| Revision as of 11:13, 6 January 2013 editTal1962 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,946 edits →Reaction to the book← Previous edit | Revision as of 10:01, 7 January 2013 edit undoRyan Vesey (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers, Rollbackers26,107 edits →Reaction to the book: None of the sourced information has any relation to the bookNext edit → | ||
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| However, Joan's friends ],<ref name="Hayes">{{cite book|last1=Hayes|first1=Helen|authorlink1=Helen Hayes|last2=Hatch|first2=Katherine|title=My Life in Three Acts|year=1990|publisher=Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich|isbn=0-15-163695-8}}</ref> ],<ref name="Redbook"/>],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allyson|first1=June|authorlink1=June Allyson|last2=Leighton|first2=Frances Spatz|title=June Allyson|accessdate=May 8, 2011|year=1983|publisher=Berkley|location=New York|isbn=0-425-06251-1|pages=77–84}}</ref> ],<ref name="Redbook">''Redbook'' v. 165, Redbook Publishing, Inc. p. 25. OCLC 1763595.</ref> and ]<ref name=op], home and has stated that she saw the children during or after various moments of abuse.<ref name=op]'' co-star, actress ], sided with Christina about Crawford's parenting abilities, saying that Crawford suffered from ]; a good woman in many ways but, as an alcoholic with a violent temper, simply unfit to be a mother. In the book ''Understanding the Borderline Mother'', author Christine Ann Lawson suggests that Joan Crawford may have had ] (BPD),<ref>Christine Ann Lawson, ''Understanding the borderline mother: helping her children transcend the intense, unpredictable, and volatile relationship'', (Jason Aronson, 2002), p. 5. ISBN 0-7657-0331-9, ISBN 978-0-7657-0331-6. Found online at . Accessed March 28, 2012.</ref> along with an obsessive compulsion with cleanliness. | However, Joan's friends ],<ref name="Hayes">{{cite book|last1=Hayes|first1=Helen|authorlink1=Helen Hayes|last2=Hatch|first2=Katherine|title=My Life in Three Acts|year=1990|publisher=Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich|isbn=0-15-163695-8}}</ref> ],<ref name="Redbook"/>],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Allyson|first1=June|authorlink1=June Allyson|last2=Leighton|first2=Frances Spatz|title=June Allyson|accessdate=May 8, 2011|year=1983|publisher=Berkley|location=New York|isbn=0-425-06251-1|pages=77–84}}</ref> ],<ref name="Redbook">''Redbook'' v. 165, Redbook Publishing, Inc. p. 25. OCLC 1763595.</ref> and ]<ref name=op], home and has stated that she saw the children during or after various moments of abuse.<ref name=op]'' co-star, actress ], sided with Christina about Crawford's parenting abilities, saying that Crawford suffered from ]; a good woman in many ways but, as an alcoholic with a violent temper, simply unfit to be a mother. In the book ''Understanding the Borderline Mother'', author Christine Ann Lawson suggests that Joan Crawford may have had ] (BPD),<ref>Christine Ann Lawson, ''Understanding the borderline mother: helping her children transcend the intense, unpredictable, and volatile relationship'', (Jason Aronson, 2002), p. 5. ISBN 0-7657-0331-9, ISBN 978-0-7657-0331-6. Found online at . Accessed March 28, 2012.</ref> along with an obsessive compulsion with cleanliness. | ||
| Starting in 1978, in response to the book and later, the film, hundreds of Joan's friends and family members took out annual advertisements in Variety for many years after her death in protest. Among them were Jane Kesner Ardmore, co-author of Crawford's first autobiography; ]; Betty Barker, her secretary for over forty years; ]; ]; ]; Dore Freeman, who started her first fan club and, thanks for Crawford, rose through the ranks to become a Hollywood executive; <ref> http://articles.latimes.com/1988-11-20/news/mn-453_1_joan-crawford </ref> ]; ] (who was the driving force behind the ads); ]; ]; ]; ]; ]; ]; Elva Martien, a long time friend; ]'s widow, Victoria Horne; neighbors Marty and Selma Mertz; Michael Sean O'Shea, ]; ], who worked with Crawford at the USO for over two decades; ]; ]; ]; Hollywood publicist John Springer; ]; ] friends with Joan from her early days at MGM; ]; publicist Linn Unkefer; Crawford's NY secrtary for over a decade, Florence Walsh; ]; Crawford's God-daughter, ] Wetherly; ] and, surprisingly, ] herself, as well as dozens of the people she had known and worked with over the years. <ref> Variety issues of May 10, 1979 to 1989 </ref> | |||
| == Epilogue == | == Epilogue == | ||
Revision as of 10:01, 7 January 2013
For the 1981 movie adaptation, see Mommie Dearest (film). | |
| Author | Christina Crawford |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Memoir |
| Publisher | William Morrow & Co. |
| Publication date | October 1978 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 286 pp |
| ISBN | 0-688-03386-5 |
| OCLC | 4114625 |
| Dewey Decimal | 791.43/028/0924 B |
| LC Class | PN2287.C67C7 |
Mommie Dearest is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. The book, which depicts Christina's childhood and her relationship with her mother, was published in 1978.
Christina Crawford's claims
In the book, Christina Crawford claims that she was a victim of child abuse during her mother's battle with alcoholism and that her mother was more concerned about her motion picture career than the well-being of her four children, suggesting she may have adopted them for publicity purposes. She also suggests that Joan had a long list of affairs with men whom Christina was required to call "Uncle" and rarely "Daddy", and claims Joan also had many affairs with women.
Christina recounts several evenings where Joan's behavior was unbalanced, and at least one encounter with her mother where Crawford attempted to strangle her. In another, Joan reportedly discovered Christina's clothes hanging in a closet on wire hangers, instead of higher-quality padded hangers, and launched into a violent tirade on the subject.
Reaction to the book
The book's publication in 1978 created an enormous amount of attention. Mommie Dearest was one of the first celebrity "tell all" books.
Hundreds of Joan Crawford's friends disputed the version of events presented in Mommie Dearest. Among them Van Johnson, Cesar Romero, Bob Hope, Barbara Stanwyck, Sydney Guilaroff, Ann Blyth, and in particular Myrna Loy, Joan's friend since 1925, became staunch defenders. While acknowledging that Joan Crawford was highly ambitious and an alcoholic for much of her life, critics have suggested that Christina embellished her story. Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Crawford's first husband, described the book by stating, "The Joan Crawford that I've heard about in Mommie Dearest is not the Joan Crawford I knew back then." The two younger Crawford children, Cindy and Cathy, born 1947, have stated categorically many times that they did not witness or experience any events as described in the book.
Liz Smith said, "I was inclined to believe Joan was misguided in her attempts to "mold" her children - and was vain and self-absorbed like most great stars - but the stories of beatings and near-madness were over the top." Crawford's secrtary for nearly fifty years, Betty Barker, also stated that, while Joan was strict, Christina and Christopher were never abused.
However, Joan's friends Helen Hayes, James MacArthur,June Allyson, Rex Reed, and Betty Hutton have verified some of the stories in Christina's book and claimed they also witnessed some of the abuse firsthand. Hutton had previously lived near Crawford's Brentwood, California, home and has stated that she saw the children during or after various moments of abuse. Hutton stated she would often encourage her own children to play with Christina and Christopher to draw them away from their challenges at home. Crawford's Mildred Pierce co-star, actress Eve Arden, sided with Christina about Crawford's parenting abilities, saying that Crawford suffered from bipolar disorder; a good woman in many ways but, as an alcoholic with a violent temper, simply unfit to be a mother. In the book Understanding the Borderline Mother, author Christine Ann Lawson suggests that Joan Crawford may have had Borderline personality disorder (BPD), along with an obsessive compulsion with cleanliness.
Epilogue
The last pages of Christina's book suggest that Christina was not about to let her mother have the "last word" by omitting her daughter from her will. Later biographers have reported that Christina began writing her book before Crawford's death, and have suggested that Joan's knowledge of its contents may have been a factor in Joan Crawford cutting her daughter from her will.
Christina Crawford has stood by her story and later released a "20th Anniversary Edition" which includes one hundred pages of new material and omits about fifty pages of original material. The second edition names certain individuals not named in the original book, and focuses more on Christina's relationship with her mother from her high school graduation until the 1970s. It also revealed what became of her brother and describes several incidents involving him.
The author's promotion of the second edition, which was put out by a smaller publishing company, included some unconventional methods. This included appearing at campy presentations of the film based on the book where Christina lectured about the new edition. Christina also appeared at readings with drag entertainer Lypsinka, who has made numerous appearances as Joan Crawford during stage acts.
Editions
- Mommie Dearest, Christina Crawford, William Morrow & Co., 1978, ISBN 0-688-03386-5, hardcover
- Mommie Dearest, Christina Crawford, Seven Springs Press, 1997, ISBN 0-9663369-0-9, expanded edition,
- The book's 20th Anniversary Edition restored approximately 100-pages previously cut from the original 1978 print. Christina Crawford bought back the book rights.
References
- http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2008-02-06/features/0802060054_1_joan-crawford-charlotte-chandler-christina
- http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/may/25/biography.film
- Hayes, Helen; Hatch, Katherine (1990). My Life in Three Acts. Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0-15-163695-8.
- ^ Redbook v. 165, Redbook Publishing, Inc. p. 25. OCLC 1763595.
- Allyson, June; Leighton, Frances Spatz (1983). June Allyson. New York: Berkley. pp. 77–84. ISBN 0-425-06251-1.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ http://www.meredy.com/joancrawford/bio.html
- Reed could not have witness anything as he was born in 1938 and did not come to know Crawford until moving to New York in the 1960s
- Christine Ann Lawson, Understanding the borderline mother: helping her children transcend the intense, unpredictable, and volatile relationship, (Jason Aronson, 2002), p. 5. ISBN 0-7657-0331-9, ISBN 978-0-7657-0331-6. Found online at Google books. Accessed March 28, 2012.
- ^ Guiles, Fred Laurence, `Joan Crawford: The Last Word', Carol Publishing Corporation (1995), ISBN 1-55972-269-X
- http://www.metroweekly.com/feature/?ak=2536