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Joan Crawford strikes a pose in this 1930s MGM publicity photo. Crawford’s appeal has transcended that of many of her contemporaries, like Norma Shearer, Claudette Colbert and Irene Dunne. (Photo courtesy of Neil Maciejewski, www.legendaryjoancrawford.com)
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HOME > ENTERTAINMENT > FEATURE
By: JOEY DiGUGLIELMO COMMENTS
 
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also legion. Some, such as those by gay montage wizard Dan Rucks, have become gay club staples.
So to what degree are gays responsible for this ongoing Crawford mania? Nobody can provide exact numbers, of course, but some clues indicate the gay angle is significant.
“I would say a great deal,” Epperson says, citing his and gay actor Charles Busch’s commentary on a deluxe DVD edition of “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,” the 1962 thriller/black comedy that’s been transmogrified into a gay cult flick. Epperson also commented on the “Mommie Dearest” DVD deluxe reissue.
“These companies obviously realize the gay community buys these things,” Epperson says. “So a lot of it is gay, gay, gay.”
Neil Maciejewski, a gay San Francisco resident, Crawford collector/historian and web master of legendaryjoancrawford.com, says about 70 percent of the feedback he gets for his site is from gay men.
“She came from nothing, she wasn’t educated, wasn’t that pretty at the beginning, but she fought her way and made herself,” Maciejewski says. “She had to fight for everything she had and I think many gay men can relate.”
Gay San Francisco residentrong>t Neil Maciejewski, a Joan Crawford historian and webmaster of legendaryjoancrawford.com, poses with the hand- and footprints a young Crawford made for Sid Grauman in Hollywood in 1929. (Photo courtesy of Neil Maciejewski) |
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Maciejewski’s site, which just passed 80,000 hits since its 2004 launch, admits part of the draw is Crawford’s camp appeal. Though it’s impossible for younger gays to fathom how over-the-top Crawford pictures like “Torch Song,” “Queen Bee” and “Strait-Jacket” played in the ’50s and ’60
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