mayer had said, he was going to put her in the starring role of a movie called "mildred pierce." d in the night. the one last word of a dying man. but one word that tells a thousand stories of a woman who left her mark on every man she met. (henry rogers) the morning of the awards, she called me and said, "henry, i have a terrible cold, i'm in bed... i won't be able to go to the awards." and sure enough, she was announced the winner, a half-hour later this horde of photographers and reporters were all walking into her house and up to hebedroom, where there she was, the queen, holding her oscar. (stephen schiff) in terms of career management, the joan crawford story is a great shining example, at every stage of her career, as she grew older, as what she was doing faltered and the next thing took over, she could be the woman scorned in "mildred pierce" and come back and win the oscar. she could adjust her morality in a way, to her looks, to her image. you know, that face changed more than any face in movie history. she knew how to keep an audience going madonna-like. we think of mad