1 00:00:03,040 --> 00:00:06,480 Speaker 1: Greetings, hollywood Land listeners, and welcome back to another dip 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:09,280 Speaker 1: into our podcast archive for what might be the most 3 00:00:09,520 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: interesting subject we've covered in hollywood Land, Joan Crawford. I'm 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,760 Speaker 1: going to assume that, like me, most of you are 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:21,320 Speaker 1: going to learn things in this episode, things you probably 6 00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:25,280 Speaker 1: had no idea were part of this Hollywood icon's pasted. 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:32,440 Speaker 1: Simply put, this is a wild story. Long before there 8 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:37,080 Speaker 1: were sex tapes, there was Joan Crawford. She defined badass 9 00:00:37,240 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 1: and somehow melded transgressive behavior with class and glamour and 10 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: of course spite in a little bit of wickedness. Joan 11 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: Crawford was one of a kind, a true icon, and 12 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:52,080 Speaker 1: can't wait for you to hear this story. So I'm 13 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:53,720 Speaker 1: going to shut up now and get out of here 14 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: and let you wander through another episode of hollywood Land. 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:17,559 Speaker 1: Hollywoodland is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about 16 00:01:17,680 --> 00:01:22,240 Speaker 1: Joan Crawford are insane. She threatened the director of the 17 00:01:22,280 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: FBI when she wanted a copy of one of her 18 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:29,600 Speaker 1: old stag films destroyed. She accepted an oscar that wasn't 19 00:01:29,640 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: hers for the sole purpose to get revenge on her 20 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 1: co star. She was in the room while a presidential 21 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: assassination was allegedly plotted and she may have been involved 22 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,400 Speaker 1: in the death of her fourth husband. She wrote her 23 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: daughter out of her will before she knew the kid 24 00:01:47,680 --> 00:01:51,120 Speaker 1: was about to permanently ruin her legacy, a legacy that 25 00:01:51,240 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 1: was full of great films, unlike that clip I played 26 00:01:55,040 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: for you at the top of the show that wasn't 27 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,480 Speaker 1: from a great film. That was a fair usemple from 28 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,760 Speaker 1: the Library of Congress of Clark and Kinicki performing The 29 00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:07,720 Speaker 1: Friendly Rivals in nineteen oh nine. I played you that 30 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: clip because I can't afford the rights to a clip 31 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: from Steve Gordon's Arthur. 32 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:13,760 Speaker 2: And why would I. 33 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: Play you that particular slice of cop between the Moon 34 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:18,560 Speaker 1: and New York City Cheese? 35 00:02:18,639 --> 00:02:19,560 Speaker 2: Could I afford it? 36 00:02:20,400 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one movie in America on 37 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: September sixteenth, nineteen eighty one, and that was the day 38 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: that Mommy Dearest was released in theaters, a movie that 39 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: had a devastating impact on Joan Crawford's reputation forever. On 40 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:42,600 Speaker 1: this episode, stag Films, dead Presidents, stolen oscars, a ruined legacy, 41 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:48,880 Speaker 1: and Joan Crawford, I'm Jake Brennan and this is Hollywood Land. 42 00:03:19,639 --> 00:03:23,280 Speaker 1: Joan Crawford was a dancing girl under contract for MGM 43 00:03:23,360 --> 00:03:27,000 Speaker 1: when she first met the director of the FBI. That 44 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:30,200 Speaker 1: was fifty years in the past, back when she was 45 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,000 Speaker 1: a nobody. It was nineteen seventy one to now, and 46 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 1: though she had had her share of ups and downs, 47 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: Joan Crawford was a bona fide movie star, but she 48 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: wasn't in jaeg Or Hoover's office on movie star business. 49 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: She was in the nation's capital and her capacity as 50 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,200 Speaker 1: the brand ambassador for Pepsicola and Hoover well. He never 51 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: passed up the opportunity to have his photo taken with celebrities, 52 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 1: and the two shook hands and the cameras flashed, and 53 00:03:59,520 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: then leaned in and whispered in Joan's ear. He'd recently 54 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:07,560 Speaker 1: come into possession of an old film of hers A 55 00:04:07,680 --> 00:04:11,240 Speaker 1: real rarity. Joan Crawford knew a film. 56 00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 3: He was talking about. 57 00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: She gritted her perfect teeth and she smiled back, and 58 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: then she leaned in even closer. She told Hoover that 59 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,080 Speaker 1: unless he wanted to see old photos of himself in 60 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:27,359 Speaker 1: the company of certain gentlemen hit the front pages, he'd 61 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: see two of that the film in question was destroyed. 62 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:36,760 Speaker 1: FBI agents who worked under j. Edgar Hoover knew the 63 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:41,120 Speaker 1: way to their boss's heart. It was simple, bring Hoover porn, 64 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: and by the time he died in nineteen seventy two, 65 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: j Edgar Hoover had amassed, quite possibly the largest pornography 66 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,479 Speaker 1: collection in history, but that sinking. The longtime director of 67 00:04:52,520 --> 00:04:56,360 Speaker 1: the Federal Bureau of Investigation had a legendary porn stash. 68 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 1: Under Hoover, the FBI made vice and so sexual deviancy 69 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:05,280 Speaker 1: high priorities. Anything seized in a raid made it to 70 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:09,839 Speaker 1: the director's desk, which meant Finder's keepers the choicest pieces 71 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:13,600 Speaker 1: of smut went home with Hoover. His most prized possessions 72 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,880 Speaker 1: were nude photos and films of celebrities Elvis Presley, Charlton Heston, 73 00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:21,839 Speaker 1: even Eleanor Roosevelt, a rare copy of The Masked Bandit, 74 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:24,560 Speaker 1: the nineteen thirty four porno that a homeless and broke 75 00:05:24,560 --> 00:05:27,640 Speaker 1: Frank Sinatra made when he was just nineteen, and at 76 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,600 Speaker 1: least one of the Stag films Joan Crawford made before 77 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,279 Speaker 1: she signed with MGM. When Joan Crawford turned eighteen, she 78 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:38,480 Speaker 1: left her oppressive mother, an alcoholic, abusive older brother in 79 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:41,000 Speaker 1: Missouri to get her start in show business as a 80 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:44,120 Speaker 1: dancing girl on the traveling circuit, then working under her 81 00:05:44,120 --> 00:05:49,000 Speaker 1: birth name Lucille Lesier. The term dancing girl meant a 82 00:05:49,000 --> 00:05:52,000 Speaker 1: lot of things in the twenties, and Lucille was known 83 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: for doing the charlestow, or wearing skirts as short as 84 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: the clubs would allow, and for going without underwear whenever 85 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 1: she could get away with it. She also known for 86 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,239 Speaker 1: being open to offers by men. She saw bill slip 87 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 1: into her garter belt as she danced on the table 88 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: at a supper club, and she was savvy enough to 89 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: know that it wasn't just money, it was an invitation. 90 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:15,640 Speaker 1: She once spent the night in a Detroit jail after 91 00:06:15,680 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: being arrested with a man in a hotel. Like a 92 00:06:18,600 --> 00:06:22,920 Speaker 1: lot of early stars sorted pass, the mugshots and fingerprints 93 00:06:22,920 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: disappeared once she made it big, but copies of her 94 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:30,240 Speaker 1: arrest report found their way into her FBI file, along 95 00:06:30,279 --> 00:06:32,880 Speaker 1: with the film Hoover hinted at when the two met 96 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:34,480 Speaker 1: at his office decades later. 97 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:36,279 Speaker 2: The film was most. 98 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:40,400 Speaker 1: Likely The Casting Couch, a notorious short from nineteen twenty four, 99 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,480 Speaker 1: in which allegedly a young Joan Crawford, then still going 100 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:48,120 Speaker 1: by Lucille Lacier, plays an aspiring actress who gives a 101 00:06:48,160 --> 00:06:51,480 Speaker 1: producer a blowjob in order to land a role. It 102 00:06:51,520 --> 00:06:58,239 Speaker 1: wasn't autobiographical yet. Stag films were made on the cheap 103 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,400 Speaker 1: and shown at parties in peep shop. They were produced 104 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:05,599 Speaker 1: in tiny print runs and circulated exclusively on the black market. 105 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,920 Speaker 1: Rumor has it Crawford as Lucille made a couple of 106 00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:14,120 Speaker 1: these films with names like Velvet Lips Coming Home and 107 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: she shows him how she was trying to buy herself 108 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,640 Speaker 1: a ticket to Chicago, where there were more opportunities for 109 00:07:20,720 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: dancing girls. The money from the films was enough to 110 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:27,040 Speaker 1: get her off the second rate Vaudeville circuit into the game. 111 00:07:27,920 --> 00:07:30,960 Speaker 1: The game was swank clubs like the Oriole, where the 112 00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: dancing girls doubled as prostitutes. The game was spotting a 113 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:38,080 Speaker 1: Broadway producer in the audience, stealing a tray of drinks 114 00:07:38,080 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 1: from a waiter, carrying those drinks over to set producer, 115 00:07:41,640 --> 00:07:43,160 Speaker 1: and strategically spilling a. 116 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 3: Martini his left. 117 00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: The game was getting on your knees, enthusiastically patting the 118 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: man's crotch dry with a napkin, and then looking up 119 00:07:52,960 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: at him with those big, wide eyes and telling him 120 00:07:56,040 --> 00:07:59,120 Speaker 1: you were a capable dancer and capable of very many 121 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: other things too. The game was asking this producer if 122 00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:07,600 Speaker 1: he wanted to audition you, putting enough emphasis on that 123 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:10,280 Speaker 1: word so he knew what he gain if he said yes. 124 00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: Lucille played that game, and she played it so well 125 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:18,760 Speaker 1: that she landed a private quote unquote audition with a 126 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 1: big producer and left for New York with him. The 127 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: same night, she worked Broadway reviews and then back to 128 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:27,920 Speaker 1: the clubs for the late night crowds. Crowds that included 129 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:31,040 Speaker 1: a talent scout from MGM, a brand new movie studio 130 00:08:31,080 --> 00:08:33,640 Speaker 1: in Hollywood that bragged they had more stars than there 131 00:08:33,679 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: are in heaven. But this game, this life, it was 132 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,199 Speaker 1: far from heaven. In fact, it could be downright hellish. 133 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: In the fall of nineteen twenty four, Lucille was back 134 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: home in Kansas City, Missouri, bedridden, recovering from a back 135 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:52,160 Speaker 1: alley abortion to get rid of an unwanted pregnancy. To 136 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,679 Speaker 1: add insult to injury, her brother had learned about the 137 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: stag film she'd made and rated her out to their mother, 138 00:08:57,120 --> 00:09:00,839 Speaker 1: who cursed her out as trash could call her whatever 139 00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 1: she wanted. Lucille was going to make something of herself, 140 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: and so it was no surprise to her when the 141 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 1: telegram arrived. Not Hollywood scout back in New York had 142 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,480 Speaker 1: liked what he'd seen after all, and MGM was offering 143 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 1: the Cello Lecier a six month contract. They just had 144 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:19,679 Speaker 1: to do something about that name. Fellow star and former 145 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: dancing girl to Lula Banquette, had her own name for 146 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,199 Speaker 1: the newcomer, the Girl. 147 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:25,440 Speaker 3: In the Fuckney Shoes. 148 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:30,000 Speaker 1: When Lucille Lasier was re christened Joan Crawford, the public 149 00:09:30,000 --> 00:09:32,199 Speaker 1: didn't get to hear hot takes by the likes to 150 00:09:32,280 --> 00:09:35,760 Speaker 1: Lula Banquhead because MGM delivered a white watched version of 151 00:09:35,800 --> 00:09:38,680 Speaker 1: their new starlet's path the Hollywood. She was just a 152 00:09:38,720 --> 00:09:41,480 Speaker 1: wide eyed innocent from the Midwest who had succeeded on 153 00:09:41,559 --> 00:09:45,079 Speaker 1: looks in term alone. But as Crawford became a huge 154 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,160 Speaker 1: star of the silver screen, first in the silent era 155 00:09:48,440 --> 00:09:51,000 Speaker 1: and then as the talkies took over, she was still 156 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,160 Speaker 1: privately renowned in Hollywood circles for her sexual exploits. It's 157 00:09:55,240 --> 00:09:57,840 Speaker 1: just that the most sordid parts of her past continued 158 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: to be successfully repressed, and that's what MGM had fixers for. 159 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:07,000 Speaker 2: Who is this? 160 00:10:07,720 --> 00:10:09,120 Speaker 1: The man on the other end of the phone didn't 161 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: respond to that question. He just repeated his demand. One 162 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:15,920 Speaker 1: hundred thousand dollars cash. That's what it was going to 163 00:10:15,960 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: cost Joan Crawford to get her hands on a copy 164 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 1: of The Casting Coach, that infamous Stag film she'd started 165 00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:25,439 Speaker 1: almost a decade ago. It was nineteen thirty five. Joan 166 00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:28,040 Speaker 1: was one of the top actresses in Hollywood. She was 167 00:10:28,080 --> 00:10:31,960 Speaker 1: supposed to be relaxing on her honeymoon alongside husband number two. 168 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 1: But with more money came more problems, like this blackmailer 169 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:39,319 Speaker 1: on the line. She hung up and called MGM, and 170 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,199 Speaker 1: the studio ran some numbers and they decided they could 171 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:44,960 Speaker 1: stand to settle for twenty five grand in a stern warning, 172 00:10:45,600 --> 00:10:47,600 Speaker 1: and they had just the guy to deliver the money 173 00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:51,800 Speaker 1: and the message. Handsome Johnny Rosselli, was in charge of 174 00:10:51,840 --> 00:10:55,960 Speaker 1: al Capone's Los Angeles branch, a branch that had strong 175 00:10:56,080 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: ties to the movie industry, especially MGM. 176 00:10:59,880 --> 00:11:00,720 Speaker 2: Half of MGM. 177 00:11:00,800 --> 00:11:04,000 Speaker 1: Rosselli met with the blackmailer, who it turned out happened 178 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 1: to be none other than Crawford's tattletale brother. 179 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:08,120 Speaker 2: What a little shit. 180 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:10,640 Speaker 1: Rosselli made it clear that he was going to walk 181 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,280 Speaker 1: out of the meeting with either the film in his 182 00:11:12,360 --> 00:11:16,200 Speaker 1: hands or Crawford's brother's balls in his pocket. The message 183 00:11:16,240 --> 00:11:20,320 Speaker 1: was very loud and very fucking clear, so clear that 184 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:24,400 Speaker 1: Rosselli got the film and kept the money MGM held 185 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: onto the negative in case he came in handy at 186 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,520 Speaker 1: a later date. And then Joan Crawford didn't hear a 187 00:11:29,520 --> 00:11:32,880 Speaker 1: peep about the casting couch again, not until that meeting 188 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:36,000 Speaker 1: with jay Eegar Hoover in nineteen seventy one, the one 189 00:11:36,000 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: where he made that veiled threat that she cut down 190 00:11:38,960 --> 00:11:42,199 Speaker 1: with a threat of her own. Just because Hoover was Hoover, 191 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: it didn't mean he didn't have a weakness. Joan Crawford 192 00:11:45,679 --> 00:11:48,200 Speaker 1: knew where the director had spent some of his nights, 193 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: including one night in Dallas eight years earlier, on the 194 00:11:53,040 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: eve of one of the greatest tragedies in American history. 195 00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: The party at the home of Texas oil magnate Clinton Murchison, 196 00:12:24,760 --> 00:12:27,960 Speaker 1: just a little outside Dallas, was packed with political movers 197 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:28,960 Speaker 1: and shakers. 198 00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 3: Of the past present in future. 199 00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:35,000 Speaker 1: Murchison had major political connections. He was also mobbed up 200 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:39,080 Speaker 1: eight years earlier, a Senate committee found that the Genevezi 201 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 1: crime family was behind twenty percent of Murchison's business. Handsome 202 00:12:43,600 --> 00:12:47,640 Speaker 1: Johnny Rosselli, the mobster MGM sent to retrieve Joan Crawford's 203 00:12:47,679 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: porno from her brother. He was a regular guest at 204 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 1: Murchison's ranch, but Rosselli wasn't. 205 00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:54,080 Speaker 3: At tonight's party. 206 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 1: Tonight's guests included j Edgar Hoover and his aide and lover, 207 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:02,559 Speaker 1: Clyde Tolsen, along with the future President George H. W. Bush, 208 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:05,720 Speaker 1: wildly suspected to be a CIA operative at the time. 209 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,600 Speaker 1: And then there was former Vice President Richard Nixon in 210 00:13:09,679 --> 00:13:12,880 Speaker 1: town to speak to a convention of carbonated beverage bottlers. 211 00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: Nixon's guest at Murchison's party was Joan Crawford. Nixon and 212 00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:22,920 Speaker 1: Joan were photographed together earlier that day at the bottler's convention. Joan, 213 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,000 Speaker 1: of course, was at the industry event as brand ambassador 214 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: for Pepsi Cola. 215 00:13:27,559 --> 00:13:29,200 Speaker 2: A reporter asked Joan if. 216 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: She and Nixon would be attending a luncheon the following 217 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:33,280 Speaker 1: day with President Kennedy. 218 00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 2: Who was scheduled to arrive in Dallas in the morning. 219 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:40,040 Speaker 1: Joan said she'd been invited, but no, she didn't think 220 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:43,840 Speaker 1: either of them would attend the president's luncheon. Murchison's party 221 00:13:43,920 --> 00:13:47,280 Speaker 1: was at full tilt when current Vice President Lyndon Johnson 222 00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 1: stormed in. 223 00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:49,439 Speaker 2: He brushed by. 224 00:13:49,320 --> 00:13:52,600 Speaker 1: Both Joan and his mistress and straight into a closed 225 00:13:52,640 --> 00:13:56,040 Speaker 1: door meeting with Richard Nixon, George H. W. Bush, j 226 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:00,320 Speaker 1: Egar Hoover, and Clinton Murchison. When he thundered back out 227 00:14:00,360 --> 00:14:03,079 Speaker 1: into the living room a few minutes later, the Vice 228 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 1: President LBJ demanded a drink. The ice and his whiskey 229 00:14:07,559 --> 00:14:10,720 Speaker 1: clinked as his hand shook, and his mistress asked if 230 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:13,040 Speaker 1: everything was okay, everything's fine? 231 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 3: Johnson said just fine. 232 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:21,560 Speaker 1: The next day, November twenty second, nineteen sixty three, just 233 00:14:21,640 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 1: before noon, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated on Dallas's 234 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:33,160 Speaker 1: daily Plaza, and on that day, one two, three four 235 00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 1: presidents were president in Dallas. The assassinated President John F. Kennedy, 236 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:43,400 Speaker 1: the next president, Lyndon Baines Johnson, the president after that, 237 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:47,120 Speaker 1: Richard Nixon, and finally George H. W. 238 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:47,920 Speaker 3: Bush. 239 00:14:48,920 --> 00:14:53,400 Speaker 1: How's that for a coincidence. Whenever in the history of 240 00:14:53,440 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 1: the world was somebody as high profile and powerful as 241 00:14:58,080 --> 00:15:02,680 Speaker 1: the President of the United States assassinated while three other 242 00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:07,960 Speaker 1: future presidents were in the same city. Yet somehow we 243 00:15:08,080 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: don't talk about it. Fast forward two years later, the 244 00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:16,200 Speaker 1: only reporter who ever interviewed Jack Ruby, the Dallas nightclub 245 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:20,880 Speaker 1: owner who shot and killed accused Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, 246 00:15:21,440 --> 00:15:24,640 Speaker 1: was found dead of an apparent accidental overdose in her 247 00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:29,480 Speaker 1: Manhattan apartment. As Copp surveyed the perfectly arranged scene, there 248 00:15:29,560 --> 00:15:31,400 Speaker 1: was a knock on the dead reporter's door. 249 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:33,480 Speaker 2: It was the reporter's lunch. 250 00:15:33,320 --> 00:15:35,560 Speaker 3: Date for that afternoon, an old. 251 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:37,440 Speaker 2: Friend, Joan Crawford. 252 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,280 Speaker 1: Hold up, you can't talk about the Kennedy assassination without 253 00:15:41,320 --> 00:15:43,640 Speaker 1: sounding like you need a tinfoil hat. For the record, 254 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:47,200 Speaker 1: This particular version of events, the Murchison party theory, as 255 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,480 Speaker 1: it came to be known, is from lbj's mistress, Madeline 256 00:15:50,520 --> 00:15:53,480 Speaker 1: Duncan Brown, who told her tale of this faithful night 257 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: decades later. And look, no one is saying, not me anyways, 258 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:02,320 Speaker 1: that Joan Crawford killed JFK. But how the hell does 259 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:05,240 Speaker 1: Joan Crawford end up at a party in Dallas the 260 00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:09,360 Speaker 1: night before the Kennedy assassination, again with Richard Nixon, Jay 261 00:16:09,400 --> 00:16:12,640 Speaker 1: Egger Hoover, and Vice President Johnson, along with oh Well, 262 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:16,640 Speaker 1: by the way, future president and current CIA operative George H. W. Bush. 263 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:23,560 Speaker 1: Some would say by killing her fourth husband, getting a 264 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:26,920 Speaker 1: final head count on Joan Crawford's husband's is tough. There 265 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:29,640 Speaker 1: were at least two alleged shotgun marriages before she ever 266 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: signed with MGM. But let's take Joan at her word 267 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: and say her first husband was Douglas Fairbanks Junior. You 268 00:16:36,680 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: might have heard of his father, Douglas Fairbanks Senior, one 269 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:42,640 Speaker 1: of the biggest stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. Fairbanks, along 270 00:16:42,640 --> 00:16:45,640 Speaker 1: with his wife Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin, and d W. Griffith, 271 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:50,480 Speaker 1: founded United Artists. Daddy Fairbanks was less than thrilled when 272 00:16:50,520 --> 00:16:53,680 Speaker 1: Doug Junior took up with a chorus girl named Joan Crawford. 273 00:16:54,240 --> 00:16:56,840 Speaker 1: Girls like Joan were coming to Hollywood by the bustle 274 00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 1: back then, and they were simple props in the eyes 275 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:02,000 Speaker 1: of someone like Banks. They were set dressing who doubled 276 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,400 Speaker 1: his prostitutes on a weekly contract. It was made clear 277 00:17:05,440 --> 00:17:08,199 Speaker 1: to Doug Junior that Joan Crawford was not welcome in 278 00:17:08,240 --> 00:17:11,600 Speaker 1: the royal court of established Hollywood at the time. But 279 00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:13,879 Speaker 1: it wasn't this snub that brought on the end of 280 00:17:13,960 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: Joan's first marriage. She didn't give a shit what the 281 00:17:16,400 --> 00:17:18,840 Speaker 1: old Garrett thought of her. Joan continued to sleep with 282 00:17:18,920 --> 00:17:21,480 Speaker 1: casting directors for parts, and she carried on a long 283 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:25,120 Speaker 1: term affair with another newly arrived star named Clark Gable. 284 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:29,159 Speaker 1: Like Joan Crawford, Clark Gable came from poverty. He was 285 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: willing to use his sexuality to advance his career, and 286 00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:35,400 Speaker 1: before Joan met him, she heard about Clark Gable from 287 00:17:35,440 --> 00:17:38,080 Speaker 1: her best friend and frequent co star, William Haynes, one 288 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:41,360 Speaker 1: of the more openly gay stars in early Hollywood. Haynes 289 00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,879 Speaker 1: told Joan about an encounter with Clark Gable in the 290 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:46,879 Speaker 1: men's room at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel. He reported that 291 00:17:46,920 --> 00:17:49,639 Speaker 1: while Gable might not yet be a huge star, he 292 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:51,960 Speaker 1: did have a huge dick, and Joan just had to 293 00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:55,800 Speaker 1: find out for herself. So then the couple first appeared 294 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:57,960 Speaker 1: on screen together in nineteen thirty one, and their affair 295 00:17:58,040 --> 00:18:01,280 Speaker 1: lasted through several marriages for both stars. It was such 296 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 1: common knowledge that the head of MGM told the couple 297 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:06,879 Speaker 1: to quit fucking around or cost them both their careers. 298 00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,760 Speaker 1: So without Clark gable as an extracurricular activity, Joan Crawford 299 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:14,119 Speaker 1: was unhappy in her marriage to Douglas Fairbanks Junior, but 300 00:18:14,240 --> 00:18:17,200 Speaker 1: she couldn't see a way out. Warner Brothers Studios, which 301 00:18:17,240 --> 00:18:20,120 Speaker 1: had Doug Junior under contract, noticed that every man who 302 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,639 Speaker 1: hung around Joan Crawford was either gay or bisexual, and 303 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: they started to wonder about Doug Junior. To make sure 304 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:29,280 Speaker 1: no one questioned his erility, the studio made up a 305 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,880 Speaker 1: story about a husband suing Doug Junior for quote alienating 306 00:18:32,920 --> 00:18:36,120 Speaker 1: his wife's affections. Doug had of hey the husband off 307 00:18:36,119 --> 00:18:38,520 Speaker 1: with fifty thousand dollars of Joan Crawford's money. 308 00:18:38,800 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 2: It was all ie, but it. 309 00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,000 Speaker 1: Gave Joan a chance to get out of the marriage 310 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:44,439 Speaker 1: and sneak in a fuck you to Doug Junior's royally 311 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,840 Speaker 1: stuck up parents. They'd forbidden their son from marrying a slut, 312 00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:49,480 Speaker 1: but he was the one who turned out to be 313 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:51,640 Speaker 1: the cheater, or at least that's how the story went 314 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,560 Speaker 1: in the papers. Joan Crawford very publicly announced she was 315 00:18:55,560 --> 00:18:58,840 Speaker 1: divorcing Douglas Fairbanks Junior, kicking him out of the house 316 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: in the announced came the same day that Warner Brothers 317 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: announced the first big starring role for Betty Davis. Coverage 318 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:10,000 Speaker 1: of Betty Davis's movie was buried by Crawford's news, and 319 00:19:10,080 --> 00:19:13,080 Speaker 1: her movie bombed after a week, and Betty Davis never 320 00:19:13,119 --> 00:19:17,359 Speaker 1: forgave her but I digress. Husband number two was Frank 321 00:19:17,359 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 1: cout Tone, an actor who had been openly living with 322 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:23,640 Speaker 1: another man, and perhaps to avoid the press learning about 323 00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:27,240 Speaker 1: his sexuality, Tone married Joan Crawford. It was on their 324 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,960 Speaker 1: honeymoon that Joan received the blackmail call that led to 325 00:19:30,119 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 1: MGM unleashing handsome Johnny Rizselli on her brother. Joan and 326 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:37,119 Speaker 1: Tone made repeated efforts to have a child, but failed, 327 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: and then they soon divorced as well, so Joan swore 328 00:19:40,920 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: she'd never marry again. She could no longer get rolls 329 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:46,080 Speaker 1: as a young sex pot and decided instead to recreate 330 00:19:46,119 --> 00:19:49,159 Speaker 1: herself as a mother. She adopted a daughter through a 331 00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: Las Vegas baby broker, which back in the nineteen forties 332 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:54,960 Speaker 1: was just another way of saying human trafficking for rich 333 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: people and proceeded to make a very public show of 334 00:19:57,800 --> 00:20:00,919 Speaker 1: what a fantastic mom she was. It didn't end well, 335 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,040 Speaker 1: and we'll get to that, but the picture wasn't complete 336 00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: without a husband, so she married again and adopted a 337 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:11,120 Speaker 1: couple more kids in the show. Marriage that didn't work out, 338 00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:15,040 Speaker 1: Joan kept the kids and she remained single for almost 339 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:18,920 Speaker 1: a decade, during which her film career in her finances waned. 340 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:24,520 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty five, however, she married Alfred Steele, the 341 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:29,040 Speaker 1: CEO of Pepsi Cola. Joan Crawford was box office poisoned 342 00:20:29,040 --> 00:20:31,360 Speaker 1: by this point, and the press called out the marriage 343 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,119 Speaker 1: as gold digging. Three years later, Alfred Steele was standing 344 00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:36,560 Speaker 1: at the top of the stairs in the house he 345 00:20:36,600 --> 00:20:40,040 Speaker 1: shared with Joan Crawford. He felt a sudden tightness in 346 00:20:40,119 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 1: his chest, and the pain traveled up to his neck 347 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:44,760 Speaker 1: and out to his arms, and he can feel his 348 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:46,920 Speaker 1: harp begin to beat fast and hard, like it was 349 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:49,200 Speaker 1: going to pop out of his chest. He tried to 350 00:20:49,240 --> 00:20:51,879 Speaker 1: steady himself on the railing, but the room spun and 351 00:20:51,960 --> 00:20:56,359 Speaker 1: he was dizzy lightheaded. Alfred Steele fell forward and his 352 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: head smacked one of the stairs, and he went asked 353 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,919 Speaker 1: over tea kettle, hit another stair and then another stair, 354 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:04,960 Speaker 1: all the way down until his limp body slumped on 355 00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:09,000 Speaker 1: the floor below. And by all accounts, Alfred Steele was 356 00:21:09,000 --> 00:21:11,879 Speaker 1: a healthy fifty nine year old and Pepsi's own doctors 357 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:13,919 Speaker 1: gave him a clean bill of health, and now he 358 00:21:14,040 --> 00:21:16,200 Speaker 1: was splayed on the floor of his home, dead from 359 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:18,680 Speaker 1: a sudden heart attack that came out of nowhere, which 360 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,560 Speaker 1: is where his wife, Joan Crawford found him, at least 361 00:21:23,040 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 1: that's what she said at first. Later she'd said she 362 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:30,080 Speaker 1: found him in bed. The inconsistency of Crawford's story is 363 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:32,959 Speaker 1: suspicious enough, but throw in the fact that she waited 364 00:21:33,040 --> 00:21:35,880 Speaker 1: ten minutes before she called anybody, and rather than phone 365 00:21:35,880 --> 00:21:38,919 Speaker 1: in an ambulance, she called the doctor at PEPSI, who couldn't 366 00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:42,760 Speaker 1: do much in the way of emergency medical services. Whispers 367 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: of homicide never really went away. Joan's own daughter later 368 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: accused her of killing Comfort Steel and that the heart 369 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: attacks story was just byes, but there was no evidence to. 370 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:54,959 Speaker 3: Prove this theory. 371 00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:59,200 Speaker 1: Steele's body had been long cremated with no autopsy performed, 372 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 1: but Alfred Steele's death meant that Joan Crawford took his 373 00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:08,240 Speaker 1: seat on pepsi's board of directors, along with a hefty 374 00:22:08,320 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: annual salary of sixty thousand dollars, which then put her 375 00:22:12,560 --> 00:22:15,520 Speaker 1: in Dallas in November of nineteen sixty three at a 376 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:19,320 Speaker 1: bottler's conference with Richard Nixon, who then took her to 377 00:22:19,359 --> 00:22:23,200 Speaker 1: a private party hosted by Clinton Murchison where a group 378 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:26,680 Speaker 1: of men may or may not have conspired to kill 379 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:32,240 Speaker 1: the President of the United States. 380 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,119 Speaker 3: We'll be right back after this. 381 00:22:36,320 --> 00:22:37,680 Speaker 1: We're were were. 382 00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:45,280 Speaker 2: Joan Crawford never traveled with less. 383 00:22:45,119 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 1: Than thirty suitcases, even for a short location shoot like 384 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,600 Speaker 1: this one in Baton Rouge. She had enough dresses to 385 00:22:51,640 --> 00:22:54,520 Speaker 1: attend three formal gallas a day and enough ooze to 386 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:57,359 Speaker 1: keep her sauce for the whole shoot. It was not 387 00:22:57,400 --> 00:23:00,359 Speaker 1: an easy amount of luggage to transport, but luckily for her, 388 00:23:00,760 --> 00:23:04,160 Speaker 1: she was Joan Crawford, the type of Hollywood actress who 389 00:23:04,160 --> 00:23:06,760 Speaker 1: simply arrives and is everything taken. 390 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,600 Speaker 2: Care of for her. Except here she was standing in 391 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:11,200 Speaker 2: the Baton. 392 00:23:11,040 --> 00:23:14,119 Speaker 1: Rouge airport wearing a heavy fur coat, sweating out the 393 00:23:14,160 --> 00:23:16,919 Speaker 1: drinks she'd thrown back on the plane, surrounded by her 394 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:19,920 Speaker 1: designer suitcases and no one was coming to meet her 395 00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:25,240 Speaker 1: on set. Meanwhile, somewhere in the Louisiana swamp, Betty Davis 396 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:30,399 Speaker 1: was cackling. The shoot was for Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte, 397 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,840 Speaker 1: originally titled Whatever Happened to Cousin Charlotte. It was planned 398 00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:37,359 Speaker 1: to be a sort of sequel to Whatever Happened to 399 00:23:37,400 --> 00:23:40,520 Speaker 1: Baby Jane, which had become a camp classic by playing 400 00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:42,960 Speaker 1: up the rivalry between Joan Crawford. 401 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:43,640 Speaker 3: And Betty Davis. 402 00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:45,879 Speaker 2: But the state of their feud before. 403 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,280 Speaker 1: Baby Jane was nothing compared to what had had become 404 00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:50,200 Speaker 1: by the time they were set to shoot the sequel, 405 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,520 Speaker 1: and this time only one diva. 406 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 3: Would emerge as the victor. 407 00:23:57,280 --> 00:23:59,920 Speaker 1: There are plenty of reasons Joan Crawford and Betty Davis 408 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: hated each other. First was that day back in nineteen 409 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:05,480 Speaker 1: thirty three that Warner Brothers made their press push for 410 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,359 Speaker 1: Betty Davis's The Next Big Thing on I Told You About, 411 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:11,359 Speaker 1: where Davis's news was buried by the announcement of jones 412 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 1: divorce from Douglas Fairbanks Junior, and as a result, Betty 413 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:19,879 Speaker 1: Davis's debut film tanked, and she blamed Joan Crawford. Betty 414 00:24:19,960 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: Davis then tried to seduce Crawford's second husband, Frank Coutone, 415 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,880 Speaker 1: while shooting a movie in nineteen thirty five that Jones 416 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:29,920 Speaker 1: swore the attempt was unsuccessful, but a producer on set 417 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:32,440 Speaker 1: said Betty Davis had always left her dressing room door 418 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:36,960 Speaker 1: open so everyone could see her blowing Joan Crawford's husband, 419 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:38,399 Speaker 1: I swear this strew not making it up. 420 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:39,440 Speaker 2: At least that's what they say. 421 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:42,720 Speaker 1: Joan Crawford twice took roles that Betty Davis passed on 422 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:46,680 Speaker 1: and spun them into Oscar worthy performances, first with Mildred 423 00:24:46,680 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: Pearce in nineteen forty five, for which Joan Crawford won 424 00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,760 Speaker 1: the Oscar, and then again with nineteen forty seven's Possessed. 425 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:54,679 Speaker 3: For which she was nominated. 426 00:24:55,520 --> 00:24:58,920 Speaker 1: Then there was nineteen fifty two's The Star, in which 427 00:24:58,960 --> 00:25:02,359 Speaker 1: Betty Davis plays a has been actress who happens to 428 00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:05,320 Speaker 1: be a depressed alcoholic. The Star was written by a 429 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: close friend of Joan Crawford's. At least she was a 430 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:10,120 Speaker 1: close friend, so she asked Joan to talk her daughter 431 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,840 Speaker 1: out of marrying a man she didn't approve of. Joan 432 00:25:12,960 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 1: flashed back to the disapproval she suffered from Douglas Fairbanks 433 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:19,280 Speaker 1: Junior's high mighty parents, and instead of talking to girl 434 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,480 Speaker 1: out of it, Joan arranged the entire wedding, held it 435 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:26,160 Speaker 1: at her own house and didn't invite the girl's parents. 436 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:30,840 Speaker 1: A retaliation, the now former friend wrote The Star as 437 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:34,520 Speaker 1: a scathing send up of Joan Crawford, and Betty Davis 438 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,960 Speaker 1: jumped at the chance to take the role. Joan Crawford 439 00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:40,879 Speaker 1: and Betty Davis spent decades bashing each other in the press, 440 00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,360 Speaker 1: and Betty once said that Crawford was a movie star, 441 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,520 Speaker 1: but the she, Betty Davis, was an actress. The clear 442 00:25:46,560 --> 00:25:49,200 Speaker 1: implication was that Joan Crawford might have the looks that 443 00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,399 Speaker 1: Betty Davis had the talent. Joan clapped back at this. 444 00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 1: When the press asked why Frank Coo Tone had chosen 445 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: her over Betty romantically, Joan said Tone thought of Davis 446 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:01,879 Speaker 1: as a good actress, but he never thought of her 447 00:26:01,920 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: as a woman. Joan added to a friend, the Tone 448 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:08,440 Speaker 1: might not be interested, but she herself might quote give 449 00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 1: Betty a poke if she was in the right mood, 450 00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,880 Speaker 1: And this got back to Betty Davis, who later refused 451 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,560 Speaker 1: to make a film about women in prison with Joan Crawford, 452 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:20,720 Speaker 1: because it was, in Davis's words, a dyke movie. So 453 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:23,160 Speaker 1: it must have been a surprise to Betty Davis when 454 00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:25,960 Speaker 1: she stepped off the stage after a nineteen sixty two 455 00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,960 Speaker 1: Broadway performance of the Night of the Iguana and saw 456 00:26:29,119 --> 00:26:33,200 Speaker 1: Joan Crawford waiting for her. Neither actress was at her peak. 457 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:37,200 Speaker 1: Betty Davis was parlaying her talent into a Broadway career, 458 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:39,119 Speaker 1: but it had been a decade since she'd had a 459 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 1: Hollywood hit. Joan had been floating from studio to studio, 460 00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:47,160 Speaker 1: making B movies and living off Pepsi's carbonated tea. Neither 461 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,359 Speaker 1: seemed to have what the studios wanted anymore, and both 462 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:52,639 Speaker 1: felt they'd been shoved out to sea, with plenty of 463 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,280 Speaker 1: movies still left in them. Crawford, however, had a way back. 464 00:26:56,840 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: She had a script that she wanted Betty Davis to see. 465 00:26:59,520 --> 00:27:02,359 Speaker 1: It was about two former actresses who end up in 466 00:27:02,359 --> 00:27:07,119 Speaker 1: a bitter and ultimately fatal rivalry. It was the perfect 467 00:27:07,240 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 1: vehicle for the two stars, but taking the rolls didn't 468 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:14,199 Speaker 1: just mean admitting they were washed up. It meant embracing it. 469 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: There was no money up front, the producers offered generous 470 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,439 Speaker 1: percentages of the box office receipts, so if they were 471 00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:24,320 Speaker 1: going to make any money, Joan Crawford and Betty Davis 472 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:27,520 Speaker 1: had to make Whatever Happened to Baby Jane a massive hit. 473 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,200 Speaker 1: The studio wanted to show the press daggers drawn on set, 474 00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:34,800 Speaker 1: but Joan and Betty kept to their dressing rooms between shoots, 475 00:27:35,359 --> 00:27:38,920 Speaker 1: and the flare ups came on camera. During a fight scene, 476 00:27:39,160 --> 00:27:42,320 Speaker 1: Betty Davis actually kicked Joan Crawford in the head. A 477 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:45,359 Speaker 1: later scene called for Betty to hoist an unconscious Joan 478 00:27:45,440 --> 00:27:48,720 Speaker 1: out of bed, and before the shoot, Betty told Joan 479 00:27:48,800 --> 00:27:51,400 Speaker 1: not to just lie there. Betty had a bad back 480 00:27:51,520 --> 00:27:55,320 Speaker 1: couldn't lift Joe's dead weight, so Joan Crawford strapped on 481 00:27:55,359 --> 00:27:58,600 Speaker 1: a lead belt under a costume for the shot, blew 482 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,600 Speaker 1: out Betty Davis's back, and by the time they were 483 00:28:01,640 --> 00:28:05,119 Speaker 1: doing press junkets for the film, the rivalry was raging 484 00:28:05,160 --> 00:28:08,719 Speaker 1: as hot as ever. Betty Davis grinned and giggled as 485 00:28:08,760 --> 00:28:11,280 Speaker 1: she talked about throwing Joan down a flight of stairs, 486 00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:15,400 Speaker 1: but the biggest jab came once the Oscar nominations were announced. 487 00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:19,119 Speaker 1: But whatever Happened to Baby Jane was a hit, but 488 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 1: only Betty Davis was nominated for Best Actress. Joan Crawford 489 00:28:23,480 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 1: reached out to every other nominated actress. She told the 490 00:28:26,560 --> 00:28:28,840 Speaker 1: nominees that if by any chance they didn't want to 491 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:31,880 Speaker 1: bother going to the Oscar ceremony, she would be honored 492 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:36,119 Speaker 1: to accept the award on their behalf. Anne Bancroft, nominated 493 00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: for The Miracle Worker, was performing on Broadway the night 494 00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:42,160 Speaker 1: of the ceremony. She told Joan it would be a 495 00:28:42,160 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 1: big help to have someone there to accept the award. 496 00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:47,800 Speaker 1: On the night of the Oscars, when the name of 497 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 1: the winner was called, Joan Crawford walked to the stage 498 00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:55,080 Speaker 1: to accept Bancroft's statue, while Betty Davis sat stewing in 499 00:28:55,120 --> 00:29:00,880 Speaker 1: her seat. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane's success didn't lead 500 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:04,080 Speaker 1: to bigger roles for either Betty Davis or Joan Crawford, 501 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 1: so in nineteen sixty four, they decided to try to 502 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,080 Speaker 1: recapture the same magic with Whatever Happened To Cousin Charlotte, 503 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,480 Speaker 1: a film that was Baby Jane, with the role swapped. 504 00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:19,080 Speaker 1: This time, Joan would torture Betty, but Betty set out 505 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:21,600 Speaker 1: to make joanes life a living hell. Before the camera 506 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,400 Speaker 1: started to roll, she was the one who canceled the 507 00:29:24,440 --> 00:29:26,720 Speaker 1: cab that was scheduled to pick up Joan at the airport. 508 00:29:27,320 --> 00:29:30,560 Speaker 1: She also canceled Joan's room reservation in a liquor order, 509 00:29:31,280 --> 00:29:34,640 Speaker 1: and she had a coke machine installed on set. Remember, 510 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 1: Joan was still the global ambassador for PEPSI. It all 511 00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:42,200 Speaker 1: became too much for Joan Crawford. The chute had barely 512 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:45,200 Speaker 1: begun before she flew back to la and checked herself 513 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:49,280 Speaker 1: into a hospital complaining of a mysterious respiratory helmet. Months 514 00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:51,600 Speaker 1: went by, and the choot had to go on with 515 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:55,160 Speaker 1: or without Joan Crawford. It wasn't a conspiracy or a 516 00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: blackmail or revenge. 517 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:02,080 Speaker 2: This was business. Crawford found out she was fired. 518 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:04,120 Speaker 1: From the movie when she heard it announced on a radio, 519 00:30:04,720 --> 00:30:23,120 Speaker 1: and she lay in her hospital bed with her eyebrows 520 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:25,880 Speaker 1: painted on in perfect half circles and a wig of 521 00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:30,560 Speaker 1: flowing brown curls. Faye Dunaway pursed the muscles around her mouth. 522 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 3: Together just right. 523 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: Some days she held this expression for hours until her 524 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,640 Speaker 1: face ached with the effort. She stood in the closet 525 00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 1: and looked down at the little Girl. Faye Dunaway had 526 00:30:42,040 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: recently adopted a child herself, although for years she claimed 527 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:46,400 Speaker 1: she'd given. 528 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:47,640 Speaker 3: Birth to the boy. 529 00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:50,000 Speaker 1: She was using her new role as adopted mother to 530 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:54,200 Speaker 1: fuel this part, channeling those emotions into her performance, but 531 00:30:54,280 --> 00:30:57,120 Speaker 1: before she did, she had to twist them into something 532 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:00,520 Speaker 1: hard and cruel. There were days she worried should get 533 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,520 Speaker 1: home still in character, and there were days she left 534 00:31:03,520 --> 00:31:06,240 Speaker 1: the set convinced that the ghost of Joan Crawford was 535 00:31:06,320 --> 00:31:10,560 Speaker 1: following her. But today Faye Dunaway was immersed in the park. 536 00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:14,960 Speaker 1: Her performance ended up shredding her vocal cords. She opened 537 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:17,920 Speaker 1: her mouth and screamed three words that would eclipse Joan 538 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:28,440 Speaker 1: Crawford's entire forty year Hollywood career, No wire Hangers. Many 539 00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:32,040 Speaker 1: people think that Joan Crawford's psychotic version of Wire Hangers 540 00:31:32,040 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 1: goes back to one of her botched abortions when she 541 00:31:34,360 --> 00:31:39,560 Speaker 1: was still Lucille Lacier. Jones's adopted daughter, Christina, whose memoir 542 00:31:39,760 --> 00:31:43,080 Speaker 1: inspired the movie, insisted it went back farther than that. 543 00:31:43,920 --> 00:31:47,720 Speaker 1: She claimed that when Joan Crawford's stepfather abandoned the family, 544 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:51,160 Speaker 1: that her mother Joan took over a dry cleaning business 545 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,360 Speaker 1: and set her to work hanging an endless stream of 546 00:31:54,400 --> 00:31:57,280 Speaker 1: other people's clothes on an endless stream of wire hangers. 547 00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:00,840 Speaker 1: There's dispute as to whether the scene happened at all. 548 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:06,120 Speaker 1: Christina Crawford's memoir Mommy Dearras was published after Joan Crawford's 549 00:32:06,160 --> 00:32:10,200 Speaker 1: death from liver cancer in nineteen seventy seven, but Jones 550 00:32:10,320 --> 00:32:13,160 Speaker 1: fans insist none of it is true and that Joan 551 00:32:13,240 --> 00:32:17,760 Speaker 1: Crawford was a devoted mother. Even rival Betty Davis said 552 00:32:17,840 --> 00:32:22,800 Speaker 1: Joan didn't deserve such vile treatment. Christina Crawford was the 553 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:26,760 Speaker 1: first kid Joan Crawford adopted. The back alley abortions Joan 554 00:32:26,800 --> 00:32:29,040 Speaker 1: had in her wild days had left her unable to 555 00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,000 Speaker 1: carry a child, and the state of California had deemed 556 00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:34,960 Speaker 1: her unfit to legally adopt since she was between husbands 557 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:37,960 Speaker 1: at the time. In nineteen forty, she went to that 558 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:40,680 Speaker 1: baby broker I told you about in Nevada and scored 559 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:41,280 Speaker 1: a kid. 560 00:32:41,120 --> 00:32:42,840 Speaker 3: Who would complete her new image. 561 00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,400 Speaker 1: She knew she was too old to play bombshells and sexpots. 562 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,640 Speaker 1: She needed to sell herself to Hollywood is Wholesome, and 563 00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 1: she needed a kid as a prop eventually she needed five. 564 00:32:55,560 --> 00:32:58,920 Speaker 1: In her memoir, Christina Crawford paints her adopted mother as 565 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 1: a physically and emotionally abusive alcoholic. She wrote about night 566 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:05,440 Speaker 1: raids where she was dragged out of bed and beaten 567 00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:08,959 Speaker 1: for no reason, about how Joan Crawford would invite photographers 568 00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,920 Speaker 1: into the house on the children's birthdays and on Christmas 569 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:15,280 Speaker 1: to shoot pictures of happy kids surrounded by presents, but 570 00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:18,000 Speaker 1: then take all the presents back the next day and 571 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:20,520 Speaker 1: force the kids to write thank you cards for gifts 572 00:33:20,560 --> 00:33:22,880 Speaker 1: they no longer had. She wrote about the night her 573 00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:24,920 Speaker 1: mother tore up all the dresses in her closet because 574 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:28,040 Speaker 1: they were hung on wire hangers, but she doesn't say anything. 575 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:29,160 Speaker 3: About their later relationship. 576 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:32,240 Speaker 1: Christina tried for a while to make it as an actress, 577 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:35,560 Speaker 1: and she asked her mother for help getting parts. Instead, 578 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:37,760 Speaker 1: her mother went to producers and told them that Christina 579 00:33:37,880 --> 00:33:42,719 Speaker 1: didn't have the emotional maturity for major roles. Christina, however, 580 00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:46,200 Speaker 1: landed apart on a soap opera called The Secret Storm 581 00:33:46,240 --> 00:33:50,280 Speaker 1: in nineteen sixty eight, playing a twenty four year old housewife. 582 00:33:50,320 --> 00:33:53,400 Speaker 1: In October that year, she had to have emergency surgery 583 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:57,920 Speaker 1: without informing your daughter, Joan Crawford, told the show's producers 584 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,680 Speaker 1: that she could fill in for Christina. For four episodes, 585 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:04,640 Speaker 1: the sixty year old film icon played the role of 586 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:07,880 Speaker 1: a twenty four year old while her daughter recovered from surgery. 587 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:12,200 Speaker 1: Ratings for the show went through the roof. Just before 588 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:15,440 Speaker 1: her death, Joan Crawford wrote Christina out of her will, 589 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:19,640 Speaker 1: citing quote reasons which are well known to her unquote. 590 00:34:20,480 --> 00:34:23,799 Speaker 1: Some speculated Joan Crawford knew about the book Christina had 591 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:27,319 Speaker 1: been working on, but while her mother canceled her inheritance 592 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:31,680 Speaker 1: and briefly stole her biggest role, Christina Crawford ultimately wrote 593 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:36,560 Speaker 1: Joan Crawford's legacy and pop culture. Joan Crawford is now 594 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,520 Speaker 1: remembered for three words she might not have even said, 595 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:42,880 Speaker 1: and then for all of her film's sex and legends. 596 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:47,319 Speaker 1: Three words screamed over a story that ought to. 597 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:48,840 Speaker 3: Be in pictures. 598 00:34:49,840 --> 00:34:53,759 Speaker 2: I'm Jake Brennan in This is hollywood Land. 599 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: Hollywood Land was created by Years Truly and is produced 600 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:11,359 Speaker 1: in partnership. 601 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:11,720 Speaker 2: With Double Elvis. 602 00:35:12,560 --> 00:35:15,200 Speaker 1: Follow like, rate and review hollywood Land wherever you get 603 00:35:15,239 --> 00:35:17,240 Speaker 1: your podcasts and get in touch with us on social 604 00:35:17,280 --> 00:35:20,719 Speaker 1: media at Double Elvis If you like hollywood Land, check 605 00:35:20,719 --> 00:35:23,640 Speaker 1: out my other show, the award winning Disgraceland, which looks 606 00:35:23,640 --> 00:35:25,760 Speaker 1: at the world of music through the lens of true crime. 607 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:28,759 Speaker 1: Just search for Disgraceland or wherever you get your podcasts. 608 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:35,719 Speaker 2: Good G's a lat