Adam

**Adam** (born **Adam Freedman**) is a recurring character on the first season of *Feud*. He is a journalist conducting interviews in 1978 for a documentary about Bette Davis and Joan Crawford.

He is portrayed by Joel Kelley Dauten.

## Biography

### Pilot

Adam is first seen interviewing Olivia de Havilland at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California in 1978. He is making a documentary about the lives of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford and invites Olivia to give insight on the careers of the two women. She explains to him that Joan and Bette were two of the greatest stars of all time, and although they only ever made one film together, *What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?*, their rivalry remained one of the most legendary of their generation. Adam then asks Olivia what exactly was behind the feud and why the actresses hated each other so much, but Olivia clarifies that feuds are never about hate, but rather about pain.

Later, it comes time for Adam to interview Joan Blondell. He can be seen shaking her hand and introducing himself before the interview starts. Blondell asks him if the documentary will be about other actresses, or just Joan, and if it will be similar to *That's Entertainment*, a theater documentary that was released in 1974. Adam responds that he's unsure, and Blondell makes a joke that she's sure both people who see the documentary are going to love it. Adam chuckles and Joan asks for a drink, causing her to get sidetracked from the conversation. She asks Adam what they were talking about, and he reminds her that she was discussing how tough it was for women in the 50s.

Blondell explains to Adam that Joan never struggled to get work in the 50s, however, and continued to make blockbuster hits throughout the decade. She also describes Crawford's marriage with Alfred Steele, CEO of Pepsi-Cola, which turned out to be a relief to her 40 years of consecutive work. Blondell then goes on to say that Bette didn't get so lucky, and although she was on top of the world after *All About Eve*, she didn't get swamped with roles like she expected. Instead, she married her co-star, Gary Merrill, and the pair ended up getting divorced after ten years together. All the while, Adam takes note of the conversation on his clipboard.

### The Other Woman

Continuing the interview with Joan Blondell, Adam remains sitting across from her with clipboard in hand. He asks her to talk about the origins of the feud between Bette and Joan, and Blondell explains that things didn't start to get heated until the 40s. Bette was thriving at Warner Brothers, but Joan was sinking with MGM, so she decided to make the switch to Warners. Jack Warner's primary reason for signing Joan was to take a jab at Bette, who was the undisputed queen of the lot at the time. However, Jack wanted to send the message that Bette wasn't the only great actress out there, and Joan would give her a run for her money. He started to give the good roles to Joan instead, purposely pitting the two against each other and igniting the longstanding feud between the actresses.

Olivia de Havilland then joins in on the interview with Joan Blondell and explains that they both had no idea that Bette and Joan, good friends of theirs, were being so cruelly manipulated by men in the industry. They explain to Adam that nothing has changed today, and that even now, women will continue to pick at each other when they're cornered.

## Appearances

**Bette and Joan (6/8)**

* 1.01 - Pilot
* 1.02 - The Other Woman
* 1.04 - More, or Less
* 1.05 - And The Winner Is... (The Oscars of 1963)
* 1.07 - Abandoned!
* 1.08 - You Mean All This Time We Could Have Been Friends?