Joan Crawford - Fred Lawrence Guiles

Joan Crawford was undoubtedly one of the most durable and professional Hollywood stars of all time. She dedicated her life to her stardom and her posthumous reputation has suffered because of this. Yet the author maintains that she was far more than the caricature drawn in the book and film "Mommie Dearest". This biography not only puts into context Crawford's long movie career but also examines her turbulent private life using previously unpublished sources and recent interviews with those who knew and, in some cases, loved her.;Four times married and driven by a powerful sexuality, Joan Crawford's was a life lived on a knife edge. Yet she was a person of great generosity who cared deeply for her four adopted children, even if her ideas of discipline were coloured by her own harsh upbringing. Her life in the entertainment business spanned nearly 40 years - from silent films to television - and exemplified her ability to adapt to the ever-changing demands of the industry in which she made her career.;This biography does not seek to disguise the dark side of Joan Crawford's nature, but it restores a balance to the account of the life of this complex woman and sets the record straight with regard to some of the wilder accusations that have been made against her.