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Joan Crawford
Few Hollywood careers have been more fabulous, more scandalous, more dizzyingly from rags to riches and from triumph to tragedy, more glaringly limelit than that of Joan Crawford born Lucille Fay LeSueur, in 1906 or (1908 according to her press releases) in Texas. Miss Crawford rose from being a telephone operator in Kansas City to glamour, glitter, romance and ultimate stardom.
320 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 1978
7 people are currently reading
492 people want to read
About the author
Bob Thomas
131 books33 followersRobert Joseph "Bob" Thomas was an American Hollywood film industry biographer and reporter who worked for the Associated Press from 1944.
Born in San Diego, he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. He attended UCLA. He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They have three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014 at his home.
Thomas made his mark by engaging celebrities in activities that brought out their personalities, whether by measuring their waistline after childbirth (as he did with Betty Grable) or testing just how tall a leading lady needed to be by kissing her himself (as he did with June Haver). Acclaimed as the dean of Hollywood reporters, Bob Thomas wrote about the movie business for the Associated Press since the days when Hollywood was run by the men who founded it: Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer.
During his long history of reporting for the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books. Many in the film industry credit his 1969 biography of producer Irving G. Thalberg as sparking their interest in pursuing a career behind the scenes. Other Thomas biographies include Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, David O. Selznick, Walter Winchell, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, Abbott & Costello, Walt Disney, and a children's book, Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies. - Wikipedia
Born in San Diego, he grew up in Los Angeles, where his father was a film publicist. He attended UCLA. He lived in Encino with his wife, Patricia. They have three daughters. Thomas, aged 92, died on March 14, 2014 at his home.
Thomas made his mark by engaging celebrities in activities that brought out their personalities, whether by measuring their waistline after childbirth (as he did with Betty Grable) or testing just how tall a leading lady needed to be by kissing her himself (as he did with June Haver). Acclaimed as the dean of Hollywood reporters, Bob Thomas wrote about the movie business for the Associated Press since the days when Hollywood was run by the men who founded it: Jack Warner, Darryl F. Zanuck, Harry Cohn and Louis B. Mayer.
During his long history of reporting for the AP, Thomas authored at least 30 books. Many in the film industry credit his 1969 biography of producer Irving G. Thalberg as sparking their interest in pursuing a career behind the scenes. Other Thomas biographies include Joan Crawford, Marlon Brando, David O. Selznick, Walter Winchell, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Howard Hughes, Abbott & Costello, Walt Disney, and a children's book, Walt Disney: Magician of the Movies. - Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
February 22, 2026
Note: This is reflecting on a childhood read of Bob Thomas’ biography of Joan Crawford back in 1998. It’s from muscle memory, a 2025 reflection on a book and a life from long ago.
Like many who love camp, I was fascinated by the lives of old Hollywood glamor. Like many, my introduction to La Belle Crawford (as Bette Davis called her, according to producer William Frye) was having watched both of them in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
If you haven’t seen the film, it’s both a camp grotesquerie and a chilling horror film that you’ll never forget.
Reading this was an enjoyable, yet a disjointed and even a grammatical mess- I remember as a kid from muscle memory that Bob Thomas’ use of semicolons were incorrect. Not that I am excellent at grammar but that bugged me.
I’ve read this biography of Joan Crawford time and time again because it’s a fun bitchy read of old Hollywood.
Arguably the most glamorous and the one actress that truly survived and reinvented herself. From silent screen chorus girl, moving to ambitious shopgirls like playing bitchy Crystal Allen in “The Women” and finally the masochistic heroines of dramas such as the iconic “Mildred Pierce”; the masterpiece Humoresque” “Autumn Leaves” and “Baby Jane”.
Thomas annoyingly interjects himself in his own biography of Miss Crawford of times they interacted together.
It was a biased look at Crawford’s life and work, since the book makes her saintly and a terror who probably had bipolar disorder that allegedly caused her to abuse her two oldest adopted children, a la “Mommie Dearest.”
Thomas seems to excuse confirmed accounts of Crawford indeed abusing her kids Christina and Christopher, by rationalizing those acts as Crawford being abusive as a result of having been abused herself as a young girl- her stepfather, mother and brother all played a role in this. But abuse is abuse and taking it out on your kids is wrong.
In comparison to Bette Davis, Crawford was apparently sadistic and a terror to live with; whereas Davis was more mercurial and did not actually beat her children- she was the opposite. She spoiled her daughter BD Hyman rotten, doted on her son Michael: she paid for his college tuition and listened to his advice and spent time with his family without any conflicts- he eventually became a respected lawyer and politician.
Both women will forever be linked through “Baby Jane” and that they both had daughters who wrote unflattering memoirs about them.
Although, it has been tough finding an objective Crawford biography because she’s much harder to write about since there are so many varying accounts of how she lived, and how she behaved.
She remains a camp icon because of Baby Jane and in death, because of the filmed adaptation of Christina Crawford’s “Mommie Dearest” acted to hell and back by Faye Dunaway.
Crawford is an enigma to me- someone who lived in the public eye with so much fervor that the private Crawford has never really been captured properly, remaining elusive.
Personally I love Joan Crawford as much as I love Bette Davis. Crawford really took bitchiness to a level of seriousness that Davis acted in spades, often with a mischievousness that showed you she wasn’t as bitchy as she tried to be- she often humanized many of the anti-heroines she played.
With Joan Crawford, she was more serious in playing vile women, where the private and public personas often blurred. Her acting style, much more naturalistic than her contemporaries, relied on instinct- and you can argue that her style of acting has translated easier for today’s contemporary actresses such as Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Demi Moore, and Sharon Stone.
But her desire to be glamorous got in the way of opportunities to transition into character parts that Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Olivia de Havilland were able to play since they weren’t as interested in glamor as much as inhabiting the women they played.
They managed to have longer, sustaining careers and did not go into retirement as quietly as Crawford did when she suddenly knew she couldn’t play romantic leads, or leads period. Such actresses of the Bette Davis and Kate Hepburn style of acting are Meryl Streep, Kathleen Turner, Bernadette Peters, Glenda Jackson, Cate Blanchett, Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Olivia Colman, Jane Fonda, and Annette Bening.
Nonetheless Joan Crawford was the ultimate star of the Golden Age and I hope someday I’ll find a great biography that really dissects her work and life in an objective manner that isn’t as biased as Bob Thomas’ book. Still a fun read though!
Like many who love camp, I was fascinated by the lives of old Hollywood glamor. Like many, my introduction to La Belle Crawford (as Bette Davis called her, according to producer William Frye) was having watched both of them in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
If you haven’t seen the film, it’s both a camp grotesquerie and a chilling horror film that you’ll never forget.
Reading this was an enjoyable, yet a disjointed and even a grammatical mess- I remember as a kid from muscle memory that Bob Thomas’ use of semicolons were incorrect. Not that I am excellent at grammar but that bugged me.
I’ve read this biography of Joan Crawford time and time again because it’s a fun bitchy read of old Hollywood.
Arguably the most glamorous and the one actress that truly survived and reinvented herself. From silent screen chorus girl, moving to ambitious shopgirls like playing bitchy Crystal Allen in “The Women” and finally the masochistic heroines of dramas such as the iconic “Mildred Pierce”; the masterpiece Humoresque” “Autumn Leaves” and “Baby Jane”.
Thomas annoyingly interjects himself in his own biography of Miss Crawford of times they interacted together.
It was a biased look at Crawford’s life and work, since the book makes her saintly and a terror who probably had bipolar disorder that allegedly caused her to abuse her two oldest adopted children, a la “Mommie Dearest.”
Thomas seems to excuse confirmed accounts of Crawford indeed abusing her kids Christina and Christopher, by rationalizing those acts as Crawford being abusive as a result of having been abused herself as a young girl- her stepfather, mother and brother all played a role in this. But abuse is abuse and taking it out on your kids is wrong.
In comparison to Bette Davis, Crawford was apparently sadistic and a terror to live with; whereas Davis was more mercurial and did not actually beat her children- she was the opposite. She spoiled her daughter BD Hyman rotten, doted on her son Michael: she paid for his college tuition and listened to his advice and spent time with his family without any conflicts- he eventually became a respected lawyer and politician.
Both women will forever be linked through “Baby Jane” and that they both had daughters who wrote unflattering memoirs about them.
Although, it has been tough finding an objective Crawford biography because she’s much harder to write about since there are so many varying accounts of how she lived, and how she behaved.
She remains a camp icon because of Baby Jane and in death, because of the filmed adaptation of Christina Crawford’s “Mommie Dearest” acted to hell and back by Faye Dunaway.
Crawford is an enigma to me- someone who lived in the public eye with so much fervor that the private Crawford has never really been captured properly, remaining elusive.
Personally I love Joan Crawford as much as I love Bette Davis. Crawford really took bitchiness to a level of seriousness that Davis acted in spades, often with a mischievousness that showed you she wasn’t as bitchy as she tried to be- she often humanized many of the anti-heroines she played.
With Joan Crawford, she was more serious in playing vile women, where the private and public personas often blurred. Her acting style, much more naturalistic than her contemporaries, relied on instinct- and you can argue that her style of acting has translated easier for today’s contemporary actresses such as Michelle Pfeiffer, Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Demi Moore, and Sharon Stone.
But her desire to be glamorous got in the way of opportunities to transition into character parts that Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn and Olivia de Havilland were able to play since they weren’t as interested in glamor as much as inhabiting the women they played.
They managed to have longer, sustaining careers and did not go into retirement as quietly as Crawford did when she suddenly knew she couldn’t play romantic leads, or leads period. Such actresses of the Bette Davis and Kate Hepburn style of acting are Meryl Streep, Kathleen Turner, Bernadette Peters, Glenda Jackson, Cate Blanchett, Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Olivia Colman, Jane Fonda, and Annette Bening.
Nonetheless Joan Crawford was the ultimate star of the Golden Age and I hope someday I’ll find a great biography that really dissects her work and life in an objective manner that isn’t as biased as Bob Thomas’ book. Still a fun read though!
April 20, 2021
I've read a couple other bios of Crawford and this one easily outclasses both of them. It offers neither hagiography nor crucifixion, serving instead a brisk, well-rounded portrait of a complex, troubled woman who has fascinated me for quite some time now, being as she was the epitome of old Hollywood glamour.
June 15, 2011
Pretty much a bare-bones biography of stuff that most of us know. No real juicy gossip here, but I am tacky. I think the author was so mad about her daughter writing Mommie Dearest that he really didn't want to dwell on that. And, of course, there is a lot more to her than that sad but true part of her life. He did say that she should probably never had kids! Ya think? Children do make such nice accessories! It does put her into the perspective that perhaps she had no idea who she really was, other than a movie star and wanting to be loved by others-interesting. She certainly was beautiful in the early 30s.
March 14, 2009
It starts with her horrendous childhood. She pretty much started working for her own keep at age 9 and spent most of the rest of her life trying to make people pay for it.
It's no wonder she treated her children bad - she had been treated bad by most of the poeple she had come in contact with. Most of her marriages didn't last any longer than four years.
What was really appalling is that she didn't just treat her kids bad (beating, locking them in the closet, tying them to the bed, etc.) in private - she did it in front of company. People were flabbergasted - they didn't know what to say. And this was in a time when people would normally spank their children. Most of them didn't do it in public however. The thing is she adopted all four of her children. To quote Helen Hayes, "Joan tried to be all thing to all people. I just wish she hadn't tried to be a mother."
Then, around middle age - she started behaving erratically. I'm not sure if this is when she started to drink heavily or if that was later. It got so that she would only drink 100 proof Smirnoff, and generally carried her own supply.
Plus, she became a cleanliness nut.
And I didn't know she was so short - only 5'4".
Didn't speak to her brother or mother for years. Didn't go to his funeral but did go to her mother's. She even cried - but she was really, finally, crying for herself, the little girl from San Antonio and Kansas City. Many people theorized that she had been punishing the children, especially the older two, for how she was treated as a child.
Got some good pictures too.
It's no wonder she treated her children bad - she had been treated bad by most of the poeple she had come in contact with. Most of her marriages didn't last any longer than four years.
What was really appalling is that she didn't just treat her kids bad (beating, locking them in the closet, tying them to the bed, etc.) in private - she did it in front of company. People were flabbergasted - they didn't know what to say. And this was in a time when people would normally spank their children. Most of them didn't do it in public however. The thing is she adopted all four of her children. To quote Helen Hayes, "Joan tried to be all thing to all people. I just wish she hadn't tried to be a mother."
Then, around middle age - she started behaving erratically. I'm not sure if this is when she started to drink heavily or if that was later. It got so that she would only drink 100 proof Smirnoff, and generally carried her own supply.
Plus, she became a cleanliness nut.
And I didn't know she was so short - only 5'4".
Didn't speak to her brother or mother for years. Didn't go to his funeral but did go to her mother's. She even cried - but she was really, finally, crying for herself, the little girl from San Antonio and Kansas City. Many people theorized that she had been punishing the children, especially the older two, for how she was treated as a child.
Got some good pictures too.
October 8, 2013
This certainly isn't the most comprehensive nor is it the most well-written biography of Joan, but it's a fun, enjoyable read nonetheless. It focuses mostly on her acting career, which makes it a great place to start if you haven't yet seen all of her films. Thomas also makes it pretty clear, although he never says it outright, that he was one of the many friends of Joan Crawford in the film journalism industry over the years. On the whole, he paints a sympathetic picture of Joan. And who can blame him? I'd be afraid she'd come back to haunt me, too! Thomas does do a fairly good job, though, of displaying her as a woman of great stature and tremendous star power but with many faults and contradictions. If you're looking for juicy gossip or horror stories, then this ain't your book, sister. I'd suggest reading Mommie Dearest for that and drawing your own conclusions. But start here if you want to get to know Joan on the surface, and then move on to the other books written about her and by her. Yes, she even wrote a couple of books! Did you think she slept in between all those trips to and from the openings of Pepsi bottling plants? Not on your life!
September 17, 2007
The one to start with on Joan.
February 3, 2022
Christina Crawford in ‘Mommie Dearest’ depicted her iconic film star mother as a cruel, violent abuser. Unfortunately that image has become the dominant legacy of Joan Crawford. Bob Thomas’s book, ‘Joan Crawford, the biography’ is a much more balanced book, although it does confirm much of the behaviour that Christina documents. Written the year after Miss Crawford’s death in 1977, Thomas’s book is based on interviews with those who knew her, worked with her, and from interviews with Joan Crawford herself. This is a readable, credible biography which is a great introduction to those wanting a fair overall depiction of Miss Crawford’s movies, marriages, and larger-than-life persona. If a great biography inspires the reader to immerse themselves in the output of the subject, then this is a very successful book.
September 21, 2023
Fresh off the Paul Newman memoir, this book peaked out of my TBR stack. The striking cover shot of Joan Crawford sparked interest.
What a career this woman had. She also had a miserable childhood with an abusive mother. This set a pattern for Joan who seemingly vacillated between being a kind and compassionate person to that of an evil incarnations.
The story of her life was not comprehensive here but was enough to provide a good understanding of who Joan Crawford was. The author wrote a fair account neither exalting her or assassinating her character. She was a broken and difficult person who never came to terms with her insecurities.
Written well, there was much to learn about the rise of THE Joan Crawford and take a look at her celebrity life and multiple marriages and yes, her less than stellar mothering of four adopted children.
I did not feel sorry for her, but I didn’t not feel sorry for her either.
What a career this woman had. She also had a miserable childhood with an abusive mother. This set a pattern for Joan who seemingly vacillated between being a kind and compassionate person to that of an evil incarnations.
The story of her life was not comprehensive here but was enough to provide a good understanding of who Joan Crawford was. The author wrote a fair account neither exalting her or assassinating her character. She was a broken and difficult person who never came to terms with her insecurities.
Written well, there was much to learn about the rise of THE Joan Crawford and take a look at her celebrity life and multiple marriages and yes, her less than stellar mothering of four adopted children.
I did not feel sorry for her, but I didn’t not feel sorry for her either.
May 23, 2017
I could not put this book down. If you are interested in Joan Crawford you will find this a fascinating and detailed account of her life. What a complex woman, the good and the not so great. It was a tough time for an aging actress when you are considered old by 35. Still she continued. She had an abusive upbringing which helps to explain how she treated her adopted children. And she medicated with alcohol as she got older which did not help her. But at that time, there was no treatment for this issue. And still she had a very kind and generous side to her.
Bottom line: if you really enjoyed Joan Crawford movies and that time period, this a really good book. Several photos too.
Bottom line: if you really enjoyed Joan Crawford movies and that time period, this a really good book. Several photos too.
June 4, 2019
A good introduction to the legendary Joan Crawford, but not as detailed as I would have liked. Maybe it’s because this was written in the seventies before more details about her private life were discovered, but I felt a lot of information about Joan’s life was missing: her relationships or lack of them with her mother and brother, her sexual abuse by her stepfather, and her reported bisexuality. Overall, a quick and light read.
May 14, 2017
When I finished the television series "Feud," I wanted to know more about Joan Crawford, so I found a copy of this 1978 biography. Often fascinating and a truly interesting historical perspective on the old Hollywood studio system. (I also had just a passing knowledge about her Kansas City ties, which are fully explored here.)
July 4, 2018
Not really a fan of biographies but this one was really quite excellent. There was factual information by way of quotes and encyclopedic information, but the author also peppered it with stories that could be seen as speculative. While usually I don't like that, it felt appropriate here. If you're a fan of Miss Crawford or the Golden Age of Hollywood you will definitely enjoy this read
June 4, 2025
Excellent bio on Hollywood's Golden Age Star. Every area of her life was well researched, and Mr. Thomas does a superb job of painting a picture of little Billie Cassin, the dirt-poor self-described Broadway hoofer who hailed from Texas. One has to admire the sheer tenacity of Lucille Le Sueur, our modern-day Joan Crawford; there will never be another like her again.
May 12, 2017
This is a pleasant, kind, breezy read. Bob Thomas knew Joan Crawford for thirty years, and his respect and admiration are palpible in his writing. However, the book is fair, not just platitudes. This is a fun read; I highly recommend to all Joan fans!
December 11, 2020
i love you forever joan crawford
December 6, 2022
Thorough, only slightly favoring Joan in her less flattering moments.
April 10, 2023
I love a Hollywood starlet.
October 5, 2024
ngl i cried a little
Read
March 15, 2017Not a bad book. Lots of information that I had not read in other books about her. The ending tried to make her come across as a soft caring woman which I find hard to believe. I still think of her as a harsh driven person. A good read though.
January 21, 2013
I enjoyed the book. It gives a glimpse into the life of a woman that was tortured, complex, desperate and interesting. Her past drove her to be a success, but it also tortured and haunted at the same time affecting those around her. I don't think that women like Joan Crawford will ever be fully understood because they were so good at hiding their true selves beneath the image and perhaps because she made the mistake of believing the image.
June 4, 2007
This book was much better than the book about MGM's leading ladies that I picked up at the same time. For the most part, it kept to the facts without relying on gossip and speculation. It's been awhile since I read a biography, so I can't really say how good of a biography it was. But it was an enjoyable and quick read.
June 18, 2008
I bought this at a used bookstore about 3 years ago and I finally read it - good general bio of Joan that came out BEFORE "Mommie Dearest" and it does mention how she was a horrible mother and probably never should have adopted kids so it confirmed to me that she really was an abusive mother. But she loved her dogs, so that counts.
March 13, 2008
Lucille sure was an interesting lady, and fine as hell to boot. Too bad she ended up in "TROG".
June 16, 2010
The begining of this book was good, the end was okay, but the middle of the book just dragged for me. Ms Crawford certainly was a different person than I thought she was.
April 19, 2016
I. Love. Her. Movies. Great. Book. Great. Story.
April 10, 2017
After watching a few episodes of "Feud" on FX, I really wanted to learn a little more about Joan Crawford. This was just enough information to give me some more insight into Joan's life.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews