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Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford

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Order Number	00115416
Title	Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford
Collection ID	Herald Examiner Collection
Location/Accession	HE box 1763
Date	1932
Physical Description	1 photographic print :b&w ;26 x 21 cm.
Notes	Title supplied by cataloger.; Photograph was edited for publication purposes.
Historical Data	Edith Norma Shearer was born on August 10, 1902 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was one of the most popular actresses in the 1920s and 30s. Moving with her mother and sister to New York in 1920, she started out modeling and appeared in several silent films. She caught the eye of producer Hal Roach and in 1923 moved to Hollywood with a contract for $250 a week from Louis B. Mayer Pictures. MGM was formed the next year and Shearer was given starring roles. She became one of their biggest attractions and by 1925 was earning $1000 a week, rising to $5000 a week over the next five years. While at MGM, she met film producer Irving Thalberg, nicknamed "The Boy Wonder" for his youth and uncanny ability to produce very profitable films. They married in 1927 and had two children. In 1930 she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for the film "The Divorcee." After Thalberg's death in 1936, she continued to act, finally retiring in 1942. That same year, she married Martin Arrouge, a former ski instructor. She remained active in the Hollywood social scene until 1960 when she desired more privacy. She died on June 12, 1983.; Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSueur in San Antonio, Texas, on March 23, 1904. She was an Academy Award winning film and television actress. She was one of Hollywood's most popular stars and one of the highest paid women in the United States, but her films began losing money and by the end of the 1930s she was considered "washed up." Crawford made a comeback in the 1945 film "Mildred Pierce" winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. Crawford was married four times and adopted five children. After the death of her husband Alfred Steele, she filled his position on the board of directors of the Pepsi-Cola company from 1959 to 1973. She retired from acting in 1970 and died on May 10, 1977. After her death, her daughter Christina published the book Mommie Dearest, showing Crawford in an unflattering light.
Description	Photograph caption dated November 7, 1932, reads "Norma Shearer, at left, attended in a beautiful gown of dull bronze red satin with sable wrap. Joan Crawford wore black velvet with a cape of white ermine and a tiny muff to match." The women are standing in front of a sofa. The event was a party for the very exclusive Mayfair Club, held at the Biltmore Hotel in Downtown, Los Angeles.
Subject	Shearer, Norma,--1902-1983. Crawford, Joan,--1908-1977. Millennium Biltmore Hotel (Los Angeles, Calif.). Mayfair Club (Los Angeles, Calif.). Motion picture actors and actresses--United States. Hotels--California--Los Angeles. Women--California--Los Angeles. Sofas--California--Los Angeles. Downtown Los Angeles (Los Angeles, Calif.). Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs. Herald-Examiner Collection photographs.
Format	Photographic prints
Reproduction Information	Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Sub-Collection Name	Los Angeles Herald Examiner Photo Collection