Any Truth to the Joan Crawford Rumor?

[David]

I'd heard that Dan Curtis had approached Joan Crawford about playing Liz, but her diva like demands were absurd. So he turned to Joan Bennett.
Any truth to this?

[Gerard]

I've heard that, too, David, but I think it's just one of those DS urban legends unless anyone has some type of evidence (hopefully there is some because visualizing Miss Crawford doing the part is incredible - you know there would be no wire clothes hangers anywhere in Collinwood and the place would sparkle!).

Gerard

[alwaysdavid]

Maybe that is why it was originally written that Elizabeth did all the housework herself.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

 

But seriously, and even though they're not always the greatest of resources, one would think that if there had been any shred of truth in the Joan Crawford rumor, it would have been mentioned in one of PomPress books, particularly the DS Companion. It would be too interesting an anecdote to leave out. 

And even more seriously, from a realistic viewpoint it's probably a very good thing that Crawford wasn't ever cast on DS. I mean, her stint on The Secret Storm was apparently a complete fiasco! 

[Joeytrom]

She wouldn't have lasted that long.

[Gerard]

It's a shame there's no known video of Miss Crawford on The Secret Storm.  There is an audio of it on youtube. 

If she had been able to handle it, I think she would've been just as good as Joan Bennett in the role of Elizabeth.  Certainly she would've chewed up the scenery more, but on a show like DS that wouldn't have been such a bad thing.  Maybe, if she was considered, someday someone will come up with the evidence.  A good barometer of how it might've been is looking at what happened when she guest-starred on The Lucy Show (and this isn't rumor).  Originally Miss Ball wanted Gloria Swanson to do it but she bowed out because of health reasons so Miss Crawford was the second choice (and that probably didn't sit well with her).  The two stars began to battle on the set because the guest star (as she did on The Secret Storm) showed up drunk and had problems remembering her lines.  It came to the point where Miss Swanson's health improved and Miss Ball was ready to can Miss Crawford and invite the original intended back.  When another actress on the show had a talk with Miss Crawford, she finally shaped up and went through the filming of the episode with virtually no flaws.  That would work for a one-time shot, but expecting Miss Crawford to do that on a daily series with its grind probably wouldn't.  The only way she made it through The Secret Storm was by showing up every day with a cooler filled with vodka and Pepsi.  I doubt if ABC and DCP had enough in the budget to cover that.

Gerard

[Gothick]

Joan Crawford would have been a disaster in the role of Liz.  Joan Bennett had a strong background in theatre, which was why she was so perfect in the role.  Granted, Joan Bennett occasionally forgot her lines, but she maintained her regal composure to the end onscreen. 

This is just personal, but I always felt that our Joan exuded a certain warmth, even when she was laying down the law in what appeared to be an unreasonable fashion to Miss Winters (in the early weeks).  I've never felt warmth from Joan C (although I admit I enjoy her film performances enormously).

I wonder if the "other actress" who "talked to" Joan C on the set of the Lucy show was Viv Vance.  I could see Viv doing that in a sensible, yet sensitive way, that would have gotten the message home without making Joan get her dander up.

G.

[Gothick]

And here's the audio recording of Joan Crawford on Secret Storm mentioned earlier, for those who are curious:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG-DkuB1V28

Interesting to hear, particularly for those who wonder why DS was such a phenomenon in the Sixties.  This is probably a good sample of typical daytime drama fare in 1968.  Even the dullest episodes of the Adam storyline sound like Ibsen compared to this claptrap.

G.

[Joeytrom]

Wasn't future General Hospital executive producer Gloria Monty, then the producer of Secret Storm, who allowed this?

If JC was on Dark Shadows, would she have had her daughter Christina on as well?

[KMR]

Interesting to hear, particularly for those who wonder why DS was such a phenomenon in the Sixties.  This is probably a good sample of typical daytime drama fare in 1968.  Even the dullest episodes of the Adam storyline sound like Ibsen compared to this claptrap.

OMG!  Gothick, how right you are!  I couldn't believe the hokey organ music.  Were they really playing that stuff as late as 1968?  I remember that I watched the occasional "regular" soap back then (I watched DS religiously!) but of course I have no recollection of soap music from 1968.  (I was only 11 years old...)  It sounds exactly like a parody of a soap!  Looking at DS from the perspective of that era, it truly was an ambitious and progressive show, in terms of production design and storytelling.

[Uncle Roger]

The organ music, which was a fixture of radio soaps, was still being used into the very early '70's. The music that was used on DS was an innovation that the show seldom receives credit for.

I do remember watching Joan Crawford play the character coincidentally named Joan on Secret Storm. Even my father, who had no interest in soaps at all, had to see Crawford in action. It was a pretty big deal. I don't know if she really was drunk during the show or not. But to see the 60something Joan play a character in her mid 20's was quite an experience.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Looking at DS from the perspective of that era, it truly was an ambitious and progressive show, in terms of production design and storytelling.

Which is one of the main reasons why, when I see so many articles, particularly on Internet Web sites and blogs, that spend an inordinate amount of space criticizing the original DS for its production values, I want to smack the writers upside the head.    They seem to view DS from the perspective of what today's soaps are like as if they have no concept of what DS' contemporary soaps were like. And indeed I suspect that's exactly what the problem is in most cases because the writers are much too young to know. Though that's still not an excuse because as writers one of their main jobs is to do the research in order to educate themselves about every aspect of what they're writing about. But these days far too many have sadly shirked that responsibility.