January 10: Joan is voted among “The Seven Best-Hatted Women In The Land,” and receives the “Golden Hat Award” from the Millinery Institute of America at a luncheon in New York.
January 10 (#2): Joan attends an art exhibition held in the ground floor lobby of the Pepsi-Cola headquarters in New York City. The exhibition is presented by The United States Committee For Refugees.
Mid-January: Producers at Twentieth Century Fox report they are in negotiations with Joan for the role of “Roberta Carter“ in the film “Return To Peyton Place.” Producer Jerry Wald reports that Lana Turner's price is too high, so Norma Shearer is in discussions to portray Constance MacKenzie.
January 26: Joan has dinner with Maurice Chevalier at Voisin in New York City.
January 31: Dorothy Kilgallen reports that Joan mysteriously, and abruptly, leaves a party held at Roma di Notte in New York City. The party is hosted by Earl Blackwell in honor of Rossano and Lydia Brazzi's 20th wedding anniversary.
February: Pepsi-Cola opens its new headquarters building on Park Avenue in New York City. Construction for the new company headquarters began in 1958.
February 1-4: Joan acts as official hostess of the Pepsi-Cola National Convention, which is held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City.
February 9: Joan begins preparations to film her appearance on the television show “Ford Startime.” Also guest staring are; Jack Paar and Ethel Merman. Paar later cancels and is replaced by composer Richard Rogers of Rodgers & Hammerstein.
February 13: Joan is the guest of honor at a cocktail party at the home of Frederick P. Weissman in Palm Beach, Florida.
February 14 (#1): Joan is the guest of honor at the American Cancer Society's benefit at a premiere of the film "Once More With Feeling." The premiere is held at the Paramount Theatre in Palm Beach, Florida. The performance is followed by a buffet supper.
February 14 (#2): Joan attends a Variety Clubs dinner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Note: I have documents stating Joan was at this dinner as well as the above listed film premiere in Palm Beach. Both dinners took place on February 14th. It is unlikely Joan attended both, however, until more evidence can be obtained to know which dinner she attended, I am listing both)
February 20: Joan tapes her appearance for “Ford Startime.” Joan’s appearance was the only one to be taped for this episode due to Joan's refusal to perform in front of a live audience. Director Gary Lockhart “tricked” Joan by first doing a rehearsal, then telling her they would do a dress rehearsal before taping her appearance when, in fact, Lockhart taped the dress rehearsal and told her afterward “That was it, we taped it.”
February 23: Joan appears on “Ford Startime” as a talent scout sponsoring Canadian actress Colleen Dewhurst. Other guests who appear on this episode are; Ethel Merman, Tommy Sands, Hugh Downs, composer Richard Rodgers and Maureen O'Hara.
February 24: Joan travels from New York City to Miami, Florida.
February 25 - March 18: Joan vacations in Miami Beach, Florida and Jamaica.
March 19: Joan returns from a two-week rest in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where she has gotten a sun tan.
March 22: Joan attends Salvador Dali's painting of Bouguereau's "Nymphs and Satire" in the Barberry Room of the Berkshire Hotel in New York. The event is attended by approximately 100 other guests which included Zsa Zsa Gabor and Arline Frances.
Late March: Joan attends Pepsi-Cola's annual bottler's convention in New York City.
March 31: Joan attends the opening of Gore Vidal's play "The Best Man" at the Morosco Theatre in Manhattan, New York. Other celebrities attending the play are: Henry Fonda, Robert Preston and Sophie Tucker
April: Joan completes the sell of her twenty-eight room, seven bedroom, house in Brentwood, California to actor Donald O’Conner. The sell also includes a majority of the house's furniture to O'Conner.
April 5: Joan travels from Manhattan, New York to Washington, D.C. She arrives at 11:30 am on board the Pepsi-Cola plane, which is a Fairchild F27A.
April 6: Joan commentates the Cherry Blossom Fashion Festival at the Statler Hotel in Washington, D.C. Joan wears a white flowered hat by Vincent Harmick. Also attending the festival is Patricia Nixon.
April 9: Joan hosts a fashion show during a Cherry Blossom Luncheon in Washington, D.C.
April 13: Joan attends the opening of the play "A Second String" at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre in Manhattan, New York. Actor Christopher Plummer also attends the opening.
April 16: Joan arrives in Los Angeles, California with her twin daughters, Cathy and Cindy.
April 17-26: Joan removes the final contents that she will take from the Brentwood house while she and daughters Cathy and Cindy spend their last Easter weekend in the house.
April 27: Joan dedicates a Variety Clubs-built nursery school in Las Vegas, Nevada. Joan also accepts the “Heart Award” from Variety Clubs on behalf of her late-husband, Alfred Steele.
April 28: Joan attends the dedication ceremony of a new Pepsi-Cola bottling plant in Santa Rosa, California.
May 8: Joan attends a $50 a plate fundraising dinner at the Commodore Hotel in New York City. The purpose of the fundraiser is to raise funds for the production of “Shakespeare In the Park," which is slated for the summer.
May 10: Joan attends the dedication ceremony of a new Pepsi-Cola bottling plant in Kansas City, Missouri.
May 11: Joan attends a press conference with Pepsi-Cola bottling plant vice-president Gene Gilbert in Austin, Texas.
May 12: Joan acts as a judge at "The Texas Service Station Assistant Beauty Contest" in Austin, Texas.
May 31: Joan travels to Toronto, Canada for the 33rd annual international convention of Variety Clubs. Other delegates include; Troy Donahue, Connie Stevens and Gina Lollobrigida.
June 1: Joan spends the day at a Pepsi-Cola sponsored gala held at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Canada. The day-long event includes a buffet luncheon, cocktail party, dinner and floor show. The event is hosted by Alan King.
June 7: Joan attends her twin daughter's end of school year ceremony in California.
June 10: Joan arranges for her daughters Cathy and Cindy to move to New York City for the summer. Upon departing Los Angeles, California, Joan tells reporters she will be back to Los Angeles soon to begin work on "Return To Peyton Place."
Early-July: Joan cancels her plans to attend the Berlin Film Festival.
Early-July: Joan and her daughters Cathy and Cindy take a month-long cruise to South America.
July 26: Joan's secretary Betty Barker has lunch with Joan's friend and biographer Jane Kesner Ardmore.
August: Joan is honored by the United Jewish Appeal for her devotion to the humanitarian work of its agencies, and is presented with a silver-mounted Bible by Herbert A. Friedman, the United Jewish Appeal Executive Vice-Chairman. The honor is presented to Joan in her Manhattan apartment.
August 1: Joan returns to New York City following a month-long cruise to South America.
Early August: While in East Hampton, New York, Joan hires a recently-widowed German lady by the name Anna Hoffmann Brinke to be her maid and housekeeper. On Anna's first day of work, Joan unintentionally calls her "Mamacita" due to Joan recently calling all domestic help "Mamacita" while in South America. Anna responds to being called, even though she was called by the incorrect name, and the nickname "Mamacita" stuck throughout Anna's employment with Joan, with Joan often shortening the nickname simply to "Mama."
August 8: Joan serves as hostess for a luncheon and fashion show at a TOA meeting in New York City.
September 4: Joan travels with her daughters Cathy and Cindy to Los Angeles, California to enroll them for their new school year. While in Los Angeles, Joan performs promotional work for Pepsi-Cola, and meets with producers regarding her planned casting in the film "Return To Peyton Place."
September 12: Joan commentates a luncheon and fashion show for the "Theater Owners of America" convention. The event is held in the Crystal Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. At the convention, Joan attends a press conference, whereby her eyes begin watering, which Joan blames the smog and heat.
September 14: Joan testifies before the U.S. tax court in defense of her claim that she suffered a $30,561 loss when she was unsuccessful in selling film script entitled "A Teacher's Story," which she had purchased the rights to in 1950.
September 14 (#2): Joan sends a telegram to producer Ross Hunter regarding a role she is interested in portraying. The telegram reads: "Ross dear, I tired to reach you for five days. That character has my name on it. Pin it down boy. I'm not about to let go of it. Love Joan"
The character Joan is most likely referring to is "Miss Madrigal," which would be later portrayed in 1964 by Deborah Kerr in "The Chalk Garden."
Mid-September: Producer Aaron Spelling signs Joan to guest star on the television show "Zane grey Theatre," in the episode “One Must Die." The episode is reportedly written especially for Joan.
September 20: It's reported that Joan is in negotiations to star in the film "Toys In The Attic" with Dean Martin and Katharine Hepburn.
September 21: Joan is denied a $30,561 tax deduction by the United States Tax Court. Joan had listed the deduction on her tax return as a “business loss.” This is in regard to a motion picture property entitled "The Teacher's Story” which Joan bought from Warner Bros in 1950 for the amount of $30,561, and for which she had unsuccessfully tried to sell to six major studios with herself starring in the film's leading role.
September 23: Joan attends the dedication ceremony of a new Pepsi-Cola bottling plant in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is the eight Pepsi-Cola bottling plant to open in 1960.
September 24: Joan attends a ball at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. During the ball, Joan socializes with fellow “The Women” co-stars Roz Russell and Norma Shearer.
September 25: Joan works the entire day with Bob Hope filming the season premiere episode of "The Bob Hope Show."
October: The October issue of "Redbook" features the article "The Revolt of Joan Crawford's Daughter." The article is co-written by Joan's daughter, Christina, and details Christina's account of the problems she claims to be having with her mother.
October 3-6: Actor Mike Conners continuously asks his agent Sid Gold to allow him to co-star with Joan in “One Must Die,” however, Gold refuses because the producer’s salary offer is too low. Conners says he would appear in “One Must Die” at any price because he wanted to co-star with Joan, who had given Conners his first big break in “Sudden Fear.”
October 6: MCA attempts to prevented Joan from filming the "Zane Grey Theatre" segment due to a prior contractual agreement. MCA argues that Joan was to be used by Revue Productions, a MCA subsidiary, on the dates planned for the filming of “One Must Die.“ Joan begins filming of “One Must Die” on October 10th, after explaining to producer Dick Powell that she is “willing and available.”
October 3: Joan appears on the season premiere episode of “The Bob Hope Show,” along with singers Patti Page and Bobby Darin.
October 10-14: Joan films her scenes for “One Must Die.” One day during filming, actress Carolyn Jones visits Joan on the set and later sends Joan a gallon of home-made vegetable soup. The next day, Joan has her chauffeur deliver a 10-pound home-made meat loaf to Jones.
October 19 (#1): Joan, escorted by Cesar Romero, attends a film premiere and tells reporters "This is the first premiere I've been to in a long time."
October 19 (#2): Joan's daughter, Christina, travels from New York City to Los Angeles, California to film a screen test for producer Jerry Wald for a role in the film "Wild In The Country." According to columnist Louella Parsons, Christina began to receive film offers, most notably from Jerry Wald, following the publication of the Redbook article "The Revolt of Joan Crawford's Daughter," which had been published in the magazine earlier in the month.
Christina submits to two screen tests, and is hired for a small role in the film. During her visit in Los Angeles, Christina stays in a motel in the Hollywood area.
October 22: Joan travels to Honolulu, Hawaii for the Pepsi-Cola sponsored Kaiser Cookout.
October 24: Joan attends the Kaiser Cookout, where she announces the winner of the cookout's contest and crowns "America's Cookout Champion."
Late October: Joan returns to Los Angeles, California from Honolulu, Hawaii.
Late October: Joan's daughter, Christina, is hired for two Jerry Wald-produced films; "Wild In The Country" and "High Heels." The film "High Heels" is slated to star Carol Lynley, however, it is ultimately canceled.
November 3: Accompanied by Jane Kesner Ardmore, Joan attends a special film screening and lunch at the Cock N' Bull in Los Angeles, California.
November 7: Joan attends a small party at the Los Angeles home of friends Jane and Albert Ardmore.
November 9: Joan is the special guest star at Variety Clubs' “Gay 90’s Revue.” The event is held at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, California.
November 10: Twentieth Century Fox producer Jerry Wald reports in a press release that Joan will co-star in “Return To Peyton Place” with Bette Davis. Davis is slated to portray the character "Constance MacKenzie."
November 12: Joan travels from Los Angeles, California to New York City.
Mid-November: Joan watches a screening of Christina's screen test for "Wild In The Country" in a projection room in New York City. Joan calls Christina after viewing it to tell her how proud she is of her performance. Joan talks with Christina for 45 minutes, and gives her acting tips.
November 26: Columnist Sheilah Graham reports "Joan Crawford will be sorry to hear that a so-called friend is writing an unauthorized life history of her. Crawford's official biography is being written by Jane Kesner Ardmore and will have the Crawford seal of approval."
December 5: Production begins on “Return To Peyton Place” with a 35-day filming schedule. Twentieth Century Fox producer Jerry Wald reports that Joan has left the production. Upon Joan’s departure, Wald says Bette Davis is in line for the role and he is 99% certain Davis will play it. Bette Davis later declines the role due to "illness." On December 20th, 1960, Mary Astor signs to the role of “Roberta Carter," the character Joan was originally slated to portray.
December 10: Joan attends the dedication ceremony of a new Pepsi-Cola bottling plant in Gainesville, Florida. The dedication celebration takes place from 10:00 am - 6:00 pm. Among those attending the dedication are Kathy Magda (Miss Florida) and Pepsi-Cola president Herbert L. Barnet.
December 11: Parade magazine publishes the article "My Mother, Joan Crawford." The article includes an interview with Joan's daughter, Christina, in which she denounces the claim that she and Joan are "feuding." This article is published approximately two months following the October Redbook article "The Revolt of Joan Crawford's Daughter," in which Christina cites issues she has with Joan.