Joan Blondell: A Life between Takes

Acknowledgments

Joan Blondell’s stature as a person and actress was reflected in the enthusiasm and affection of interviewees in recalling the movie, stage play, or television series they shared. My thanks to directors Norman Jewison and Curtis Harrington, producer Nancy Malone, camera operator Michael Ferris, agent Hillard Elkins, dolly grip Chico Anzures, and actors Theodore Bikel, Alice Ghostley, and Anthony Franciosa. Actor Gloria Manon offered invaluable comments on Blondell at the end of her career, and special mention must be paid to the witty testimony of the Here Come the Brides crowd: actors Robert Brown, Bridget Hanley, and Susan Tolsky, and story consultant William Blinn. Jill Jackson and Rose Lundin, two who knew Blondell but did not work with her, provided additional keen perceptions. Thanks, also, for responses from actors Lauren Bacall, Joan Fontaine, Karl Malden, Elizabeth Taylor, Vera Miles, James Garner, Gigi Perreau, Elliott Reid, Kay Armen, John Saxon, and Jean Simmons, and director Robert Wise. Good advice and support came from entertainment writers, critics, editors, and historians, including Cari Beauchamp, John Kern, Gary Morris, Miles Kreuger, Karen McHale, Thomas Gladysz, André Soares, Leonard Maltin, Rex Reed, Roberto Friedman, Sam Staggs, and Mark Vieira. Ronald L. Bowers and David Martin were gracious in sharing their writings that pertain to Blondell. James Robert Parish has bestowed more wisdom and friendly guidance than I could possibly summarize. Without collectors, I would not have been able to see many of Blondell’s rare movies and television . For loaning hours of video, appreciation goes to Randy Beucus, Eric Chadbourne, Marc Kagan, Martin McQuade, Tom Kleinschmidt, and ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix Sidney Bloomberg. Nick Davis and Eleanor Knowles Dugan came through like champions in the rare film search. Amazing Larry Chadbourne lent dozens of films to me from his vast collection, and what he didn’t have he found elsewhere. Archivist and librarians who unearthed brittle clippings and little known facts, and who have my thanks, include Charles Silver of the Museum of Modern Art, Julie Graham and Lauren Buisson of the Special Arts Collection at UCLA, Mark Quigley of the Research and Study Center at the UCLA Film and Television Archive, Mark Swartz of the Shubert Archive, Caroline Sisneros of the American Film Institute’s Louis B. Mayer Library, Jane Klain and Richard Holbrook of the Museum of Television and Radio in New York, Anne Coco and Barbara Hall of the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and Kim Cupit of the Denton County Historical Commission. Researching at the Warner Bros. Archives is always a pleasure thanks to the thoughtful oversight of director Randi Hokett and curator Haden Guest. Ned Comstock found what appeared to be every published reference to Joan Blondell in the entire Cinema-Television Library at USC. Thanks, also, to those who provided well-timed help with referrals and suggestions: Susan White, Yannek Aga Khan, publicist Larry Bloustein, Kim Briggs, Nick Langdon, Marge Meisinger, Henry Traub, Allan Taylor, and the ever-supportive Casey Searcy. I remain beholden to those friends who offer salient quips, subtle perceptions, and good-humored rapport: Mike Blubaugh, David Bowman, Eddie Hosey, Ralph Cole Jr., Stan Godin, Vi Klaseen, Joanna Pace, David Perry, Eric Lynxwiler, and Phil McKinley. Mark Cromwell does more than amuse and enlighten. For him and me, archives offer a peculiar comfort, and the benefits of his research are immeasurable. Abiding thanks to family for varied and valuable contributions , be it editing from sister Anne Peterson, research in New York from niece Elliott Kennedy, or “accidental” editing from cousin Walter Kennedy. My mother did not live to see this book published, but her love is on every page. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am humbled and thankful that Joan Blondell’s family has been so generous with time, history, memory, ephemera, and feelings. They, more than any print sources or film footage, help me understand the singular person that was their “Matey.” My sincerest thanks to grandchildren Sandra Powell Espe, Scott Powell, and Stephanie Powell Murphy, niece Kathy Blondell, and former daughter-in-law Ann McDowell Traub. Granddaughter Joan Hayward Krooms recalled loving details, many of which are in the book. Daughter-in-law Ellen Levine was a source of referrals, scrapbooks, mementos, photos, and careful editing. Norman Powell’s taped accounts of his mother’s life were a blessing of clear-eyed and loving recollections. Daughter Ellen Powell’s contributions are inestimable. She read each page...