The fans were more loyal to her than any man would have been… or ultimately any child.
– Charles Busch (playwright)
For the whole duration of Joan’s career (which lasted for almost 50 decades), she never regarded her fans as, well, fans.
She considered them as her friends, some even became her penpals for years. She knew that the public helped in the creation of Joan Crawford, the movie star, that’s why she gave back to them by loving and cherishing them until her last days.
Truly devoted to her fans, Joan picked up the habit of answering each and every fan mail from fellow player, renowned actress Gloria Swanson. She discovered that Gloria has a list of her fans’ names and addresses, and that she replied to fan mails herself. Amazed by the actress’ dedication, Joan emulated this act for the rest of her life.
As we all know now, she religiously answered each and every fan mail that she got. Her replies were usually typewrittten and hand-signed, like this one (which I luckily obtained from a fellow Joanut):
Joan never disappointed her fans. From her stellar performances to public presence, she was always spot-on. Her friend, director Herbert Kenwith, said, “lf we went to the theater, she kept giving autographs until she got the last one done.” Really, I would give ANYTHING to travel back in time and experience this!
She really cared for her fans, and even though I didn’t live early enough to have my picture taken with Joan, I’m glad to know the wonderful legacy she left behind. 🙂
Happy blogging (and fangirling!)
(All photos from Joan Crawford Best… well except for the one with Joan’s letter and envelope in it— that’s mine)
Etcetera 
Really great post, I’ve learnt something new today, thanks. Just dropping in from the A to Z I have given your blog a shout out from my letter G today https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/
Hi Rosie! Thank you so much for visiting! 🙂 So sweet of you to give me a shout out on your post! Again, thank you so much ❤
Fabulous photos – all new to me.
Thank you, Jane!
You’re super welcome, June! Thanks for reading and visiting! 🙂
What a great actress. Thanks for the post! I followed a link to your blog from a shout out on Rosie Amber’s blog (rosieamber.wordpress.com).
Aww thank you so much! 🙂 Will visit your blog, too!
She certainly is a beautiful woman and it would appear from the information you provide that she is a beautiful person inside as well. Much deserving of your accolades! I’m intrigued to see how you’ve managed a whole alphapbet’s worth of posts for her!
Haha! Me too, I can’t wait to see how it goes. I haven’t figured out some of the letters yet, but I sure will! :)) Thanks so much for reading and visiting my page! Really means a lot ❤
Hi Fangirl Jane…I’m catching up on your Joan C. posts. Really enjoyed reading about her Ex-Husbands in Letter E…I didn’t know she was married to Douglas Fairbanks, and forgot that he was the son of Mary Pickford. Joan certainly deserved her loyal Fans with her close connection of answering her own Fan Mail. Such interesting info you are sharing and the photos are great. Doing so for the AtoZ Challenge gives us AtoZ’er Readers a quick look at a topic we might not come across otherwise.
I am visiting from Co-Host AJ Lauer’s Team. Hope you are enjoying the Challenge. I am enjoying your posts. I am giving you a Shout Out on my Letter H post tomorrow.
Sue at CollectInTexas Gal
AtoZ 2015 Challenge
Minion for AJ’s wHooligans
Hi Sue! Yes I am super enjoying this challenge! Glad to do this for the 2nd time. 😉 And I’m happy to know that readers get new information from the entries I post. All those research and dedication are worth it! Thanks again! ❤
Just came over from Rosie’s blog. Lovely theme. I love Joan C. 🙂
Yay! Glad to know you love her too! 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting my blog! ❤
Great theme, didn’t know about this, or anything about Joan really apart from the obvious she was a good actress!
She must have been very dedicated to do this, I enjoyed your post, thanks!
Mars xx
Curling Stones for Lego People
It warms my heart to know that my posts deliver new information to you guys. I’m glad to introduce sides of Joan that most people don’t know yet. 🙂 Thanks for reading and visiting my blog, Mars! ❤
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It’s nice when famous people remember they do own something to their fan.
I’m very impressed that she answered to every single letter. Would she be able to do it today? 😉
I guess so! Oh geez I can imagine us exchanging emails :)) I’d die if that happened. I believe she would be so happy (tears of joy included) if she’s still alive today… because there are still so many people who truly love her.