- Born
- Died
- Birth nameWilliam Broderick Crawford
- Nickname
- Brod
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- Broderick Crawford is best remembered for two roles: his Oscar-winning turn as Willie Stark in All the King's Men (1949) and as Chief Dan Mathews on the syndicated TV series Highway Patrol (1955). He was also memorable as Judy Holliday's vulgar partner in Born Yesterday (1950), roles both actors had originated on Broadway to great acclaim.
He was born William Broderick Crawford on December 9, 1911, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to vaudeville performers Lester Crawford and Helen Broderick. His mother had a brief movie career acting in Hollywood comedies. Broderick Crawford, large and burly, was no one's idea of a leading man due to his rough-and-tumble looks, but he broke through playing John Steinbeck's simple-minded giant Lenny in the Broadway adaptation of Steinbeck's novella "Of Mice and Men". After this Broadway success, Crawford moved to Hollywood and made his cinema debut in the comedy Woman Chases Man (1937), in a supporting role to stars Joel McCrea and Miriam Hopkins. When producer-director Lewis Milestone was casting the movie version of Steinbeck's classic (Of Mice and Men (1939)), he passed over Crawford and selected Lon Chaney Jr. to play Lenny.
After many supporting roles (including a memorable turn as a big but kindhearted lug in the comedy Larceny, Inc (1942)) and a stint in the military during World War II, Crawford had his breakthrough role in Robert Rossen's adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "All the King's Men". Crawford gave a masterly performance as the southern U.S. politician based on Louisiana's Huey Long. In addition to the Oscar, he also won the New York Film Critics' Award for Best Actor. All the King's Men (1949) was a hit, as was Born Yesterday (1950). (Crawford had also played the role on Broadway, succeeding Paul Douglas, who originated the role.) However, Crawford soon after became typecast as crude or brutish.
Five years after copping the Academy Award, TV producer Frederick W. Ziv hired Crawford to play the lead role in his syndicated police drama "Highway Patrol". The show ran for four seasons. Crawford's career, moribund in the early 1950s, revived, but he generally eschewed the big screen, preferring television, for the remainder of his career. He continued to act almost up until his death in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 26, 1986, at age 74, following a series of strokes.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood
- SpousesMary Alice Moore(August 8, 1973 - April 26, 1986) (his death)Joan Tabor(January 4, 1962 - April 26, 1967) (divorced)Kay Griffith(November 20, 1940 - August 19, 1958) (divorced, 2 children)
- ChildrenKim Crawford
- Parents
- Probably best known for the "10-4" sign off on his patrol car radio in the TV series Highway Patrol (1955) of the '50s.
- Machine gun delivery of dialogue in Born Yesterday (1950) and Highway Patrol (1955)
- During World War 2, he was a regular radio announcer for the Armed Forces Network, introducing broadcasts of live musical performances for such artists as Glenn Miller's Air Force Band.
- Appeared on Broadway for the second (and last) time in 1937 as Lennie in John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," which had established him as an actor. One of his co-stars was Will Geer.
- Good friends with Lon Chaney Jr..
- Hosted Saturday Night Live on March 19, 1977.
- When he hosted SNL in 1977, he pointed out a building in New York where he claimed he had been born.
- My trademarks are a hoarse, grating voice and the face of a retired pugilist: small narrowed eyes set in puffy features which look as though they might, years ago, have lost on points.
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