Original book cover

Mommie Dearest is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. The book was published in 1978. Image File history File links MommieDearestBook. ... Image File history File links MommieDearestBook. ... As a literary genre, a memoir (from the Latin memoria, meaning memory) forms a subclass of autobiography, although it is an older form of writing. ... Christina Crawford (born June 11, 1939) is an American actress and writer. ... For other uses, see Adoption (disambiguation). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... Joan Crawford (March 23, 1905[1]– May 10, 1977) was an acclaimed, iconic, Academy Award-winning American actress, arguably one of the greatest from the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. ... See also: 1977 in literature, other events of 1978, 1979 in literature, list of years in literature. ...

Contents of book

The book depicts Christina's childhood and her relationship with her mother.

Among Christina Crawford's statements in the book:

• Christina contends that she was victim of child abuse during her mother's battle with alcoholism, including but not limited to sexual abuse that occurred at the hands of one of the women who worked for her mother.
• The book suggests that Crawford was more concerned about her motion picture career than the well being of her four children, and suggests she may have adopted them for publicity purposes.
• Besides a long list of affairs with men - whom Christina was required to call "Uncle" - she suggested that her mother was involved in liaisons with other women.
• Christina recounts several evenings where Crawford's behavior was unbalanced, and at least one encounter with her mother where Crawford physically attacked her. Among some of the incidents that Christina recounts in the book is a tirade that she alleges occurred when her mother was looking in Christina's closet. Crawford discovered some of Christina's clothes hanging on wire hangers, instead of higher-quality hangers, and allegedly launched into a tirade that has become known as the infamous "No wire hangers" moment.

Child abuse is the physical, sexual, or emotional maltreatment or neglect of children by parents, guardians, or others responsible for a childs welfare. ... Alcoholism is the consumption of, or preoccupation with, alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the drinkers normal personal, family, social, or work life, and may lead to physical or mental harm. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... Look up Career in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Wikibooks has more about this subject: Marketing Look up publicity in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Reaction to the book

The book's publication in 1978 created an enormous amount of attention. Although "tell-all" books regarding celebrities are somewhat commonplace now, Mommie Dearest was the first book of its kind. The book received a great deal of press attention. 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ...

Several of Crawford's friends disputed Christina's book. In particular, Myrna Loy, Joan's friend since 1925, became one of her staunchest defenders in the aftermath of the book. Loy said that she had personally observed bad behavior on the part of Christina on numerous occasions, both during her childhood and when she was completely independent of her mother; especially during the Chicago stage production of Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park, in which Loy and Christina both appeared. While acknowledging that Joan Crawford was a highly ambitious woman and was an alcoholic for most of her life, critics have also suggested that Christina largely embellished the areas of her story where she had legitimate grievances. Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Crawford's first husband, admonished the book by stating, "The Joan Crawford that I've heard about in Mommie Dearest is not the Joan Crawford I knew back when." The two younger Crawford children, Cindy and Cathy, who grew up in the Crawford household from the late 1940s, have stated categorically many times that they did not witness any events as described in the book, even though they were there, and have distanced themselves from their elder sister. However, when the twins were growing up, Christina and her brother had already been sent away to a boarding school; therefore, they would not have been aware of the majority of abuse the book recounts. Myrna Loy (August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American motion picture actress. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Windy City Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location Location in Chicagoland and northern Illinois Coordinates , Government Country State Counties United States Illinois Cook, DuPage Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 606. ... Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ... Neil Simon (1966) Neil Simon (born Marvin Neil Simon July 4, 1927 in The Bronx, New York City), is a Jewish American playwright and screenwriter. ... Barefoot in the Park is a 1963 Tony-nominated comedy play by Neil Simon, about a young couple and their odd neighbors in their small apartment building in Greenwich Village, New York. ... King Alcohol and his Prime Minister circa 1820 Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholics normal personal, family, social, or work life. ... Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. ... Joan Crawford (March 23, 1905[1]– May 10, 1977) was an acclaimed, iconic, Academy Award-winning American actress, arguably one of the greatest from the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Abuser redirects here. ...

However, other stars such as Helen Hayes, June Allyson, Bette Davis, and Betty Hutton have verified some of the stories in Christina's book. Hutton had previously lived near Joan Crawford's Brentwood, California home and has stated that she saw the children during or after various moments of abuse. She would often encourage her own children to play with Christina and Christopher to draw them away from their challenges at home. Helen Hayes (October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress whose successful and award-winning career spanned almost 70 years. ... June Allyson (October 7, 1917 – July 8, 2006) was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. ... Bette Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989), born Ruth Elizabeth Davis, was a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress of film, television and theatre. ... Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg, February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007[1]) was an American film actress and singer. ... Brentwood is a district in the West Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California, United States; it is sometimes confused with Brentwood, California in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. ...

In the book Understanding the Borderline Mother author Christine Ann Lawson suggests that Joan Crawford may have had a Borderline Personality Disorder along with an Obsessive Compulsion with cleanliness. Joan Crawford (March 23, 1905[1]– May 10, 1977) was an acclaimed, iconic, Academy Award-winning American actress, arguably one of the greatest from the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. ... Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is defined within the fields of psychiatry and clinical psychology as a mental condition characterized primarily by emotional dysregulation, extreme black and white thinking, or splitting (believing that something is one of only two possible things, and ignoring any possible in-betweens), and chaotic relationships. ...

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. Christina appears to have gotten the last word, as Crawford's name has become a byword for parental abuse and cruelty.

Christina Crawford has stood by her story, releasing a "Twentieth Anniversary Edition" with one hundred pages of additional material and the omission of about 50 pages of original material. In the second edition, some individuals who were not named in the original edition were named. This second edition focused 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 several incidents involving him. The author promoted the republication of the book, which was done with a smaller publishing company, in some unconventional ways, including appearing at campy airings of the film based on the book (though she only lectured about the new edition of the book and did not stay for the screening) and appearing at readings with entertainer Lypsinka, who often appears as Joan Crawford in drag. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... Lypsinka (real name: John Epperson) is a New York based drag queen who lip-synchs to meticulously edited show-length soundtracks culled from snippets of outrageous 20th-century female performances in movies and song. ... Joan Crawford (March 23, 1905[1]– May 10, 1977) was an acclaimed, iconic, Academy Award-winning American actress, arguably one of the greatest from the Golden Age of Hollywood in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. ... Look up Drag in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Mommie Dearest in popular culture

• Blue Öyster Cult wrote a song about the alleged events entitled "Joan Crawford".
• MAD Magazine had spoofed a book club with different "trendy" books, such as "the trendy diet book" with "the trendy celebrity child abuse book" titled "My Father, the Fink", written by George Burns, Jr., the fictional 2-year old son of George Burns. The book claims such "horrors" as "when he ran out of cigars, he smoked my pacifier!" or "I was subject to frightening off key lullabys!" and advertised "If this book is true, it will make the cruelties suffered by Bing Crosby's son and Joan Crawford's daughter seem like bedtime stories." MAD was showing its usual ridiculous style by suggesting a two-year-old could write and publish this type of book along with a barb at the authenticity of these books and their popularity.
• In an episode of Golden Girls, while at a bookstore, one of the characters announces that she's heading to the "bitter celebrity's children section."
• In the video game Destroy All Humans there is a part in the Turnipseed Farm stage where Crypto-137 can scan the mind of a woman who thinks to herself "Damn you Crawford! You are not my Mommie Dearest! Why do you not love me like the aliens do?".

Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed in 1967 and still active in 2007. ... Harvey Kurtzmans cover for the first issue of the comic book Mad Mad is an American humor magazine founded by publisher William Gaines and editor Harvey Kurtzman in 1952. ... A book club is a club where people usually meet to discuss a book that they have read and express their opinions, likes, dislikes, etc. ... George Burns[1], born Nathan Birnbaum (January 20, 1896 – March 9, 1996), was an American comedian and actor. ... The Golden Girls title card. ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a universal phenomenon. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion, because: useless page, created purely for vandalism If you disagree with its speedy deletion, please explain why on its talk page or at Wikipedia:Speedy deletions. ... Cryptosporidium 137, or Crypto for short, is a fictional extraterrestrial of the Furon race from the fictional planet Gorta. ...

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, paperback

External links

• AllReaders.Com Book Review of Mommie Dearest
• The Hollywood Reporter.com on the book Mommie Dearest
• Arguments against "Mommie Dearest" from the Joan Crawford Fan Club