Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013 - (Page 152)
H E R I TA G E
joan crawford
There was nothing casual about Joan
Crawford’s arrival at The Ritz-Carlton,
Boston, in early 1964. The previous year
she had scored one of her biggest hits
with “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”
and her status as a Golden Era Hollywood
legend was intact. The apparatus that
maintained the legend was revealed in a
lengthy document, sent to the hotel many
weeks before (and subsequently published
in Life magazine), that through nine closely
typed pages left no unanswered questions
about the protocols of her accommodation.
The suite required was three bedrooms:
one for Miss Crawford, one for her assistant
and one for her wardrobe, whose generosity
provided her with six to 10 costume changes
a day. A uniformed security guard would
stand outside around the clock, while
inside the suite a maid would wait in
attendance until dismissed. Pens,
pencils and peppermints were required,
but not as specifically as the bottles of
100 proof Smirnoff vodka, Old Forester
bourbon, Beefeater gin, Chivas Regal and
Dom Perignon.
Because she was on a promotional
tour, for a quickly forgotten thriller called
“Strait-Jacket,” rooms were to be made
available for radio, television and press
interviews, which she conducted with
152
W W W. R I T Z C A R LT O N . C O M
such aplomb that in just over three hours
she had done 19 of them, in addition to
posing for countless photos and signing
76 autographs.
But perhaps the most telling part of
the instruction sheet was its coda, which
much like her own epitaph, written by
her daughter in the scandalous memoir
“Mommie Dearest,” showed the fierce
and somewhat parsimonious side of her
character. “Miss Crawford is a star in every
sense of the word; and everyone knows
she is a star. As a partner in this film, Miss
Crawford will not appreciate your throwing
away money on empty gestures. You do not
have to make empty gestures to prove to
Miss Crawford or anyone else that she is a
star of the first magnitude.”
THECLA HALDANE FOR PEPSICO. PUBLISHED IN LIFE MAGAZINE, FEB. 21, 1964
T H E R I T Z - C A R LT O N , B O S T O N , F E B R U A R Y 1 9 6 4
http://WWW.RITZCARLTON.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013
Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013
Contents
Contributors
Editor’s Letter
President’s Letter
Falling in Love With ... Barcelona
Design
Shopping
Beauty
Gifts
Jewelry
Watches
Behind the Scenes
Family
Local Knowledge
Outdoors
As It Was
Culinary
Let Us Stay With You
Heritage
Ritz-Carlton Magazine - Fall 2013
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