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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake) | 921 CRAWFORD | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | 921 CRAWFORD | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
New York Times bestselling author Donald Spoto has already brilliantly explored the lives and careers of numerous Hollywood stars and entertainment icons--Grace Kelly, James Dean, Alfred Hitchcock, and Marilyn Monroe, to name but a few. In Possessed, his subject is the inimitable Joan Crawford, one of the most electrifying divas of the Golden Age of American film. A more thorough, revealing, and sympathetic portrait of the often maligned movie star--most notably lambasted, perhaps, in the scandalous bestseller, Mommy Dearest--Possessed is a fascinating study of the real Joan Crawford, a remarkable actress, businesswoman, mother, and lover.
Author Notes
Donald Spoto was born on June 28, 1941 in New Rochelle, New York. He received a B.A. from Iona College in 1963 and a M.A. and Ph.D. in theology (New Testament studies) from Fordham University in 1966 and 1970, respectively. He taught theology, Christian mysticism, and biblical literature at the university level for twenty years.
He has written more than 25 biographies of film and theatre celebrities including The Art of Alfred Hitchcock, The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams, Diana: The Last Year, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis: A Life, Enchantment: The Life of Audrey Hepburn, High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly, Possessed: The Life of Joan Crawford, and The Redgraves: A Family Epic. He also wrote biographies on religious figures including The Hidden Jesus: A New Life, Reluctant Saint: The Life of Francis of Assisi, and Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Guardian Review
"Miss Crawford is a star in every sense of the word; and everyone knows she is a star." This warning, printed at the end of a list of requirements on a promotional tour in 1964, was a precursor to all those divas refusing to do stairs, the calling card of one of Hollywood's most formidable leading ladies. Much beloved of drag queens thanks to her enduring fondness in later life for heavy eyebrows and lipstick, Crawford's reputation was made increasingly grotesque thanks to her daughter Christina's notorious book Mommie Dearest, an expose of her mother's violent behaviour. Spoto, who has been a fan of the actress since she replied to a letter he sent her in 1952, is keen to present Crawford in a more positive light, focusing on her talents and "charity work", and while he is excellent on the mechanics of glamour and the star system, his attempts to discredit Christina's account of life with her mother come across as mean-spirited. A star - and everyone knows she is a star - shouldn't need such limp excuses made on her behalf. - Victoria Segal Miss Crawford is a star in every sense of the word; and everyone knows she is a star." This warning, printed at the end of a list of requirements on a promotional tour in 1964, was a precursor to all those divas refusing to do stairs, the calling card of one of Hollywood's most formidable leading ladies. - Victoria Segal.
Kirkus Review
Hollywood biography machine Spoto (High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly, 2010, etc.) presents the life and career of screen queen Joan Crawford (19051977), a movie star whose iconic status owed as much to the actress's sheer willpower as to her perfect bone structure and improbably large, expressive eyes.Crawford, in marked contrast to her rival Greta Garbo, employed a maniacal determination and inhuman work ethic to earn and maintain her place in Hollywood's firmament of stars. Born into poverty, uneducated and profoundly insecure, Lucille LeSueur parlayed a successful dancing career on Broadway into a movie work, acquiring the name Joan Crawford in a magazine contest held to christen MGM's newest contract player. Spoto deftly analyzes Crawford's changing persona through her long career, from plucky flapper to suffering matron to leering grotesque, and recounts her failed marriages, numerous affairs and alcoholism with great sympathy. In fact, this perhaps overly reverential treatment is a bit of a letdown, as Crawford's outsize diva histrionics, promiscuity and alleged abuse of her adopted children are key components of her continuing fascination for film audiences. Spoto discounts or explains away Crawford's less-than-salubrious reputation, and the result feels a bit whitewashed. Crawford's daughter Christina's infamous autobiography Mommie Dearest (1978), and the subsequent film, cemented the public image of Crawford, perhaps unfairly, as an unhinged martinet, obsessed with order and cleanliness. Spoto works hard to refute Mommie Dearest's damning portrait of the actress, but Crawford's housekeeping mania, strict discipline and emotional instability are widely acknowledged. Christina's brother Christopher, who corroborated her account, is described by the author as a troublemaker who was constantly running away from home, which begs a fairly obvious question. Still, the book is useful for its diligent consideration of Crawford's films and legacy.A worthy but toothless consideration of one of Hollywood's most distinctive performers.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Spoto, author of several best-selling biographies of film and theater stars, sets his sights on Joan Crawford for this, his latest effort. Based on exclusive interviews and archival information, he pieces together Crawford's (then Lucille LeSeuer) early life with her poverty-stricken family, her days as trophy-winning Charleston dancer and fast life as a flapper during World War I, her discovery by MGM, and her life as a movie star. He also details her four marriages, her troubled family life, her several love affairs, achievements as a movie star, and time as a business executive on the board of directors of Pepsi-Cola. Obviously a great fan of the notorious Crawford, the author tries to dispute the stories of child abuse and mental instability that besmirched the reputation of the actress; however, his arguments in the end are not all that persuasive. An illuminating look at a bygone era, and a fairly entertaining read, that movie fans will enjoy.--Hughes, Kathleen Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
Author of more than 20 celebrity biographies, Spoto (High Society: The Life of Grace Kelly) begins his latest by sharing a response from Joan Crawford to a fan letter he wrote when he was ten. Though much has been written about Crawford, who died in 1977, Spoto justifies his contribution by writing, "because no other movie star-with the possible exception of Marilyn Monroe-has been so underappreciated, misrepresented by rumor, innuendo, fabrication, unfounded allegation and rank distortion." Does Mommie Dearest ring a bell? So it seems Spoto wants to thank Crawford for her kindness to him as a boy by setting the record straight and clearing her name. He relies on the Joan Crawford papers, scrapbooks, letters, and ephemera housed at the New York Public Library, as well as what has already been written. VERDICT What sets this biography apart from previous titles? Where other biographers made sensational statements about Crawford as fact, Spoto makes assertions based on his research as to what would and would not have been likely or possible. This is a balanced and readable account of a possibly misunderstood and maligned star. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/10.]-Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
