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BRODERICK CRAWFORD |
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BRODERICK CRAWFORD |
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WILLIAM BRODERICK CRAWFORD* was born on December 9, 1911 in Philadelphia, PA.
Broderick accompanied his parents on tour as a boy and later joined them on-stage. He attended the Dean Academy in Franklin, MA, and excelled in athletics, including football, baseball, and swimming.
Crawford entered show business as an adult through vaudeville, joining his parents in working for producer Max Gordon. With vaudeville's decline in the later 1920s, he tried attending college but dropped out of Harvard after just three months, preferring to make a living as a stevedore on the New York docks, and he also later served as a seaman on a tanker ship. Crawford returned to acting by way of radio, including a stint working as a second banana to the Marx Brothers. He entered the legitimate theater in 1934 when playwright Howard Lindsay selected him for a role in the play She Loves Me Not, portraying a football player in the work's London run -- although the play only ran three weeks, that was enough time for Crawford to meet Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne (then theater's leading "power couple" on either side of the Atlantic) and come to the attention of Noel Coward, who selected him for a role in his production of Point Valaine, in which the acting couple was starring.
After a string of unsuccessful plays, Crawford went to Hollywood and got a part as the butler in the comedy Woman Chases Man, produced by Samuel Goldwyn. Crawford's theatrical breakthrough came in 1937 when he won the role of the half-witted Lennie in the theatrical adaptation of John Steinbeck's, Of Mice and Men.
His performance won critical accolades from all of the major newspapers, and Crawford was on his way, at least as far as the stage was concerned -- when it came time to do the movie, the part went to Lon Chaney Jr., giving that actor the best role of his entire career. In movies, Crawford made the rounds of the studios in one-off roles, usually in relatively minor films such as Undercover Doctor and Eternally Yours. The murder mystery Slightly Honorable gave him a slight boost in both billing and the size of his role, but before he could begin to develop any career momentum the Second World War intervened. Crawford served in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He was the announcer for the Glen miller Orchestra as a member of Special Services. When he returned to civilian life, he immediately resumed his screen career with a series of fascinating films, including The Black Angel, based on the work of Cornell Woolrich, and James Cagney's production of The Time of Your Life, based on the William Saroyan play.
True stardom however, and recognition beyond the ranks of his fellow actors, still eluded him. That all changed when director-producer Robert Rossen selected Crawford to portray Willie Stark in All the King's Men. In a flash, Crawford became a box-office draw, his performance attracting raves from the critics and delighting audiences with its subtle, earthy, rough-hewn charm. His portrayal of the megalomaniac political boss of a small state, based on the life and career of Louisiana governor and senator Huey Long, won Crawford the Oscar for Best Actor. A recent Critics' Pick is available.
He signed a long-term contract with Columbia Pictures in 1949, which resulted in his starring in the comedy hit Born Yesterday (1950). That was to be his last major hit as a star, though Crawford continued to give solid and successful lead performances for much of the next five years, portraying a tough cop in the crime drama The Mob, and a villainous antagonist to Clark Gable in Vincent Sherman's Lone Star.
During the early '50s, Crawford was Hollywood's favorite tough-guy lead or star antagonist, his persona combining something of the tough charm of Spencer Tracy and Wallace Beery, and incorporating the rough-hewn physicality of Neville Brand -- he could be a charming lunkhead, in the manner of Keenan Wynn, or dark and threatening, calling up echoes of his portrayal of Willie Stark. In the mid-'50s at 20th Century Fox, he added vast energy and excitement to such films as Night People and Between Heaven and Hell -- indeed, his performance in the latter added a whole extra layer of depth and meaning to the film, moving it from wartime melodrama into territory much closer to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, with his character Waco serving as the dramatic stand-in for Kurtz. In 1955, after working on the melodrama Not As a Stranger and Fellini's Il Bidone (his portrayal of the swindler Augusto being one of his best performances),
Crawford became one of the biggest Hollywood stars of the era to make the jump to television. He signed to do the series Highway Patrol for Ziv TV, which was a hit for four seasons. In its wake, however, Crawford was never able to get movies or roles of the same quality that he'd been offered in the early '50s. He did two more series, King of Diamonds and The Interns, and did play the title role in Larry Cohen's The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover (1977), which attracted some offbeat notice; otherwise, Crawford's work during his final 30 years of acting involved roles as routine as the ones he'd muddled through while trying for his break at the other end of his career.
One of his most visible screen appearances took place on television, in a 1977 episode of CHiPS that played off of his work in Highway Patrol, with Crawford making a gag appearance as himself, a motorist pulled over and cited for a moving violation by the series' motorcycle police officers. [A publicity still from this episode is available.] Crawford then hosted Saturday Night Live, which featured a Highway Patrol skit with Dan Ackroid as his side kick! Crawford died following several strokes, on April 26, 1986 in Rancho Mirage, CA and was laid to rest in the Ferndale Cemetery, located in Johnstown, NY. -- Bruce Eder
Broderick Crawford’s Awards and Filmography: (also see his page in the International Movie Database) Academy Awards Winner, USA 1950 for Best Actor for: All the King's Men (1949) Golden Globes Winner, USA 1950 for Best Motion Picture Actor for: All the King's Men (1949) New York Film Critics Circle Awards Winner 1949 for Best Actor for: All the King's Men (1949) Actor - (1980s) (1970s) (1960s) (1950s) (1940s) (1930s) 1.Liar's Moon (1981) .... Colonel Tubman 2.Harlequin (1980) .... Doc Wheelan ... aka Dark Forces (1980) ... aka Minister's Magician, The (1980) 3.Little Romance, A (1979) .... Himself 5.There Goes the Bride (1979) .... Gas Station Attendant 6.Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover, The (1977) .... J. Edgar Hoover 7.Mayday at 40,000 Feet! (1976) (TV) .... Marshal Riese 8.Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby (1976) (TV) .... Sheriff Holtzman ... aka Rosemary's Baby II (1976) (TV) 9.Hunter (1976) (TV) 10.Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976) .... Special Effects Man 11.Phantom of Hollywood, The (1974) (TV) .... Captain O'Neal 12.House of Dracula's Daughter (1973) 13.Terror in the Wax Museum (1973) .... Amos Burns 14.Candidate, The (1972) .... Voice of Jarmon, Narrator 15.Adventures of Nick Carter (1972) (TV) .... Otis Duncan 16.Embassy (1972) .... Dunniger ... aka Target: Embassy (1972) 17.Tattered Web, A (1971) (TV) .... Willard Edson 18."Interns, The" (1970) TV Series .... Doctor Peter Goldstone 19.Challenge, The (1970) (TV) .... General Lewis Meyers 20.Hell's Bloody Devils (1970) .... Brand ... aka Fakers, The (1970) (USA: TV title) ... aka Operation M. (1970) ... aka Smashing the Crime Syndicate (1970) (UK) ... aka Swastika Savages (1970) 21.Mir hat es immer Spaß gemacht (1970) ... aka How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business? (1970) ... aka Naughty Cheerleaders (1970) ... aka Wie kommt ein so reizendes Mädchen zu diesem Gewerbe? (1970) (West Germany) 22.Yin and Yang of Mr. Go, The (1970) .... B.B. O'Kelly ... aka Third Eye, The (1970) 23.Red Tomahawk (1967) .... Columbus Smith 24.Oscar, The (1966) .... Sheriff 25.Gregorio y su ángel (1966) ... aka Gregorio and the Angel (1966) 26.Per un dollaro di gloria (1966) ... aka Escuadrón de la muerte, El (1968) (Spain: dubbed version) ... aka Mutiny at Fort Sharp (1966) (USA) 27.Texican, The (1966) ... aka Texas Kid (1966) (Spain) 28.Vulture, The (1966) .... Brian F. Stroud 29.Up from the Beach (1965) .... Military Policeman (M.P.) Major 30.Kid Rodelo (1965) .... Joe Harbin 31.House Is Not a Home, A (1964) .... Harrigan 32.No temas a la ley (1963) (uncredited) .... Man in hotel ... aka Cave est piégé, Le (1963) (France) ... aka Chasse à l'homme (1963) (France) 33.Convicts Four (1962) .... Warden ... aka Convicts 4 (1962) (USA) ... aka Reprieve (1962) 34.Valle de las espadas, El (1962) .... Don Sancho ... aka Castilian, The (1962) (USA) ... aka Valley of the Swords (1962) 35."King of Diamonds" (1961) TV Series .... Johnny King (1961) 36.Nasilje na trgu (1961) 37.Square of Violence (1961) .... Dr. Stefan Bernardi 38.Ultimo dei Vikinghi, L' (1961) ... aka Dèrnier des Viking, Le (1961) (France) ... aka Last of the Vikings, The (1961) 39.Vendetta di Ercole, La (1960) .... Eurystheus ... aka Goliath and the Dragon (1960) (USA) 40.Decks Ran Red, The (1958) .... Henry Scott 41.Between Heaven and Hell (1956) .... Waco 42.Fastest Gun Alive, The (1956) .... Vinnie Harold 43.Not as a Stranger (1955) .... Dr. Aarons 44."Highway Patrol" (1955) TV Series .... Chief Dan Mathews 45.Bidone, Il (1955) .... Augusto ... aka Swindle, The (1955) (USA) ... aka Swindlers, The (1955) (UK) 46.Big House, U.S.A. (1955) .... Rollo Lamar 47.Man On a Bus (1955) .... Bus driver 48.New York Confidential (1955) .... Charlie Lupo 49.Down Three Dark Streets (1954) .... FBI Agent John Ripley 50.Human Desire (1954) .... Carl Buckley 51.Night People (1954) .... Charles Leatherby 52.Last Posse, The (1953) .... Sheriff Frazier 53.Scandal Sheet (1952) .... Mark Chapman ... aka Dark Page, The (1952) (UK) 54.Last of the Comanches (1952) .... Sergeant Matt Trainor ... aka Sabre and the Arrow, The (1952) (UK) 55.Stop, You're Killing Me (1952) .... Remy Marko 56.Lone Star (1951) .... Thomas Craden 57.Mob, The (1951) .... Johnny Damico ... aka Remember That Face (1951) (UK) 58.Born Yesterday (1950) .... Harry Brock 59.Cargo to Capetown (1950) .... Johnny Phelan 60.Convicted (1950) .... George Knowland ... aka One Way Out (1950) (USA) 61.Kiss in the Dark, A (1949) .... Mr. Botts 62.All the Kings Men (1949)…. Willie Stark 63.Night Unto Night (1949) .... Shawn 64.Bad Men of Tombstone (1949) .... Morgan 65.Anna Lucasta (1949) .... Frank 66.Sealed Verdict (1948) .... Captain Kinsella 67.The Time of Your Life, The (1948) .... Policeman Krupp 68.Flame, The (1947) .... Ernie Hicks 69.Slave Girl (1947) .... Chips Jackson 70.Black Angel (1946) .... Captain Flood ... aka Black Angel, The (1946) (USA: copyright title) 71.Runaround, The (1946) .... Louis Prentiss 72.Broadway (1942) .... Steve Crandall 73.Men of Texas (1942) .... Henry Clay Jackson ... aka Men of Destiny (1942) (UK) 74.Larceny, Inc. (1942) .... Jug Martin 75.Butch Minds the Baby (1942) .... Aloysius "Butch" Grogan 76.North to the Klondike (1942) .... Johnny Thorn 77.Sin Town (1942) .... Dud McNair 78.South of Tahiti (1941) .... Chuck ... aka White Savage (1941) 79.Badlands of Dakota (1941) .... Bob Holliday 80.Black Cat, The (1941) .... Hubert Smith 81.Tight Shoes (1941) .... Speedy Miller 82.Texas Rangers Ride Again, The (1940) .... Mace Townsley 83.Seven Sinners (1940) .... Edward Patrick 'Little Ned' Finnegan ... aka Cafe of the Seven Sinners (1940) 84.Slightly Honorable (1940) .... Russell Sampson 85.I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby (1940) .... Sonny McGann 86.Trail of the Vigilantes (1940) .... Swanee 87.When the Daltons Rode (1940) .... Bob Dalton 88.Undercover Doctor (1939) .... Eddie Krator 89.Beau Geste (1939) .... Hank Miller 90.Ambush (1939) .... Randall 91.Eternally Yours (1939) .... Don Barnes 92.Island of Lost Men (1939) .... Tex Ballister 93.Real Glory, The (1939) .... Lieutenant Larson 94.Sudden Money (1939) .... 'Doc' Finney 95.Start Cheering (1938) .... Biff Gordon 96.Woman Chases Man (1937) .... Hunk Notable TV guest appearances 1."CHiPs" (1977) playing "Himself"(uncredited) in episode: "Hustle" (episode # 1.8) 11/24/1977 2."Harry O" (1974) playing "John Mackenzie" in episode: "Forty Reasons To Kill" (episode # 1.11) 12/5/1974 3."Banacek" (1972) playing "Gilbert Deretzo" in episode: "No Sign of the Cross" (episode # 1.3) 10/11/1972 4."Night Gallery" (1970) playing "Joseph Fulton" in episode: "You Can't Get Help Like That Anymore" (episode # 2.58) 2/23/1972 5."Alias Smith and Jones" (1971) playing "Powers" in episode: "Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap, The" (episode # 2.17) 1/20/1972 6."Cade's County" (1971) in episode: "Requiem for Miss Madrid" (episode # 1.11) 12/12/1971 7."It Takes a Thief" (1968) in episode: "Fortune City" (episode # 3.18) 2/2/1970 8."Land of the Giants" (1968) playing "Prof. Gorn" in episode: "Mechanical Man, The" (episode # 2.1) 9/21/1969 9."Get Smart" (1965) playing "Froggsy Debbs" in episode: "Treasure of C. Errol Madre, The" 1969 10."Cimarron Strip" (1967) in episode: "Blue Moon Train, The" (episode # 1.21) 2/15/1968 11."Man from U.N.C.L.E., The" (1964) playing "Mark Tenza" in episode: "J is for Judas Affair, The" (episode # 1967) 1967 12."Rogues, The" (1964) in episode: "Gambit by the Golden Gate" (episode # 1.17) 1/10/1965 13."Destry" (1964) in episode: "Solid Gold Girl, The" (episode # 1.1) 2/14/1964 14."Virginian, The" (1962) in episode: "Killer in Town, A" (episode # 2.4) 10/9/1963 15."Rough Riders, The" (1958) in episode: "Plot to Assassinate President Johnson, The" (episode # 1.18) 2/5/1959 16."Bat Masterson" (1958) playing "Ben Thompson" in episode: "Two Graves for Swan Valley" (episode # 1.2) 10/15/1958 *Note: According to Kelly Crawford, (Broderick’s son), Lester Crawfrord changed his name from Pendergast before he married Helen Broderick. "I guess he thought Crawford would look better on marquees." Crawford and Broderick were apparently a rather famous vaudeville team, the first to do a world tour, but Helen was the star and Lester just sort of gave up when Helen went into film. Helen was also one of the first Ziegfeld Girls, by the way. When our man William Broderick came along, he got his mother’s maiden name and his father’s last name and, following the family "I-Hate-My-Name tradition", used Broderick Crawford as his stage name. |
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