When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Joan Crawford
Group of 2 candid photos at the premiere of M-G-M\'s \"Showboat\" in 19511.) 8 X10\" double-weight photo of Joan with Dore Freeman in formal wear.Attending the premier of \"Showboat\" in July, 1951.
2.) Joan emerges from her car at the premier. color 2 x 3 1/2\"Personal unpublished photos from the collection of Dore FreemanCondition: Excellent vintage condition with minor surface wear.(Detailed description provided with even minor flaws noted.)
Dore Freeman was a close friend of Joan Crawford for over 40 years and was widely considered to be her greatest fan, amassing a legendary collection of memorabilia and personal items, much donated by Joan. He also sourced his collection while working for MGM in the publicity department. Dore was friends with many stars (including Elvis) and enjoyed a professional relationship with Ted Turner who occasionally helped him add to his collection and allowed him to stay active with MGM until 1988.From his LA times obituary published November 20, 1988:Dore Freeman, who accumulated what is believed to be the greatest collection of memorabilia of any single film star--20,000 still photos of Joan Crawford, 3,000 personal snapshots, remnants of her wardrobe and even her Social Security card--died Tuesday of the complications of a stroke.
The veteran Metro Goldwyn Mayer publicist and photographer was 76 and was at work as a consultant for the Turner Entertainment Co., which purchased the MGM film library.
Freeman’s fascination with Crawford began when he was a messenger boy and, along with hundreds of newsmen and fans, was meeting her train at Grand Central Station.
It was the 1930s and she was at the height of her career. Privately she was divorcing Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and was in the process of marrying Franchot Tone, who was secreted in her private rail car.
As reporters began screaming, “Are you engaged to Franchot Tone?” at Crawford, she grew flustered and began to stammer. Then she heard the youthful voice of Isadore Freeman, the messenger boy, over the crowd:“Tell them, ‘Time will tell,’ Joan,” he yelled.
She repeated the advice to the crowd, and a few days later one of Freeman’s counterparts visited him bearing a gold watch. Inside it said: “Time will tell. Love, Joan Crawford.”
Thus began a relationship that did not end until Crawford’s death in 1977.
She helped him get a job at the MGM publicity department, where he worked under every studio head from Louis B. Mayer to Alan Ladd Jr. At his retirement in the early ‘80s, he was head of the publicity still department at the studio.
But his primary preoccupation remained with Crawford. His home became a repository for mannequins, portraits and the dozens of gifts she had sent him.Freeman, a bachelor, lived alone with two schnauzers named for Crawford’s adopted children, Christopher and Christina.______________
