Latest news with #JoanCrawford
Irish Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Legal Aid Board warns of delays to divorce and child custody cases due to funding shortage
Divorce, separation and child custody cases under the State's legal aid system could be delayed due to funding issues, the Department of Justice has been warned. Legal Aid Board chief executive Joan Crawford wrote to the department saying the agency was running €1.3 million over budget as it dealt with a vast increase in cases involving asylum seekers. She said the board was struggling with 'staff retention issues and low morale' due to the scale of its workload. Correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act shows Ms Crawford noting that the board was facing a pay bill this year of at least €33.5 million despite only having an allocation of €32.4 million for pay. Without a budget increase, she said the agency would be forced to immediately cease hiring staff, which would 'render it impossible for [us] to provide the services' required under statute. Ms Crawford said some law centres would be left with no option but to close to new applications while dealing with backlogs. She said this could leave people in some counties without access to a centre and place further pressure on others nearby. She said certain cases would have to be prioritised, meaning those involving divorce, separation, child custody and guardianship could be delayed. The board also said its budget constraints were having a knock-on effect on the courts and judges. 'This is leading to delays in dealing with the conclusion of cases in already difficult situations and where the interests of children are involved.' Ms Crawford said the pressure on staff was leading to staff departures and dissatisfaction from clients. 'As it stands, the board is regularly losing staff with experience and expertise to other State bodies and government departments who can offer better conditions and better working environments with less pressure due to adequate resourcing.' A previous letter to the department, dated June 2024, said one of the biggest drivers in demand was 'the exponential increase' in cases involving asylum seekers. It said the introduction of 'accelerated' processes for dealing with international protection applications had complicated its work, with the board's staffing issues potentially leading to longer stays for applicants and 'costly and lengthy litigation' in the courts.
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Department of Justice running €1.3 million over budget due to increase in asylum seekers
The Legal Aid Board told the Department of Justice it was running €1.3 million over budget as it dealt with a vast increase in cases involving asylum seekers. In a series of letters, the board's senior management said they were struggling with 'staff retention issues and low morale' due to their workload. Advertisement A letter in February said despite an increase in their allocation, they were running at least €1 million over budget which they said was a matter of 'significant concern.' In later correspondence, their chief executive told the department that they were headed for a 2025 pay bill of at least €33.5 million despite only having an allocation of €32.4 million for pay. Even with that, there were 34 vacancies in the Legal Aid Board and the board was warning of 'very serious impacts on service provision.' Chief executive Joan Crawford told the department in May that without a further increase in budget, they would be forced to immediately cease hiring staff. Advertisement She wrote: 'This will have a drastic impact on the operation of the Legal Aid Board and will render it impossible for [us] to provide the services that [we are] required to provide under statute.' Ms Crawford said some law centres would be left with no option but to close to new applications to deal with a backlog of cases. She said this could leave certain counties without access to a local law centre placing further pressures on nearby centres. Ms Crawford said cases would have to be prioritised meaning cases involving divorce, separation, child custody and guardianship being put on the long finger. Advertisement The Legal Aid Board also warned their budget constraints were having a knock-on effect on the courts and judges. The letter said: 'This is leading to delays in dealing with the conclusion of cases in already difficult situations and where the interests of children are involved. 'Often issues such as the necessity for a voice of the child report or welfare report are only identified on the appointment of a solicitor further causing delays for all involved.' Ms Crawford said the enormous pressure on staff was leading to staff departures and dissatisfaction from clients. Advertisement 'In all areas across the Board, the non-filling of vacancies will create well-being and morale issues, with staff feeling under pressure,' she wrote. 'As it stands, the Board is regularly losing staff with experience and expertise to other state bodies and government departments who can offer better conditions and better working environments with less pressure due to adequate resourcing.' A previous letter to the Department of Justice from June 2024 said one of the biggest drivers in demand was 'the exponential increase' in cases involving asylum seekers. It said the introduction of 'accelerated' processes for dealing with applications for international protection had complicated their work. The correspondence said: 'Early legal advice is key, and this is very challenging with the current service delivery model.' The board warned the Department of Justice that a shortfall in staff could lead as well to longer stays in international protection for applicants. 'Additionally, it could give rise to costly and lengthy litigation in the superior courts,' they said.
Daily Mail
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Mia Farrow, 80, reveals which very famous Hollywood icon was 'scary in person'
Mia Farrow has lived a storied existence appearing in some of Hollywood's most memorable movies and growing up among Hollywood legends. The Tony nominee, 80, dished about her life growing up with her parents, actress Maureen O'Sullivan and director John Farrow, in Interview magazine. She said meeting stars such as Vivien Leigh, Katharine Hepburn and director George Cukor was a common occurrence. In the chat with Tony winner Cole Escola, 38, Farrow admitted she found one grand dame of the silver screen, Joan Crawford, to be 'scary.' Farrow said she first met the Oscar winner when she was a young actress when they ran into each other on the Fox lot in Los Angeles. 'I forget what movie was shooting, probably that one with Bette Davis, the scary one,' she told the Oh, Mary! star. 'Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?' he asked. 'If that was shot at Fox, then that was what they were shooting. And for whatever reason, she started sending a whole refrigerator of Pepsi Cola for my trailer 'cause I was in a TV series called Peyton Place.' she revealed. 'She's scary. And she was scary in person as well,' Crawford was married at the time to Alfred Steele, who was the president of Pepsi-Cola at the time, and she became a prominent face for the company. 'I don't particularly like Pepsi Cola, but a lot of Pepsi Cola kept coming to my trailer, more than anyone would ever want,' she explained. The two had another encounter when Crawford visited her mother's home in New York City, and Farrow said she got 'a strange vibe' from the Mildred Pierce star. 'So I'm back in New York, and she knew my mother. I hung up people's coats for my mom when they came into the house. And I hung her coat and out falls a flask of alcohol. She grabbed it like that, and she put it in her handbag. She drank quite a lot,' she said of The Women actress. 'Then she invited me to her apartment. I thought it was a party, but I arrived, and I was the only one there,' she said. 'I was 17, and everything was green in her apartment. It just had very low lighting. And there were no other guests, just Ms. Crawford and me. And I just wasn't very comfortable.' To get out of the situation the Secret Ceremony star quickly came up with an excuse. Farrow said Crawford once invited her to her apartment in NYC. 'I thought it was a party, but I arrived, and I was the only one there,' adding she quickly made up an excuse to leave, telling Crawford she didn't feel well; circa 1950 'I just made up a lie that I wasn't feeling very well and I didn't want to give her any diseases. I think I said the word 'diseases' as I walked out of the room. I was scared of Ms. Crawford,' she said. Farrow also mentioned it was a bit of luck that helped her land one of her most memorable roles, that of a new mom with a devilish child in the thriller Rosemary's Baby. 'Jane Fonda and other great actors had turned it down because they had never heard of Roman Polanski, and it was just a little horror movie,' she said. 'I'm eternally grateful because it really gave me my career. And people still watch it, at least on Halloween.'
Telegraph
08-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Who would dare write a warts-and-all biography of their own mother?
Writing biography is a perilous exercise. To do it properly, one must know one's subject – either personally or through extensive research – and yet avoid hagiography or hostility. The matter can become more complicated if the subject is a member of the author's family. The most notorious example was Mommie Dearest, a biography of Joan Crawford by her adopted daughter, Christina, who shredded the actress's reputation as a mother. Harriet Cullen cites the Crawford book in her recent biography of her own mother, Lady Pamela Berry: Passion, Politics and Power (Unicorn, £25), in describing what she sought to avoid in writing about a woman whose attitude to motherhood was itself somewhat eccentric. Lady Pamela's name will be familiar to readers of a certain age: for 46 years she was married to Michael Berry, after 1968 Lord Hartwell, who from 1954 to 1985 was the much-admired proprietor of The Daily Telegraph. As the wife of the owner of a great newspaper, Lady Pamela established the foremost political salon of her time; and as her daughter demonstrates, her influence extended across the Atlantic to Washington. Cullen has produced one of the most compelling and finely-written biographies of recent times. She has the good fortune not merely to have a Technicolor subject, but also a glittering cast of supporting characters, from Nancy Mitford to Lord Beaverbrook. Lady Pamela was immersed in politics from her early childhood. Her father was F E Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead; he would take his daughter from the age of seven or eight to dinner parties with his smart and influential friends. This precocious rush to adulthood gave her a self-confidence that bordered on arrogance, but attracted more people than it repelled. She married Michael Berry in 1936, nine years after his father, who became Lord Camrose, acquired The Telegraph. By the time Berry became the proprietor, on his father's death, she was a leading figure in London society, whether literary or political. Within a couple of years, Lady Pamela had the influence to make direct and indirect interventions in politics – but these are not the most riveting part of the book. That accolade belongs to the chapter about her family life. Cullen describes how her mother took her and her siblings to France on a beach holiday, but blew all her foreign currency on objets d'art in Paris on her way there, and had no money left to feed the children. To make matters worse, she had invited Evelyn Waugh, without first ascertaining that there was somewhere for him to stay, and Waugh – who was not of the rosiest disposition at the best of times – not only had to endure inferior lodgings, but also had to save the Berry children from 'malnutrition'. Cullen describes, commendably neutrally, her mother's lack of interest in most of her children, partly because of her obsession with society and, for a decade, because of her affair with Malcolm Muggeridge, and how it strained their relationships with her. As a result, she has created a truly fine biography – and an object lesson in how to do it properly.
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Sudden Fear: the 1952 noir that cemented Joan Crawford's star
'It's the kind of a drama we used to call a thriller,' Joan Crawford said in a radio appearance in 1952, teasing an upcoming film. 'In fact, it's so exciting that the first time I read the script some friends rang my doorbell about 9 o'clock at night and I was afraid to open the door.' Imagine, for a second, a frightened Joan Crawford home alone, stirred up by the story that would soon become her next movie: Sudden Fear. In the collective memory, Crawford is imagined with fear always in mind. Fear of being disliked or forgotten, fear of the box office, of bad lighting, even fear of wire hangers. The prevailing view of Crawford was that of the scary lady: frightening and frightened. In 1943, after remaining under contract with MGM for 18 years, Crawford moved to Warner, the studio that would help her win her best actress Oscar for Mildred Pierce. But soon she became displeased with the roles available for a woman in her late 40s (her exact year of birth, even now, is still up for debate). Then came Sudden Fear, a film noir she took to competing studio RKO that once again won her Academy favour. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning With Sudden Fear, Crawford forged an unprecedented Hollywood archetype: the now prevalent actress-turned-executive producer. She presided over the entire project, hired director David Miller, chose the screenwriter and cinematographer and personally selected co-stars Jack Palance and Gloria Grahame. In Sudden Fear, Crawford plays Myra Hudson, a successful playwright and wealthy heiress lovestruck by a younger man. Sitting in on a rehearsal of her latest play, Myra decides that leading man Lester Blaine (Palance) must be recast. He 'just doesn't look romantic', she says, and we're inclined to agree. Like Crawford, Palance is a singular beauty: a skull rather than a face, craterous in black and white. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion By chance, the two meet again on a cross-country train to San Francisco. In close quarters, Myra is disarmed by Lester's charms. She absolves him of her early judgments, and casts Lester as her romantic lead off-stage. There's a snag, however: Lester's brassy lover Irene Neves, with whom he concocts a plot to murder Myra for her fortune. Mid-dinner party at Myra's, Lester and Irene steal away to the host's office voicing their plans – let slip only by the then-futuristic dictation machine accidentally recording them. Of course, Myra ends up hearing the recording – and under the web of intrigue, there's a tragic confession. 'Love you?' Lester declares on the dictation machine. 'I never loved you. Never for one moment.' In perfect melodrama, the camera never leaves Crawford's face as she stumbles around the room reacting – or over-reacting. The filmmaker François Truffaut called her performance 'a question of taste' – one that, I feel, should be acquired rather than challenged. The disembodied voice, played back by the recording device, lends Crawford the chance to reprise her silent-film-star status once more: by 1929 she was one of very few to survive the transition from silents to talkies. The conversation she hears takes on a paranoid quality. Is this how people speak about me when I'm not around? As a filmmaking tool, the voice-over typically serves as an internal monologue, but here it's terrorising: both absent and presently threatening. The voices come from elsewhere, estranged by time, and now they are lodged in Myra's head! Wide awake with conspiratorial voices keeping her up at night, Myra plans her counterattack, writing the rest of the script before it is written for her. She forges letters, breaks into Irene's apartment, feigns sickness and dramatically falls down a flight of stairs to intercept her violent demise. It's in these moments that Crawford's own bias seeps into the text, and her attraction to Sudden Fear is exposed. Myra is a woman at the top of her game who chooses not to fold when she is undermined, instead taking back control and coming out the other side. Sounds like Joan Crawford to me. Ten years after Sudden Fear and, at her nadir, Crawford would campaign for the novel What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? to be adapted as a motion picture, starring herself alongside – nay, underneath – twin flame Bette Davis. The film cemented their conjoined cult status and spawned a whole new subgenre: hagsploitation. If What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? was the story of industry roadkill, then Sudden Fear was Crawford in the driver's seat of her own star vehicle. No Way Out is streaming on Tubi in Australia and available to rent in the UK and the US. For more recommendations of what to stream in Australia, click here
