Burly, gruff-voiced supporting player of the 1940s and 50s and son of popular stage and film comedienne Helen Broderick and vaudevillian Lester Crawford. After a brief stab at Hollywood, Crawford returned to Broadway where he won acclaim for his performance as Lennie in the stage adaptation of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" (1937), before returning to film. Because of his thug-like mug he was relegated to playing gangsters and Western villains in mostly forgettable fare until 1949 when he won an Oscar for his multi-faceted portrayal of charismatic political demogogue Willie Stark in Robert Rossen's "All The King's Men", followed in 1950 by "Born Yesterday" in which he played a coarse, bullying wealthy junk dealer (reputedly parodying Columbia studio head Harry Cohn) who gets his comeuppance from the delicious Judy Holliday. After these two gems, Crawford reverted to character roles and, with the exception of "The Mob" (1951) and Fellini's "Il Bidone/The Swindle" (1955) in which he played a con-man down on his luck, the highlight of his later career was the starring role in the popular low-budget, syndicated police series, "Highway Patrol" (1955-59).
Family
MOTHER: Helen Broderick. Actor, comedienne, music performer.
FATHER: Lester Crawford. Vaudevillian.
SON: Kelly Griffith Crawford. Born on July 26, 1951.
CHILD: Kim Crawford.
Companion
WIFE: Kay Griffith. Singer, radio performer. Married c. 1940; divorced in 1955; mother of Crawford's two children.
Milestone
Became a seaman and stevedore, then a NYC radio actor and stooge for the Marx Brothers
1932: London stage debut as football player in "She Loves Me Not"
1935: Broadway debut in "Point Valaine" starring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
Performance on stage in "Punches and Judy" won him a film contract with Samuel Goldwyn
1937: Film debut, "Woman Chases Man"
1937: Left Hollywood for stage; starred on Broadway as Lennie in "Of Mice and Men"
1942: Joined Army Air Force and served overseas for 18 months, fighting in the Battle of the Bulge
1952: TV debut on Video Theatre's "Hunt the Man Down"
1955 - 1959: TV series debut as Chief Dan Matthews on "Highway Patrol"
Starred on TV series, "The Interns"
Education
Dean Academy - graduated
Harvard University - Cambridge, Massachusetts - left after three weeks
Upcoming Titles Playing on TCM for Broderick Crawford
bergy
10/4..over and out
nobody handled a police phone better than crawford on "highway patrol".the
immortal words 10..4 were repeated by every kid who ...
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