Happy Birthday, Joan Crawford

Oscar-winning actress Joan Crawford was born March 23, 1904. After bursting on to the Hollywood scene in the 1930s with success in both silent films and talkies - an era where she was one of the highest-paid women in America, she closed out the decade branded as “box office poison.” However, a comeback with her title role in Mildred Pierce (the performance that earned her a Best Actress Academy Award) revived her career and put her back on top in Hollywood. Her credits include Possessed, Daisy Kenyon, and Flamingo Road. In 1955, she married Alfred Steele, president of Pepsi Cola. After he passed away in 1959, Crawford remained on the Board of Directors until 1973. In the 1960s, she enjoyed a second comeback of sourts with performances in two successful thrillers - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte. Ranked tenth on the American Film Institute's greatest actresses of classic Hollywood, Joan Crawford's performances continue to entertain audiences today (and the stories behind those performances enthrall viewers on the well-received FX dramatic series Feud: Bette vs. Joan, chronicling the making of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?). Joan Crawford made two appearances on Suspense, and we heard both in Episode 12 of the podcast.