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Post by tom on Dec 5, 2021 20:01:56 GMT -6
OK. So, we all know that LL was supposed to be Joan Arden before she became JC. And, we know the names came about due to a magazine contest. The two stories I've read are....
1. An actress named Joan Arden came forward and threatened a lawsuit. So, JA became JC.
2. JA was submitted by multiple people and to avoid paying multiple prizes, they moved on to JC.
So, has anyone ever found evidence of this litigious Joan Arden? I've not. IMDB, archive.org, etc. Nada. Zilch.
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Post by tom on Dec 5, 2021 20:02:57 GMT -6
"Joan Crawford was a name that did come from a contest, the prize being awarded to a Mrs. Louise M. Antisdale of Albany, N. Y. But Lucille Le Sueur was Joan Arden be- fore she became Joan Crawford. Arden was selected and Joan wore it for a few days until it was discovered that several people had submitted Arden. So Mrs. Antisdale's Craw- ford was substituted." archive.org/stream/movieclassic07moti/movieclassic07moti_djvu.txtAnd for that matter whatever happened to Mrs. Antisdale? You'd think that when Joan was one of the biggest stars on the planet in 1930s, some intrepid reporter would have hunted down the intrepid reporter. |
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Post by tom on Dec 5, 2021 20:31:42 GMT -6
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Post by tom on Dec 5, 2021 20:34:00 GMT -6
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Post by tom on Dec 6, 2021 8:08:23 GMT -6
Everything you might care to know about the contest, from BOE... www.joancrawfordbest.com/magmoviewkly.htmMy favorite tidbits... "The judges of the contest will be Adele Whitely Fletcher, the editor of Movie Weekly; Harry Rapf, Florence Lawrence, dramatic editor of the Los Angeles Examiner, and Edwin Schallert, dramatic editor of the Los Angeles Times." It seems that only the former among these did the picking... "I knew Joan for 50 years, from the time M.G.M. signed a chorus girl from New York's Winter Garden to a contract and, deciding her name of Lucille LeSueur was impossible, initiated a magazine contest with a $500 prize for a winning name. There were, of course, eminent judges. When they did not appear for the judging I, as editor, chose Joan Crawford as the winning name. Lucille Le Sueur hated that name, until it turned into pay-dirt with the relentless effort and incredible self-discipline she put behind it." |
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Post by tom on Dec 6, 2021 17:10:58 GMT -6
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Post by tom on Dec 6, 2021 17:27:52 GMT -6
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Post by tom on Dec 6, 2021 19:36:35 GMT -6
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Post by davidmorrocco on Dec 7, 2021 1:20:18 GMT -6
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Post by davidmorrocco on Dec 7, 2021 1:26:12 GMT -6
Harry Rapf and my grandfather knew each other. They both were in NYC looking for talent in the show business industry many moons ago. I forgot about him until I saw your post.
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Post by tom on Dec 7, 2021 7:53:56 GMT -6
Harry Rapf and my grandfather knew each other. They both were in NYC looking for talent in the show business industry many moons ago. I forgot about him until I saw your post. Cool!! Henry Rapf sure picked a peach in LL from the chorus line. Would loved had there been more info on the what, where, when, why of Joan's "discovery" in NYC, her screen test(s), etc. |
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Post by tom on Dec 7, 2021 11:57:03 GMT -6
This article implies Joan and Rapf may have slept together motivating the famous screen tests... "Shubert was impressed enough by the “little fat girl with the big eyes” to give her a job in the chorus of a couple of his shows, and when MGM producer Harry Rapf saw Lucille dancing across the stage in Innocent Eyes, he thought she “had something.” By landing in his bed, the canny young woman landed herself a screen test and then a contract at the most prestigious movie factory in the world." Not sure their source or its veracity, but JC did say that the casting couch was preferable to the cold floor! maxmcmanus.com/category/joan-crawford/ |
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Post by Admin on Dec 8, 2021 21:14:49 GMT -6
This article implies Joan and Rapf may have slept together motivating the famous screen tests... "Shubert was impressed enough by the “little fat girl with the big eyes” to give her a job in the chorus of a couple of his shows, and when MGM producer Harry Rapf saw Lucille dancing across the stage in Innocent Eyes, he thought she “had something.” By landing in his bed, the canny young woman landed herself a screen test and then a contract at the most prestigious movie factory in the world." Not sure their source or its veracity, but JC did say that the casting couch was preferable to the cold floor! maxmcmanus.com/category/joan-crawford/I wouldn't doubt it. I'm sure Joan had to sleep with a lot of people in the beginning. For instance, according to Joan in one bio, Jackie Coogan's father made her sleep with him first before being cast in "Old Clothes": Jackie Coogan, Sr., insisted on a casting couch session before choosing Joan from 150 girls who wanted the part of "Mary." Joan later called him "a dirty pig." (JC: Essential Biography) |
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Post by tom on Dec 9, 2021 15:47:14 GMT -6
This article implies Joan and Rapf may have slept together motivating the famous screen tests... "Shubert was impressed enough by the “little fat girl with the big eyes” to give her a job in the chorus of a couple of his shows, and when MGM producer Harry Rapf saw Lucille dancing across the stage in Innocent Eyes, he thought she “had something.” By landing in his bed, the canny young woman landed herself a screen test and then a contract at the most prestigious movie factory in the world." Not sure their source or its veracity, but JC did say that the casting couch was preferable to the cold floor! maxmcmanus.com/category/joan-crawford/I wouldn't doubt it. I'm sure Joan had to sleep with a lot of people in the beginning. For instance, according to Joan in one bio, Jackie Coogan's father made her sleep with him first before being cast in "Old Clothes": Jackie Coogan, Sr., insisted on a casting couch session before choosing Joan from 150 girls who wanted the part of "Mary." Joan later called him "a dirty pig." (JC: Essential Biography) Yeah, I remember that one. I think Myrna Loy in her autobiography tells of JC being upset about having to fight off Hollywood lotharios when they were making Pretty Ladies. |
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Post by tom on Dec 9, 2021 16:13:25 GMT -6
 From Myrna Loy's autobiography. The above is abstracted from Just Joan: A Joan Crawford Appreciation By Donna Marie Nowak. |
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