Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford

by Donald Spoto

JAMES BACON, WHO interviewed Christina on the day she performed in the Dr. Kildare television series, had known Joan and her children since 1950. For many years, he had covered the movie business for the Associated Press, the Hollywood Reporter and the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, and he wrote three books about his experiences in Hollywood. Bacon was known never to minimize or dilute a good story, even at the risk of alienating friends. A frequent visitor to the Crawford household in Brentwood, he saw the “strict discipline [Joan] imposed on her children at home. Joan didn’t spoil her children, like most Hollywood mothers did, but she was a loving and kind mother. I know that for a fact.” A few people disputed that assessment, but one person’s idea of discipline is another’s notion of indulgence.