‘Having houseguests I think really requires as much help as you can possibly afford. If you plan dinner parties you have to have someone serve and clean up. A minimum of one. I’d rather save pennies and have guests only once a year, with enough staff to run everything beautifully, than to have to spend all my time in the kitchen, knowing that the ashtrays weren’t being emptied and the dirty dishes had to be dealt with surreptitiously in the middle of the night. Having houseguests should be fun, not drudgery.’
My Way of Life, Joan Crawford, Simon & Schuster, 1971.
The Intermediate Period 