06/17/2026
My heart is broken to hear about the passing of Joan Crawfordās grandson, Casey LaLonde.
I met Casey for the first time in 2024 at the Hollywood Heritage Museum for a screening of his grandmotherās home movies. At first, I was skeptical: How much could this man really know if his grandmother passed away when he was only a child? Within minutes, I was proven wrong. Casey was a true Joan Crawford historian, and I learned so much about who his grandmother was through him.
Caseyās love for his grandmother was evident in everything he did. You could tell he was proud to be related to one of the most legendary actresses to ever walk the face of the earth, and that he took that responsibility seriously. After the screening, he took the time to listen to stories from his grandmotherās fans, never taking the attention away from her, but only adding to the shared love people still have for Joan all these years later.
While some overly invested fans had their conspiracies about who Casey was and what his intentions were when it came to his grandmotherās legacy, what always stood out to me was that he was driven by love. It was at the heart of everything he did. He had a heart of gold.
When I saw him this past fall, I had no idea it would be our last time meeting. We got together to talk about the release of Scott Eymanās A Womanās Face, and when we were done, I asked Casey if he wanted to hang out a little longer. So we walked through the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures together, where we not only saw photos of his grandmother, but he also taught me that the first time Steven Spielberg directed an actress, it was Joan Crawford. I learned so much from him, and Iām so grateful we had that day together.
Iāll miss Casey. He was truly one of the good ones, and this is such a loss for the classic film community.
I also want to thank my dear friend for introducing us. Iāll cherish these moments forever. š„¹š
