT THE HANDS OF HER MOTHER. THE FAMILY MOVED TO SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS WHERE CONDITIONS WORSENED. LUCILLE LEFT HOME AND BECAME A DANCER, EVENTUALLY LANDING IN HOLLYWOOD IN 1925. MGM RENAMED LUCILLE IN A CONTEST. AS JOAN CRAWFORD, SHE WENT ON TO ACT IN FILMS FOR 50 YEARS - UNPRECEDENTED IN THE 1970's. JOAN CRAWFORD WON THE ACTING WORLD'S HIGHEST HONOR - THE ACADEMY AWARD - IN 1945. IN 1960, CRAWFORD WAS ELECTED TO THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF PEPSI-COLA ADDING THE TITLE "EXECUTIVE" TO HER RESUME. SHE DIED ON MAY 10, 1977. THIS WEBSITE IS DEDICATED TO HER MEMORY.
All Things Crawford: a lifetime of achievement; an abundance of generosity.
MEETINGJOANCRAWFORD
MEETINGJOANCRAWFORD
While I was going to college I wrote, and was a reporter for, the college paper. It was a rewarding experience.
Whenever a person of celebrity visited the area, I tried to interview them. Pierre Salinger (fascinating), Warren Beatty (stoned), Marlo Thomas (had nothing of interest to say), Jerry Lewis (a miserable man), Sylvia Sidney (a real bitch!) were among the many rich and famous persons to lecture at the college or appear in the area. But the most memorable and the most gracious and accomodating was....Joan Crawford!
We had received a press release that Crawford would be in Boston for a book signing at the Jordan Marsh department store. She was to be there for two hours. The book was titled, "My Way Of Life".
The whole experience is memorable for several reasons (like having to hitch to Boston) but I'll keep it focused on Joan. The street in front of the Jordan Marsh store was roped off because it was a mob scene. Cops were everywhere. The line for the book signing zig-zagged across the first floor of the store into the street and around the block. Already you know this was an extraordinary person....thousands of 
people wanting to look at an old time movie star? Yes!
I was unable to get near Joan's or the store's "people" so I bought the book and cut into the line in front of a Joan fan who allowed me to do so. When I got to JC, looking radiant and not at all near her age, I told her who I was and asked if I might have 15 minutes with her for a college newspaper interview. She said she would love that but that I had to arrange it with her secretary, who she called over. Mary Jane Raphael, of Pepsi-Cola, was cordial but denied me the time because of the long line and the expected longer time since Joan insisted on signing all of the books in person. Joan was listening and intervened.. ."We can make time if you can wait". I agreed to stay and wait it out.
Four hours later, this tireless lady was ushered out a side entrance of the store with me in tow. The interview was to take place in her limo while driving across town to the Ritz-Carlton. I was VERY happy since the streets were clogged with 5PM traffic. I was rewarded with a 35 minute chat with one of the world's most famous movie stars. Most of the interview centered on her philosophy, young people and then her films. Joan Crawford spoke well and laughed heartily. She told good stories.
When we arrived at the hotel, curiously there was no one to bring her luggage u
pstairs. I volunteered. So I went with her and her entourage into the elevator and up to the suite where she thanked me, shook my hand and she kissed me goodbye. Raphael gave me her card and extended an invitation for copies of the article.
Crawford was a very professional lady; it had been a great day and an unforgettable experience.
I am so glad I got to meet her because it gave me a chance to form my opinion of the woman. I felt a tenderness from her and saw a quiet gentleness during all of the chaos and book proceedings. Quite unlike what has been written about her by a bitter daughter.
Within a year and a half, this very public celebrity quietly vanished from public life and eventually died a recluse.
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FILM COLLECTING
People collect all kinds of things....stamps, buttons, books, toys. I collect motion pictures. I have since I was a kid and I will always do so. As a hobby, it is fun, it is obsessive, time consuming and room-filling.
Collecting movies on 16mm film can be expensive. It is also a manageable way to help preserve our movie history.
Television stations often threw the films away (yes, into the dumpster!). Film Rental libraries had a contractual agreement with the studios to burn and destroy the films. Producers were so protective of their product that they were willing to eliminate any existing copies of them.
This happened once before. In the silent film days, movies had little resale value after their initial showings and were burnt (they were nitrate film then) or melted down for the silver content. This went on for some time, hence many films from our past no longer exist .... unless some private film collector cleverly procured and stored a copy of the picture in his film library. Fortunately, it turns out that Hollywood itself had a number of film collectors amongst its millions of employees. Actors and directors such as Rock Hudson, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, Roddy McDowall and Frank Capra have donated their large collections of film for future preservation! 
Much later on, in the days just before cable Tv, (circa the 1970's) 16mm prints of then-recent films were a hot commodity. And lots of people seemed to have them! (This was before the nostalgia craze). I dealt with a few of them in the New York area, Florida and California plus many, many other collectors. One day while reading my local paper I read that the New Yorkers had been arrested and gone to jail!
Since I had purchased or traded for some of these modern pictures I received a call and a subsequent visit from the FBI. I was a college student and my mom sat in the meeting in my living room with us, explaining how I did not rent out films or use them for profit but showed them to the family on holidays and Sundays. The visit was amicable, unthreatening and over in ten minutes. His main concern was the names of certain people who had MY name...and where they were getting the movies from. Since I didn't know, I couldn't really help him although I was told at one point that some prints came from the airlines.
(In the late 1960's through the '70's the airlines used to show movies ON FILM aboard transcontinental flights. Apparently, when they were done showing the films the in-flight company sold them to collectors. Since there were many flights, there were also just as many individual prints of a movie.)
Collecting movies is hard work. You have to store them in a cool, dry area, preferably around 55 degrees. You have to clean them regularly or they will develop a "disease" called vinegar syndrome, a breaking down of the chemical elements in the cellulois itself. But a properly stored film will last forever, unlike a videocassette or DVD.
The most interesting part of collecting for me was the thrill of owning a movie you cherished. There were no video cassettes or DVD's at the time. It was a wonderful feeling! While I am still a collector, I must admit that the feeling is no more...with practically every movie available in some form or fashion, it has eroded to a degree the elation of finding a movie memory from long ago.
Hardly a week goes by that I don't get out a film, turn on the projector and enjoy what used to be.
MGM forced Lucille Lesueur to adopt a stage name picked through a Movie Weekly contest. The contest was won by Mrs. Marie Tisdale of Albany, New York who suggested the winning name, Joan Crawford.
INSIDE YOU'LL FIND REVIEWS, INFORMATION, STORIES, VIDEOS AND FEATURE FILMS STARRING JOAN CRAWFORD. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SITE! - Ed Guinea
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MEETINGJOAN
CRAWFORD
MEETING
While I was going to college I wrote, and was a reporter for, the college paper. It was a rewarding experience.
Whenever a person of celebrity visited the area, I tried to interview them. Pierre Salinger (fascinating), Warren Beatty (stoned), Marlo Thomas (had nothing of interest to say), Jerry Lewis (a miserable man), Sylvia Sidney (a real bitch!) were among the many rich and famous persons to lecture at the college or appear in the area. But the most memorable and the most gracious and accomodating was....Joan Crawford!
We had received a press release that Crawford would be in Boston for a book signing at the Jordan Marsh department store. She was to be there for two hours. The book was titled, "My Way Of Life".
The whole experience is memorable for several reasons (like having to hitch to Boston) but I'll keep it focused on Joan. The street in front of the Jordan Marsh store was roped off because it was a mob scene. Cops were everywhere. The line for the book signing zig-zagged across the first floor of the store into the street and around the block. Already you know this was an extraordinary person....thousands ofpeople wanting to look at an old time movie star? Yes!
I was unable to get near Joan's or the store's "people" so I bought the book and cut into the line in front of a Joan fan who allowed me to do so. When I got to JC, looking radiant and not at all near her age, I told her who I was and asked if I might have 15 minutes with her for a college newspaper interview. She said she would love that but that I had to arrange it with her secretary, who she called over. Mary Jane Raphael, of Pepsi-Cola, was cordial but denied me the time because of the long line and the expected longer time since Joan insisted on signing all of the books in person. Joan was listening and intervened.. ."We can make time if you can wait". I agreed to stay and wait it out.
Four hours later, this tireless lady was ushered out a side entrance of the store with me in tow. The interview was to take place in her limo while driving across town to the Ritz-Carlton. I was VERY happy since the streets were clogged with 5PM traffic. I was rewarded with a 35 minute chat with one of the world's most famous movie stars. Most of the interview centered on her philosophy, young people and then her films. Joan Crawford spoke well and laughed heartily. She told good stories.
When we arrived at the hotel, curiously there was no one to bring her luggage upstairs. I volunteered. So I went with her and her entourage into the elevator and up to the suite where she thanked me, shook my hand and she kissed me goodbye. Raphael gave me her card and extended an invitation for copies of the article.
Crawford was a very professional lady; it had been a great day and an unforgettable experience.
I am so glad I got to meet her because it gave me a chance to form my opinion of the woman. I felt a tenderness from her and saw a quiet gentleness during all of the chaos and book proceedings. Quite unlike what has been written about her by a bitter daughter.
Within a year and a half, this very public celebrity quietly vanished from public life and eventually died a recluse.
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Find more videos like this on Joan Crawford and Friends
FILM COLLECTING
People collect all kinds of things....stamps, buttons, books, toys. I collect motion pictures. I have since I was a kid and I will always do so. As a hobby, it is fun, it is obsessive, time consuming and room-filling.
Collecting movies on 16mm film can be expensive. It is also a manageable way to help preserve our movie history.
Television stations often threw the films away (yes, into the dumpster!). Film Rental libraries had a contractual agreement with the studios to burn and destroy the films. Producers were so protective of their product that they were willing to eliminate any existing copies of them.
This happened once before. In the silent film days, movies had little resale value after their initial showings and were burnt (they were nitrate film then) or melted down for the silver content. This went on for some time, hence many films from our past no longer exist .... unless some private film collector cleverly procured and stored a copy of the picture in his film library. Fortunately, it turns out that Hollywood itself had a number of film collectors amongst its millions of employees. Actors and directors such as Rock Hudson, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, Roddy McDowall and Frank Capra have donated their large collections of film for future preservation!
Much later on, in the days just before cable Tv, (circa the 1970's) 16mm prints of then-recent films were a hot commodity. And lots of people seemed to have them! (This was before the nostalgia craze). I dealt with a few of them in the New York area, Florida and California plus many, many other collectors. One day while reading my local paper I read that the New Yorkers had been arrested and gone to jail!
Since I had purchased or traded for some of these modern pictures I received a call and a subsequent visit from the FBI. I was a college student and my mom sat in the meeting in my living room with us, explaining how I did not rent out films or use them for profit but showed them to the family on holidays and Sundays. The visit was amicable, unthreatening and over in ten minutes. His main concern was the names of certain people who had MY name...and where they were getting the movies from. Since I didn't know, I couldn't really help him although I was told at one point that some prints came from the airlines.
(In the late 1960's through the '70's the airlines used to show movies ON FILM aboard transcontinental flights. Apparently, when they were done showing the films the in-flight company sold them to collectors. Since there were many flights, there were also just as many individual prints of a movie.)
Collecting movies is hard work. You have to store them in a cool, dry area, preferably around 55 degrees. You have to clean them regularly or they will develop a "disease" called vinegar syndrome, a breaking down of the chemical elements in the cellulois itself. But a properly stored film will last forever, unlike a videocassette or DVD.
The most interesting part of collecting for me was the thrill of owning a movie you cherished. There were no video cassettes or DVD's at the time. It was a wonderful feeling! While I am still a collector, I must admit that the feeling is no more...with practically every movie available in some form or fashion, it has eroded to a degree the elation of finding a movie memory from long ago.
Hardly a week goes by that I don't get out a film, turn on the projector and enjoy what used to be.
MEETINGJOAN
CRAWFORD
While I was going to college I wrote, and was a reporter for, the college paper. It was a rewarding experience.
Whenever a person of celebrity visited the area, I tried to interview them. Pierre Salinger (fascinating), Warren Beatty (stoned), Marlo Thomas (had nothing of interest to say), Jerry Lewis (a miserable man), Sylvia Sidney (a real bitch!) were among the many rich and famous persons to lecture at the college or appear in the area. But the most memorable and the most gracious and accomodating was....Joan Crawford!
We had received a press release that Crawford would be in Boston for a book signing at the Jordan Marsh department store. She was to be there for two hours. The book was titled, "My Way Of Life".
The whole experience is memorable for several reasons (like having to hitch to Boston) but I'll keep it focused on Joan. The street in front of the Jordan Marsh store was roped off because it was a mob scene. Cops were everywhere. The line for the book signing zig-zagged across the first floor of the store into the street and around the block. Already you know this was an extraordinary person....thousands of
people wanting to look at an old time movie star? Yes!I was unable to get near Joan's or the store's "people" so I bought the book and cut into the line in front of a Joan fan who allowed me to do so. When I got to JC, looking radiant and not at all near her age, I told her who I was and asked if I might have 15 minutes with her for a college newspaper interview. She said she would love that but that I had to arrange it with her secretary, who she called over. Mary Jane Raphael, of Pepsi-Cola, was cordial but denied me the time because of the long line and the expected longer time since Joan insisted on signing all of the books in person. Joan was listening and intervened.. ."We can make time if you can wait". I agreed to stay and wait it out.
Four hours later, this tireless lady was ushered out a side entrance of the store with me in tow. The interview was to take place in her limo while driving across town to the Ritz-Carlton. I was VERY happy since the streets were clogged with 5PM traffic. I was rewarded with a 35 minute chat with one of the world's most famous movie stars. Most of the interview centered on her philosophy, young people and then her films. Joan Crawford spoke well and laughed heartily. She told good stories.
When we arrived at the hotel, curiously there was no one to bring her luggage u
pstairs. I volunteered. So I went with her and her entourage into the elevator and up to the suite where she thanked me, shook my hand and she kissed me goodbye. Raphael gave me her card and extended an invitation for copies of the article.Crawford was a very professional lady; it had been a great day and an unforgettable experience.
I am so glad I got to meet her because it gave me a chance to form my opinion of the woman. I felt a tenderness from her and saw a quiet gentleness during all of the chaos and book proceedings. Quite unlike what has been written about her by a bitter daughter.
Within a year and a half, this very public celebrity quietly vanished from public life and eventually died a recluse.
Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!
Find more videos like this on Joan Crawford and Friends
FILM COLLECTING
People collect all kinds of things....stamps, buttons, books, toys. I collect motion pictures. I have since I was a kid and I will always do so. As a hobby, it is fun, it is obsessive, time consuming and room-filling.
Collecting movies on 16mm film can be expensive. It is also a manageable way to help preserve our movie history.
Television stations often threw the films away (yes, into the dumpster!). Film Rental libraries had a contractual agreement with the studios to burn and destroy the films. Producers were so protective of their product that they were willing to eliminate any existing copies of them.
This happened once before. In the silent film days, movies had little resale value after their initial showings and were burnt (they were nitrate film then) or melted down for the silver content. This went on for some time, hence many films from our past no longer exist .... unless some private film collector cleverly procured and stored a copy of the picture in his film library. Fortunately, it turns out that Hollywood itself had a number of film collectors amongst its millions of employees. Actors and directors such as Rock Hudson, John Wayne, Joan Crawford, Roddy McDowall and Frank Capra have donated their large collections of film for future preservation!
Much later on, in the days just before cable Tv, (circa the 1970's) 16mm prints of then-recent films were a hot commodity. And lots of people seemed to have them! (This was before the nostalgia craze). I dealt with a few of them in the New York area, Florida and California plus many, many other collectors. One day while reading my local paper I read that the New Yorkers had been arrested and gone to jail!
Since I had purchased or traded for some of these modern pictures I received a call and a subsequent visit from the FBI. I was a college student and my mom sat in the meeting in my living room with us, explaining how I did not rent out films or use them for profit but showed them to the family on holidays and Sundays. The visit was amicable, unthreatening and over in ten minutes. His main concern was the names of certain people who had MY name...and where they were getting the movies from. Since I didn't know, I couldn't really help him although I was told at one point that some prints came from the airlines.
(In the late 1960's through the '70's the airlines used to show movies ON FILM aboard transcontinental flights. Apparently, when they were done showing the films the in-flight company sold them to collectors. Since there were many flights, there were also just as many individual prints of a movie.)
Collecting movies is hard work. You have to store them in a cool, dry area, preferably around 55 degrees. You have to clean them regularly or they will develop a "disease" called vinegar syndrome, a breaking down of the chemical elements in the cellulois itself. But a properly stored film will last forever, unlike a videocassette or DVD.
The most interesting part of collecting for me was the thrill of owning a movie you cherished. There were no video cassettes or DVD's at the time. It was a wonderful feeling! While I am still a collector, I must admit that the feeling is no more...with practically every movie available in some form or fashion, it has eroded to a degree the elation of finding a movie memory from long ago.
Hardly a week goes by that I don't get out a film, turn on the projector and enjoy what used to be.
MGM forced Lucille Lesueur to adopt a stage name picked through a Movie Weekly contest. The contest was won by Mrs. Marie Tisdale of Albany, New York who suggested the winning name, Joan Crawford.
INSIDE YOU'LL FIND REVIEWS, INFORMATION, STORIES, VIDEOS AND FEATURE FILMS STARRING JOAN CRAWFORD. I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SITE! - Ed Guinea
Recent Videos
68 views - 0 comments
141 views - 0 comments
105 views - 0 comments
95 views - 0 comments
Upcoming Events, Movies on TV, Live events or New Books about our favorite star!
No upcoming events