The Witnesses

Alfred Steele - Husband to Joan Crawford (1955 - 1959)

     “[Christopher] is just a very disturbed boy. He’s been that way all of his life and I don’t think Joan is, in any way, to blame for what has happened. She is just a fabulous mother. You don’t have to be here to see the wonderful relationship she has with the twins. After all, she’s given up many things out of the goodness of her heart to benefit those children. She’s had a rough time with those kids, a rough time with her own life, as a matter of fact, and she lavished all the love and affection humanly possible on those children.”

Joan Crawford during the same interview:
     “Do you know that when Christina was just a child in grade school she accused some boy of raping her and I had her examined physically and she was still a virgin. She’s been sick from the very start. I always used to say that it’s environment that counts, that it doesn’t matter who your parents are or what they did. The right upbringing, the right amount of affection could straighten out any of those things. But Alfred has convinced me that the bloodlines are important. Otherwise, I just don’t know why.”

(Unpublished 1958 interview conducted in Joan’s New York apartment)

Alfred Steele with Joan and her children (L to R): Cindy, Christopher, Cathy and Christina - January 1956