Cast & creator
Joan Crawford
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, What's My Line?
Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, 1906 – May 10, 1977) was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion picture contract by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1925. Initially frustrated by the size and quality of her parts, Crawford launched a publicity campaign and built an image as a nationally known flapper by the end of the 1920s. By the 1930s, Crawford's fame rivaled MGM colleagues Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo. Crawford often played hardworking young women who find romance and financial success. These "rags-to-riches" stories were well received by Depression-era audiences and were popular with women. Crawford became one of Hollywood's most prominent movie stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money. By the end of the 1930s, she was labeled "box office poison". After an absence of nearly two years from the screen, Crawford staged a comeback by starring in Mildred Pierce (1945), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1955, she became involved with the Pepsi-Cola Company, through her marriage to company president Alfred Steele. After his death in 1959, Crawford was elected to fill his vacancy on the board of directors but was forcibly retired in 1973. She continued acting in film and television regularly through the 1960s, when her performances became fewer; after the release of the horror film Trog in 1970, Crawford retired from the screen. Following a public appearance in 1974, after which unflattering photographs were published, Crawford withdrew from public life. She became more and more reclusive until her death in 1977.
Also known as: Lucille Fay LeSueur, Lucille Le Sueur, Billie Cassin, Lucille Fay Le Sueur
178
film credits
20
television credits
192
1925–2025 · acting roles
6.5
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (198)
Showing 198 of 198 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
1962
What's My Line?
Self
1950
Great Performances
Self
1971
The Virginian
Stephanie White
1962
The Lucy Show
Joan Crawford
1962
The Name of the Game
Committee Member (uncredited)
1968The Secret Storm
Joan Borman Kane
1954
Route 66
Morgan Harper
1960
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Stella Faring
1956Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre
Sarah / Melanie Davidson Hobbs
1956
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
1950
The Oscars
Self
1953
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
Amanda True
1964
Startime
Self
1959
The Sixth Sense
Joan Fairchild
1972
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Blanche Hudson
1962
General Electric Theater
Ann Howard
1953General Electric Theater
Ruth Marshall
1953General Electric Theater
Mary Andrews
1953
Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story
Self (archive footage)
2025
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
(in "Humoresque") (archive footage)
1982
Mildred Pierce
Mildred Pierce
1945
Grand Hotel
Flämmchen
1932
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Miriam Deering in Car (uncredited)
1964
The Women
Crystal Allen
1939
A Woman's Face
Anna Holm
1941
The Tim Conway Show
Self
1970
The Hollywood Revue of 1929
Self
1929
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
1976
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
1925
Johnny Guitar
Vienna
1954
Possessed
Marian Martin aka 'Mrs. Moreland'
1931
Dancing Lady
Janie Barlow
1933
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1994
Daisy Kenyon
Daisy Kenyon
1947
The Oscar
Joan Crawford
1966
The Best of Everything
Amanda Farrow
1959
Night Gallery
Miss Menlo
1969Bob Hope's World of Comedy
(archive footage)
1976
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Female on the Beach
Lynn Markham
1955
The Damned Don't Cry
Ethel Whitehead
1950The Damned Don't Cry
Costume Consultant
1950The Damned Don't Cry
Additional Writing
1950
It's a Great Feeling
Joan Crawford (uncredited)
1949
That's Entertainment!
(archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
The Boob
Jane
1926
Queen Bee
Eva Phillips
1955
A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound
Self
1940
Strait-Jacket
Lucy Harbin
1964
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
Self (archive footage) (voice)
2006
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
1975
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
Self (archive footage)
1995Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
Self
1989
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
1972
I Saw What You Did
Amy Nelson
1965
Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood
Various Roles (archive footage)
2008
Flamingo Road
Lane Bellamy
1949Legends in Light: The Photography of George Hurrell
Self (archive footage)
1995
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Self (archive footage / uncredited)
2000
The Road to Edinburgh
Mary Andrews
1954
I Live My Life
Kay Bentley
1935
The Last of Mrs. Cheyney
Mrs. Fay Cheyney
1937
Hollywood Canteen
Self
1944
From the Ends of the Earth
Self
1939
Tell Us She Was One of You: The Hollywood Blacklist and 'Johnny Guitar'
Self (archive footage)
2016
This Woman Is Dangerous
Elizabeth Austin
1952
The Midshipman
Extra - Driver of Police Car (uncredited)
1925
Johnny Guitar: A Western Like No Other
Self (archive footage)
2016
Sally, Irene and Mary
Irene O'Dare
1925
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
1984
Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star
Self (archive footage)
2002
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story
Self (archive)
2007
Sadie McKee
Sadie
1934
Humoresque
Helen Wright
1947
Hollywood: Style Center of the World
Self
1940
The Big Parade of Comedy
Bobby (archive footage)
1964
Berserk!
Monica Rivers
1967
Garbo, by Joan Crawford
Self - Host / Narrator (voice)
1969
1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
Self (archive footage)
2009
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Self - Janie Barlow (archive footage) (uncredited)
1961
Strange Cargo
Julie
1940
Autumn Leaves
Millicent Wetherby
1956
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
Self (archive footage)
2007
Sudden Fear
Myra Hudson Blaine
1952
The Romance of Celluloid
Self (archive footage)
1937Checking Out: Grand Hotel
Self / Flaemmchen (archive footage)
2004
The Bride Wore Red
Anni Pavlovitch
1937Possessed
(archive footage)
2011
Zwischen Glück und Krone
Self (archive footage)
1959
Brigitte Bardot: The Icon of France
2009
Flappers, Speakeasies, and the Birth of Modern Culture
2010
The Unknown
Nanon Zanzi
1927
Above Suspicion
Frances Myles
1943
When Ladies Meet
Mary 'Minnie' Howard
1941
They All Kissed the Bride
Margaret Johanna 'M.J.' Drew
1942
The Ice Follies of 1939
Mary McKay
1939
Reunion in France
Michele de la Becque
1942
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
1982
Possessed
Louise Howell
1947
The Karate Killers
Amanda True
1967
Blow-Ups of 1946
Self
1946
Screen Snapshots Series 18, No. 8
Joan Crawford
1939
Rain
Sadie Thompson
1932
Torch Song
Jenny Stewart
1953
Lykke og krone
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1962
The Story of Esther Costello
Margaret Landi
1957
The Casting Couch
1995
Lady of the Night
Body Double for Norma Shearer
1925Woman on the Run
Susan Conrad
1959Woman on the Run
Producer
1959
The Shining Hour
Olivia Riley Linden
1938
Journey to the Unknown
Self - Host
1969
Our Modern Maidens
Billie Brown
1929
Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition
Self (archive footage)
2006
Complicated Women
Self (archive footage)
2003
This was the MARY
Self/Narrator
1968
The Law of the Range
Betty Dallas
1928
Love on the Run
Sally Parker
1936
Joan Crawford's Home Movies
Self
1942Joan Crawford's Home Movies
Director
1942Joan Crawford's Home Movies
Cinematography
1942
Winners of the Wilderness
René Contrecoeur
1927
The Duke Steps Out
Susie
1929
Biography: Bette Davis — If Looks Could Kill
Self (archive footage)
1994
And One Was Loyal
Ann Howard
The Merry Widow
Ballroom Dancer (uncredited)
1925
Tim Conway: Timeless Comedy
Self (archive footage)
2007
Across to Singapore
Priscilla Crowninshield
1928
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
1954
Susan and God
Susan Trexel
1940
Johnny Guitar: A Feminist Western?
Self (archive footage)
2016Screen Snapshots Series 10, No. 1
Self
1930
A Slave of Fashion
Mannequin (uncredited)
1925
Chained
Diane Lovering
1934
The Gorgeous Hussy
Margaret "Peggy" O'Neal
1936
Harriet Craig
Harriet Craig
1950
Our Blushing Brides
Geraldine 'Gerry' March
1930
Trog
Dr. Brockton
1970
The Stolen Jools
Joan Crawford
1931
At Home with Joan Crawford
Self
1953
Forsaking All Others
Mary Clay
1934
Goodbye, My Fancy
Agatha Reed
1951Screen Snapshots Series 17, No. 6
Self
1938
Dear Joan: We're Going to Scare You to Death
Joan Fairchild
1972
42nd Street: From Book to Screen to Stage
Self (archive footage)
2006
How to Plan a Movie Murder
Self
1964
Today We Live
Diana 'Ann' Boyce-Smith
1933
Letty Lynton
Letty Lynton
1932
Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
Betty Burton
1926
Mannequin
Jessie Cassidy
1938
Battle-Axe: the Making of 'Strait-Jacket'
Self (archive footage)
2002
One Must Die
1961
The Caretakers
Lucretia Terry
1963
The Green Fog
2018
Fascination: Unauthorized Story of Marilyn Monroe
Self (archive footage)
2012
No More Ladies
Marcia Townsend Warren
1935
Joan Crawford: Always the Star
Self (archive footage)
1996Screen Snapshots: Series 16, No. 12
Self (uncredited)
1937
Dance, Fools, Dance
Bonnie Jordan
1931
Untamed
Alice "Bingo" Dowling
1929
We’re Switching to Hollywood
Self
1931
1925 Studio Tour
Self
1925
The Big Rock Candy Mountain
Self
1969
The Damned Don't Cry: The Crawford Formula - Real and Reel
Self (archive)
2005The Shirley Eder Tapes
Self
2012
Fast Workers
Ivy Stevens (Archive Footage) (Uncredited)
1933
The Circle
Young Lady Catherine
1925
Bardelys the Magnificent
Court Gossip (uncredited)
1926
Twelve Miles Out
Jane
1927
Strange Witness
Ruth Marshall
1958
The Understanding Heart
Monica Dale
1927
This Modern Age
Valentine 'Val' Winters
1931
Our Dancing Daughters
Diana 'Di' Medford
1928
Journey to Murder
Host
1971
Proud Flesh
Party Guest (uncredited)
1925
Spring Fever
Allie Monte
1927
Bette and Joan
Self (archive footage)
2017
Gay! Gay! Hollywood
1994
Pretty Ladies
Bobby
1925
West Point
Betty Channing
1928
Montana Moon
Joan
1930
Paid
Mary Turner
1930
Rose-Marie
Rose-Marie
1928
Della
Della Chappell
1964Della
Producer
1964
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Self (archive footage)
1982
The Taxi Dancer
Joselyn Poe
1927
Laughing Sinners
Ivy 'Bunny' Stevens
1931
Time, the Comedian
Art Student (as Lucille LeSueur)
1925
Through Many Windows
Self - Narrator
1947
Four Walls
Frieda
1928
The Only Thing
Party Guest (uncredited)
1925
Rebel Range
Stella Faring
Dream of Love
Adrienne Lecouvreur
1928
Old Clothes
Mary Riley
1925
Paris
The Girl
1926