Joan Crawford

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Joan Crawford

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Joan Crawford 1908-77, American movie star, b. San Antonio, Tex., as Lucille le Sueur. After working as a Broadway chorus dancer, Crawford began making films in 1926, eventually moving from musicals to drama. In 1945, she won an Academy Award for her performance in Mildred Pierce. Her best-known films include Grand Hotel (1932), The Women (1939), and Johnny Guitar (1955). Her later films, many in the horror genre, include a memorable teaming with Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962). When her fourth husband died (1959), she succeeded him as a director of the Pepsi-Cola Co.

Bibliography: See her autobiographies (1962 and 1972) and study by L. J. Quirk (1970).

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Crawford, Joan

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Crawford, Joan (1904–77) US film actress, b. Lucille Fay le Sueur. Determined and versatile, Crawford remained a star for almost 50 years. She started in musicals, such as Our Dancing Daughters (1928), before graduating to dramatic roles in films such as Grand Hotel (1932) and The Women (1939). She won a best actress Academy Award for Mildred Pierce (1945). Other films include Possessed (1947), Johnny Guitar (1954), and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962).

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