Christina Crawford (born June 11, 1939) is an American former author and actress, best known for her 1978 memoir and exposé, ''
Mommie Dearest'', which described the alleged abuse she was subjected to by her adoptive mother, film star
Joan Crawford
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 190? was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion-picture cont ...
.
Early life and education
Born in Los Angeles on June 11, 1939, Christina was one of four children adopted by Joan Crawford.
After graduating from
Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, she moved from California to Pittsburgh to attend
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. Crawford dropped out of college after one semester and then moved to New York City, where she studied at the
Neighborhood Playhouse.
After fourteen years as an actress, Crawford returned to college, graduating
magna cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
from
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
and receiving her
master's degree
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
from the Annenberg School of Communication at
USC USC may refer to:
Education
United States
* Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico
* University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina
* ...
. Then she worked in corporate communications at the Los Angeles headquarters of
Getty Oil Company.
Career
Crawford appeared in
summer stock theater, including a production of ''
Splendor in the Grass''. She also acted in a number of
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
productions, including ''In Color on Sundays'' (1958).
She also appeared in ''At Christmas Time'' (1959) and ''
Dark of the Moon'' (1959) at the Fred Miller Theater in Milwaukee,
and ''
The Moon Is Blue'' (1960).
In 1960, Crawford was cast in a supporting role in the crime drama film ''
Force of Impulse'',
which was released in 1961. Also in 1961, Crawford appeared in the musical ''
Wild in the Country'', a film starring
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
. That year, she made a guest appearance on ''
Here's Hollywood''.
In 1962, she appeared in the play ''The Complaisant Lover''. She played five character parts in
Ben Hecht
Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...
's controversial play ''Winkelberg''. The same year, she appeared on the CBS courtroom drama ''
The Verdict is Yours''.
In October 1965, she appeared in
Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...
's ''
Barefoot in the Park'', with
Myrna Loy, a friend of her mother, before being fired after the cast complained of Christina's unprofessional behavior. She was considered a capable actress, but difficult to work with in the industry. She also had a small role in ''
Faces'' (1968), a romantic drama directed by
John Cassavetes.
She played Joan Borman Kane on the
soap opera
A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...
''
The Secret Storm
''The Secret Storm'' is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas '' Search for Tomorrow'' and '' Love of Life''. ...
'' in New York from 1968 until 1969. In October 1968, Christina Crawford missed several episodes due to emergency surgery. Her mother Joan Crawford was asked by executive producer Gloria Monty and network executives to fill in as Christina's character. Joan performed as "Joan" in several episodes so that the part would not be recast during her absence.
In the early 1970s, Crawford also appeared in other TV programs, including ''
Medical Center'', ''
Marcus Welby, M.D.'', ''
Matt Lincoln'', ''
Ironside'' and ''
The Sixth Sense''.
Later career
After Joan Crawford died in 1977, Crawford and her brother, Christopher, discovered that their mother had disinherited them from her
estate, her will citing "reasons which are well-known to them."
In October 1977, Crawford and her brother sued Joan Crawford's estate to invalidate their mother's will, which she signed on October 28, 1976. Cathy LaLonde, another of Crawford's daughters, and her husband, Jerome, the complaint charged, "took deliberate advantage of decedent's seclusion and weakened and distorted mental and physical condition to insinuate themselves" into Joan's favor. A settlement between the parties was reached on July 13, 1979, which provided Crawford and Christopher a combined $55,000 from their mother's estate.
''Mommie Dearest''
In November 1978, Crawford's book ''
Mommie Dearest'' was released and described her mother as a career-obsessed overly strict mother. Joan Crawford's two other daughters, Cathy and Cindy, denounced the book, denying any abuse. Also, many of Crawford's friends and co-workers, including
Van Johnson,
Ann Blyth,
Myrna Loy,
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...
,
Cesar Romero,
Gary Gray, and
Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (Crawford's first husband) denied the claims.
Christina's ex-husband, producer Harvey Medlinsky, said in response to Christina's memoir, "I have only good things to say about Joan Crawford. She was always nice to me and Christina." ''
The Secret Storm
''The Secret Storm'' is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to February 8, 1974. It was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas '' Search for Tomorrow'' and '' Love of Life''. ...
'' producer Gloria Monty, countered Christina's allegation that Joan "stole" Christina's role on the television show when she fell ill in 1968. According to Monty, she and CBS asked Joan to substitute for her daughter on the show, and that Joan agreed only in the interest of not allowing Christina to be permanently replaced by another actress until she could return to the show. Monty added, "I'll tell you that I saw Joan Crawford do everything she could to save that girl's life and job."
Helen Hayes
Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...
,
June Allyson, and
Vincent Sherman stated they had witnessed strict discipline. For example, Hayes and Sherman both stated in their autobiographies that they felt Joan was too strict a parent. Allyson stated in her autobiography that she witnessed Joan put Christina in "time-out", and did not let her go to a friend's birthday party as a punishment. However these people never stated they witnessed any outright abuse.
''Mommie Dearest'' became a best-seller, and was made into the 1981 film ''
Mommie Dearest'', starring
Faye Dunaway
Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941) is an American actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Faye Dunaway, many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, ...
as Joan Crawford.
Christina had no involvement with the making of the film, and has denounced the film as "grotesque" and a work of fiction. Christina has repeatedly stated that the film is highly inaccurate, and that the portrayal of her mother in the film bears little resemblance to the real Joan Crawford, specifically citing that her mother never chopped down a tree with an axe, or beat her with a wire hanger as depicted in the film.
Christina Crawford has published five subsequent books, including ''Survivor'', ''Black Widow'', ''No Safe Place'', ''Daughters of the Inquisition'' and ''Scammed''.
''
After a stroke in 1981, she spent five years in
rehabilitation before moving to the Northwest.
She ran a bed and breakfast called Seven Springs Farms in
Tensed, Idaho, between 1994 and 1999.
On July 20, 1998, one of Joan Crawford's other adopted children, Cathy Crawford LaLonde, filed a lawsuit against Christina Crawford for "defamation of character". LaLonde stated in her lawsuit that, during the 20th-anniversary book tour of ''Mommie Dearest'', Christina publicly claimed to interviewers that LaLonde and her twin sister, Cynthia, were not biological sisters, and that their adoption was never legal. LaLonde stated neither claim by Christina was true, and attached copies of the twin girls' birth certificates and adoption documentation to the lawsuit. The lawsuit was later settled out of court for $5,000 plus court costs.
In 2000, Crawford began working as entertainment manager at the
Coeur d'Alene Casino in Idaho, where she worked until 2007. She then wrote and produced a regional TV series, ''Northwest Entertainment''. On November 22, 2009, she was appointed county commissioner in
Benewah County, Idaho, by Governor
Butch Otter, but she lost her bid for election in November 2010. In 2011, Crawford founded the non-profit Benewah Human Rights Coalition and served as the organization's first president. In 2013, she made a documentary, ''Surviving Mommie Dearest''.
On November 21, 2017, the
e-book
An ebook (short for electronic book), also spelled as e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in electronic form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Al ...
editions of ''Mommie Dearest'', ''Survivor'' and ''Daughters of the Inquisition'' were published through
Open Road Integrated Media. She is also currently working with composer David Nehls on a stage musical adaptation of ''Mommie Dearest'', to be produced in regional theater. Crawford was (as of 2017) writing a third book in her memoir trilogy, following ''Mommie Dearest'' and ''Survivor''.
Personal life
Crawford met her first husband, Harvey Medlinsky, a director and Broadway stage manager, while she was appearing in the Chicago national company of ''Barefoot in the Park''. They were married briefly in the late 1960s before divorcing.
She married and divorced twice more. She has no children.
A member of the
Democratic Party, Crawford worked on
Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign.
Filmography
Books
* ''
Mommie Dearest'' (1978)
* ''Black Widow: A Novel'' (1981)
* ''Survivor'' (1988)
* ''No Safe Place: The Legacy of Family Violence'' (1994)
* ''Daughters Of The Inquisition: Medieval Madness: Origin and Aftermath'' (2003)
* ''Scammed: A True Story of Christina & The General'' (2014)
* ''Mommie Dearest: Special Edition'' (2017) ebook
* ''Survivor'' (2017) ebook
* ''Daughters of the Inquisition: Medieval Madness: Origin and Aftermath'' (2017) ebook
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Christina
Living people
American women novelists
American adoptees
American film actresses
American memoirists
20th-century American novelists
American stage actresses
American television actresses
County commissioners in Idaho
Writers from Los Angeles
Actresses from Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles alumni
University of Southern California alumni
21st-century American novelists
Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American women writers
American women non-fiction writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
1939 births