February 27, 2013

Thank you for all your informative articles.  I find it interesting that you wrote about Grauman’s Theater the same time I am reading a book about Joan Crawford (“Not the Girl Next Door” by Charlotte Chandler).  In your article, you stated that stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks partnered with the theater in its beginning.  So, here is a tidbit for you and others.

Joan Crawford, according to the book I am reading, had ties with Northeast.  Joan was born in San Antonio, Texas, on March 23, 1908, with a given name of Lucille Fay LeSueur.  At a young age, her family moved to Kansas City, and she attended Scarritt Elementary School, where she was held back three grades when the school found she didn’t have any education.

She then went on to St. Agnes and performed on stage there for the first time. Her love for dancing took off and she was noticed by scouts from California who would pay her way to Hollywood on a train from Union Station.  Early in her career, she met and fell in love with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.  They married on June 3, 1929. Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks became her mother and father-in-law. Pickford and Fairbanks were also part owners of the new $2 million theater, along with Grauman and Joseph Schenck, then head of United Artists.  Joan and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. were divorced on May 13, 1933.  She continued on with Hollywood…the rest is history.

The book is very informative and very entertaining for those who have a love for reading.

Laura McMickle
Northeast resident