While Joan is, of course, best known for her film roles, she also made over one-hundred television appearances in a roughly 20-year span, ranging from a 1953 appearance at the Academy Awards through an introduction to Mildred Pierce that accompanied a NYC station's airing of the film in '74 or '75.
Within those 20-odd years, she only made 13 films, yet kept herself quite busy and in the public eye via the burgeoning TV-world by appearing on game shows, talk shows, awards shows, half-hour dramas, made-for-TV movies, pilots... whatever the medium offered.
This page lists an overview of her TV appearances by type of show and, within each section, chronologically. (Most of the information here is garnered from the IMDb, with additional info from the now-defunct "Joan Crawford Online" site and my own research. I'm sure the information is incomplete; please e-mail me if you know something I'm missing.)
Click on one of these links to go directly to a particular section on this page below:
Awards • Comedy/Variety • Commercials • Dramas • Game Shows • Narrator • Talk Shows • Mentions • Misc.
For a chronological listing of each appearance by decade (including photos and more complete information on the programs if available), as well as more info on her TV commercials, go to these separate pages:
19 March 1953. 25th Annual Academy Awards In audience. First televised Academy Awards show.
1960. 32nd Annual Academy Awards In audience.
1961. 33rd Annual Academy Awards In audience.
9 September 1961. Miss America Pageant. On the panel of judges.
9 April 1962. 34th Annual Academy Awards. Presenter: Best Actor.
8 April 1963. 35th Annual Academy Awards. Presenter: Best Director; Accepting Best Actress Award for Anne Bancroft.
1964. 36th Annual Academy Awards. Presenter: Best Director.
5 April 1965. 37th Annual Academy Awards. Presenter: Best Director.
11 September 1965. Miss America Pageant. On the panel of judges.
12 September 1965. Emmy Awards. Accepting awards for Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.
1966. 38th Annual Academy Awards. In audience.
1967. 39th Annual Academy Awards. In audience.
2 February 1970. Golden Globes. Receives the Cecil B. DeMille Award, presented by John Wayne.
(Joan appeared as "Herself" in each of these programs.)
4 September 1955. Colgate Variety Hour.
2 March 1957. Caesar's Hour.
15 October 1958. The Bob Hope Buick Show.
23 February 1960. Startime: "The Talent Scouts Program" (episode # 1.21).
3 October 1960. The Bob Hope Buick Show.
9 October 1965. Hollywood Palace.
4 June 1966. Hollywood Palace.
22 April 1967. Hollywood Palace.
26 January 1968. The Joey Bishop Show.
26 February 1968. The Lucy Show: "Lucy and the Lost Star" (episode # 6.22)
30 January 1970. The Tim Conway Show (episode # 1.1)
7 February 1970. Hollywood Palace (episode # 7.17)
4 October 1970. The Tim Conway Comedy Hour (episode # 1.3)
1960. Easter Seals.
1968. Mountain Dew.
1972. Muscular Dystrophy Association.
1973. American Cancer Society.
19 September 1953. Revlon Mirror Theater. "Margaret Hughes" in "Because I Love Him" (episode # 2.1)
31 October 1954. General Electric Theater. "Mary Andrews" in "The Road to Edinburgh" (episode # 3.7)
23 March 1958. General Electric Theater. "Ruth Marshall" in "Strange Witness" (episode # 6.24)
4 January 1959. General Electric Theater. "Ann Howard" in "And One Was Loyal" (episode # 7.14)
15 May 1959. The Joan Crawford Show. "Susan Conrad" in pilot "Woman on the Run." (The show was not picked up.)
3 December 1959. Zane Grey Theater. "Stella Faring" in "Rebel Range" (episode # 4.10)
12 January 1961. Zane Grey Theater. "Sarah/Melanie Davidson Hobbes" in "One Must Die" (episode # 5.14)
21 September 1961. The Foxes. "Millicent Fox" in pilot . (Show not picked up.)
4 October 1963. Route 66. "Morgan Harper" in "Same Picture, Different Frame" (episode # 4.2)
1964. Della aka Fatal Confinement. "Della Chappell"
31 March and 7 April 1967. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. "Amanda True" in "The Five Daughters Affair." (2 episodes: #s 3.28 and 3.29)
21 - 25 October 1968. The Secret Storm. Joan filled in for daughter Christina on this daytime soap, playing "Joan Borman Kane."
8 November 1969. Night Gallery. "Claudia Menlo" in "Eyes" (episode # 1.2)
21 January 1970. The Virginian. "Stephanie White" in "Nightmare" (episode # 8.16)
30 September 1972. The Sixth Sense. As "Joan Fairchild" in "Dear Joan, We're Going to Scare You to Death" (episode # 1.15)
1970s. Three-Star Theater. "Virginia Hudson" in the "Lady in Waiting" episode of this unaired pilot.
8 December 1957. What's My Line? Mystery Guest
8 January 1961. What's My Line? Mystery Guest
23 October 1961. I've Got a Secret. Herself
12 July 1962. Your First Impression. Mystery Guest
14 October 1962. What's My Line? Mystery Guest
December 1962. Password. Herself.
27 May 1963. I've Got a Secret. Herself
12 September 1964. The Celebrity Game. Herself
13 December 1964. What's My Line? Mystery Guest
10 November 1965. To Tell the Truth. Herself
3 July 1966. What's My Line? Mystery Guest
Narrator/Tribute Programs for Others
11 October 1959. Sunday Showcase. "Herself" in "A Tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt on Her Diamond Jubilee" (episode # 1.4)
29 October 1961. DuPont Show of the Week. Hosts tribute to Florenz Ziegfeld, "The Ziegfeld Touch" (episode # 1.7)
8 November 1969. Garbo. Narrator for this 50-minute BBC program, later aired on PBS in the US.
15 June 1970. Journey to the Unknown. Hosts this TV movie.
30 January 1971. Journey to Murder. Hosts this TV movie.
1974 or '75. Mildred Pierce. Introduces a broadcast of the film for a New York City station.
29 September 1954. Tonight Show. Hosted by Steve Allen.
5 June 1955. Tonight Show. Hosted by Steve Allen.
7 August 1956. Picture Parade. BBC interview with Joan and husband Al Steele, plus film clips and footage of her in Britain.
9 November 1956. A - Z. BBC interview.
27 January 1958. Tonight! America After Dark. Interviewed along with husband Al Steele (episode # 1.1)
1 October 1962. Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
7 March 1963. Merv Griffin Show.
2 October 1963. Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
16 February 1965. Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
14 May 1965. Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
14 May 1965. Girl Talk.
22 May 1965. Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
19 July 1965. Merv Griffin Show.
10 November 1965. Merv Griffin Show.
16 November 1965. Merv Griffin Show.
9 March 1966. Merv Griffin Show.
5 April 1966. Merv Griffin Show.
26 April 1966. Merv Griffin Show.
28 August 1966. Girl Talk.
8 February 1967. Girl Talk.
7 April 1967. Girl Talk.
6 June 1967. A Film Profile. BBC interview with film clips shown.
28 June 1967. Merv Griffin Show.
11 September 1967. Merv Griffin Show.
27 February 1968. Merv Griffin Show.
12 April 1968. Girl Talk.
6 May 1968. Merv Griffin Show.
23 - 27 September 1968. Mike Douglas Show.
1 November 1969. Girl Talk.
4 November 1969. Merv Griffin Show.
16 January 1970. Merv Griffin Show.
16 January 1970. David Frost Show.
21 March 1970. Merv Griffin Show.
21 April 1970. David Frost Show.
7 October 1971. David Frost Show.
28 October 1971. Merv Griffin Show.
26 September 1972. Merv Griffin Show.
While Alive
1962. Lykke og krone. Norwegian special on Hollywood.
17 March 1963. Car 54, Where Are You? The 26th episode of this US show's 2nd season was called "Joan Crawford Didn't Say No." Joan doesn't appear, but is mentioned throughout. (A matchmaker in the Bronx is trying to set up a local deli owner with Joan. There's a photo of Joan prominently displayed in her office.)
7 October 1963. Hollywood and the Stars. Clip of Joan shown in "Sirens, Symbols and Glamour Girls" (episode # 1.1)
30 March 1964. Hollywood and the Stars. Clip of Joan shown in "The Oscars - Moments of Greatness: Part 1"
Unknown. The Carol Burnett Show. Burnett did two skits featuring caricatures of Joan: "Mildred Fierce" and "Torchy Song."
Posthumous (dates listed are first showings)
1996. A & E. "Always the Star." 60-minute documentary.
August 2002. Turner Classic Movies. "The Ultimate Movie Star." 90-minute documentary.
4 November 2010. Investigation Discovery. "The Will: Family Secrets Revealed." Joan's will dispute, featuring rare home-movie clips.
1954. A Star Is Born World Premiere. Clip of Joan arriving. Not sure in what way this was broadcast.
November 1962. Here's Hollywood. Appearing as "Herself."
20 July 1965. ABC's Nightlife. Appearing as "Herself."
1966. Every Day is Mother's Day. Joan was to have played "Diane Miles," but filming never began on this show, though a contract was signed.
1967. Crusade '67. Joan speaks on behalf of the American Cancer Society and recites a poem.
22 January 1968. House Party. Appearing as "Herself."
September 1968. Jerry Lewis Telethon. Joan appears with Christina on this MD telethon. A picture appears in Mommie Dearest; according to Christina, it is the last taken of the two of them together.
[disputed] 15 January 1971. The Name of the Game. Appearing as "Board Member" in "Los Angeles 2017" (episode # 3.16)
While the IMDb lists Joan as appearing on this program, Crawford historian John Epperson ("Lypsinka") writes in an e-mail of July 2010: i "I watched the whole episode at the Library of Congress recently, on 16 mm film, and her name is not in the credits at the beginning and end, and she's not in the episode. As I slogged through the dull thing, I kept wondering if she might make an unbilled cameo...as a favor to Spielberg, her former director, but she is nowhere to be seen."