Charlotte Chandler talks about Joan Crawford

ABC interview with Charlotte Chandler, the author of Joan Crawford Not The Girl Next Door

March 2008

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• joan
• crawford
• biographer

[Deannadazzles]

@pummpie1 Helen Hayes's book was written after Mommie Dearest was published. Her comments about Joan being a poor mother were stated only after she had read Mommie Dearest. Ditto with Betty Hutton and Eve Arden. They may have known of Joan's drinking problem and perhaps could imagine her doing bad things... but NO ONE spoke of any nastiness from Joan before that book was published. Interesting, huh? It's easy to jump on a bandwagon, especially when proof isn't a requirement.

[DoshUnScripted]

Hell, i clicked on here because I thought it was Mrs. Garret , Charlotte Rae.

[Docthal010]

BRING ME THE AX!!!!!!



[MrRJMGREEN]

I do not have the Bob Thomas bio (1978) anymore, but I remember a chapter that discusses where Helen Hayes stated that Joan tried to be many things to many people, she just wished she had not tried to be a mother. Bob then mentions strict punishments. Mercedes McCambridge remembers Joan as a mean, tipsy, rotten egg, Lucille Ball remembered the drunk rehearsals with Joan. The list goes on and on. I do believe Joan was abusive to Christina and Christopher.

[drewqq]

Joan Crawford was a troubled woman, and most likely suffered from depression. Anybody who has had a parent who suffered with depression can see both the trueness in some of what Christina wrote, and the hyperbole of it as well. I think the roots of some of the instances in the book were true, but they were wildly overdramatized for effect. But just because parents behave badly does not mean they didnt love their children with all their heart.  You have to learn to forgive people their faults

[BOHEMIANMEX]

NICE HAIR STYLE  LOL

[SuperRickyRocket]

Damn I thought it was Charlotte Rae from Diff'rent Strokes! ell maybe it is Look at her Huge Hair?

[bduhe219]

everyone who defends her seems to be amazed that she was an abusive parent. was she not an alcaholic? did she not have stress in her career? was she not in some marrital discord at times? did she not sleep with many..many men? was not her childhood unhappy? she did, and was all those things. can you now understand how she may have been an abusive parent? i do.

[greeneyedstone42]

Poor poor Christina. Eating rare steak and wearing the finest hand made clothes must really suck for a child.. Was Joan abusive? I imagine she was.. Was Christina a spoiled little bitch bent on revenge for being disinherited? also most likely...

[SuperGraystoke]

joan is a legend and one of the greatest ever stars and nothing that liar christina spewed is taken seriously by anyone with a brain.

[SleepWhenIamDead]

....Christina is a lying troglodyte....it is a real shame she sued the estate and won because Joan used archaic language in her Will....

[waynebrasler]

Helen Hayes never called Joan a poor mother. She said Joan had tried to be everything to everyone; she just wished she'd hadn't tried to be a mother. How could she or anyone possibly have criticized Joan while she was alive? People seem to have a hard time handling the fact there was a frightening side to Joan. That doesn't take away from the fact she was a brilliant actress, a great beauty and style-setter and a hard worker who crafted her own life.