91 Years Ago Today, Joan Crawford’s Wedding Kickstarted A Legendary Hollywood Feud – The List

On this day in 1935, Joan Crawford tied the knot with fellow actor Franchot Tone. Yet, this special day kicked off more than just a high-profile marriage. It also sparked a love triangle that completely rocked Hollywood and set off a feud that would go down in history. 

Joan Crawford wasn’t the only superstar who had feelings for Tone. Bette Davis started filming “Dangerous” alongside Tone in 1935. She was stuck in an unhappy marriage and quickly fell for her on-screen love interest. That’s when Tone started seeing Crawford. “He was madly in love with her,” Davis said of the relationship, per the Daily Mail, recalling, “They met each day for lunch. He would return to the set, his face covered in lipstick. I was jealous of course.” The star apparently blamed Crawford for why she and Tone weren’t together. 

A whopping 52 years after the wedding, Davis told journalist Michael Thornton, “She took him from me. She did it coldly, deliberately, and with complete ruthlessness. I have never forgiven her for that and never will.” And, boy, did she stick to that. While Crawford and Davis both clearly felt passionately about Tone, in the end, they seemed to feel far more intensity in their hatred for each other. Crawford and Tone were separated just three years after getting married and divorced the year after. As for Crawford and Davis, their feud lasted for “as long as they both shall live.”

Joan Crawford and Bette Davis’ feud became so iconic that it inspired “Bette and Joan,” a season of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series, “Feud.” This old Hollywood scandal still raises eyebrows today because of just how open the stars were about their dislike for one another. Their digs at each other were often very public and anything but subtle. Crawford famously mocked Davis’ dress at the 1936 Academy Awards, where Davis won Best Actress for her role in “Dangerous” alongside Crawford’s husband. Davis followed up by playing the lead in “The Star” in 1952, which many believe was intended to mock Crawford.

After years of back and forth, things came to a head in 1962. The duo played sisters in “What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?” The characters just so happened to be actors in a bitter feud. Evidently, it hit close to home, and things were as difficult on set as you might imagine. During a fight sequence, Davis injured Crawford, and she had to get stitches. Davis earned a Best Actress Academy Award nomination for the role. Their stint as co-stars did not put the bad blood to rest. Per InStyle, when Crawford died in 1977 after a heart attack, Davis made her feelings clear, saying, “You should never say bad things about the dead; you should only say good. Joan Crawford is dead. Good.” Evidently, even death couldn’t end this famous feud.