American actor Broderick Crawford has played many wonderful film roles. But perhaps the best of them is the role of Willie Stark in the 1949 film All the King's Men. For her Broderick was awarded an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
Early years and early career stages
Broderick Crawford was born in 1911 in the American city of Philadelphia into an acting family. His parents (their names are Helen and Lester Broderick) played in vaudeville.
In his youth, Broderick performed with them on the stage for some time. But at some point, the vaudeville genre began to lose its former popularity, and Broderick decided to get an education - he entered Harvard University. However, after three months he dropped out of this prestigious university.
Then Crawford worked for a while as a loader in the New York port, but in the end he decided to try his hand at the theater again. He performed his first major role in the 1932 production She Doesn't Love Me. This production ran for three weeks at the Adelphi Theater in London. And it was then that the playwright Noel Coward drew attention to Crawford. A few years later, in 1935, he offered Crawford a role in the Broadway production of his play Point Valley.
In 1937, Broderick played the big Lenny in the play "About Mice and Men", based on the novel of the same name by Steinbeck. And this role brought him some fame.
After that, Broderick decided to move to Hollywood to pursue a career in film. However, at first he got mainly the same type of role of villains in gangster films of category "B".
Broderick Crawford in the forties and fifties
During World War II, Crawford served in the United States Air Force. In 1944 he was sent to Britain, where he acted as an entertainer for the military band of Glenn Miller.
When the war ended, Crawford returned to acting. In 1949, he played Governor Willie Stark in All the King's Men, directed by Robert Rossen, based on Penn Warren's novel of the same name. For this work, Crawford was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor. The story of Governor Willie Stark (this hero, by the way, had a real prototype - Senator Huey Pierce Long from Louisiana), who does not hesitate to use the dirtiest methods to achieve his goals, was very popular with both viewers and critics. And in 2001, the US Congress recognized the tape "All the King's Men" as a national treasure.
In 1950, Crawford appeared in Born Yesterday, which also became a hit of its time. Here he played the millionaire Harry Brock, who arrived in Washington to bribe a couple of politicians and have some fun with his mistress.
Crawford's acting in such films of the first half of the fifties as "Scandalous Chronicle" (directed by Phil Carlson), "On Three Dark Streets" (directed by Arnold Leven), "Frauds" (directed by Federico Fellini) also deserves interest.
In 1955, Ziv Television Productions offered Crawford the role of uncompromising police chief Dan Matthews (that is, the lead role) in the TV series "Highway Patrol." This series was successfully broadcast for four years (from 1955 to 1959), and subsequently it was repeatedly shown on various US television channels. Participation in the "Highway Patrol" not only strengthened Crawford's fame as a talented actor, but also brought him a lot of income - in four years, in accordance with the terms of the contract, he received about two million dollars.
Interestingly, at the same time, Crawford developed problems with excess weight and alcohol. In the fifties, he was arrested several times for drunk driving. As a result, this led to the fact that he was stripped of his driver's license.
And from the "Highway Patrol" he left, including in order to cope with alcohol addiction.
Further work of the actor
In 1960, Crawford left America for Europe to co-star with Italian director Vittorio Cotaffavi in his ash film Revenge of Hercules.
And in 1962, the actor signed a new contract with the ZIV company - to shoot in the TV series "The King of Diamonds". Here he also played a major role. However, this series was a failure, and after the first season it was canceled.
After that, Crawford had several interesting feature films. Among the paintings of this period, in which the actor appears, it is worth mentioning "Castile" (1963), "Red Gold" (1966), "Oscar" (1966), "Red Tomahawk" (1967).
In the seventies, Crawford again began to give preference to television projects - television films and series. Especially American viewers remembered his performance in Larry Cohen's TV series Edgar Hoover's Personal Dossier (1997). This series is based on facts from the biography of the legendary FBI Director Edgar Hoover, who for 48 years led one of the most powerful US law enforcement agencies. Broderick very convincingly played Hoover - a complex and extraordinary man, whom even presidents feared.
In 1982, Crawford appeared in one of the episodes of the detective series "Simon and Simon", and in the melodrama "Lying Moon". And these were actually his last works. After that, he lived for several more years, but did not take part in the filming anymore. In total, Crawford's filmography includes more than 130 roles in film and TV.
Personal life facts
The actor got married for the first time in 1940. Actress Kay Griffith became his wife. The couple subsequently had two sons - Christopher (born 1947) and Kelly (born 1951).
Crawford's second wife was actress Joan Tabor. This marriage lasted five years - from 1962 to 1967.
His third and final marriage was to Mary Alice Moore in 1973. He lived with her until his death.
Date of death
The talented film actor died on April 26, 1986 of a stroke in the Californian town of Rancho Mirage. At that time he was 74 years old. Crawford's grave is at Ferndale Cemetery in Johnstown, New York.
