William Broderick Crawford (December 9, 1911 – April 26, 1986) was an American actor. Known for his "bulldog face and barking voice", Lester appeared in films in the 1920s and 1930s. Helen Broderick had a career in Hollywood comedies, including appearances in the Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musicals Top Hat and Swing Time.
Notwithstanding his family's relative prominence, Crawford's childhood and adolescence remain sparsely documented, with a 1977 Saturday Night Live documentary segment essentially intimating that he was raised in the violent, alcohol-sodden and predominantly working class milieu of Midtown Manhattan's Hell's Kitchen district (long favored by actors due to its traditionally low rents and convenient proximity to various entertainment venues, most notably Broadway theatre). In the segment, he also reminisced of overnight sleepovers in Central Park with his friends.
Throughout his childhood, Crawford and his parents performed on the stage for producer Max Gordon. Despite a desultory formal education, he was accepted by Harvard College, where he ultimately enrolled. After three months of studies, he dropped out to work as a stevedore on the New York docks.
He gained fame in 1937 as Lennie in Of Mice and Men on Broadway. He moved to Hollywood and began working in films.
All the King's Men and stardom
thumb|left|Crawford as Willie Stark in [[All the King's Men (1949 film)|All the King's Men (1949)]]
In 1949, Crawford was cast as Willie Stark, a character inspired by and closely patterned after the life of Louisiana politician Huey Long, in All the King's Men, based on the novel by Robert Penn Warren. The film was a huge hit, and Crawford won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Crawford went on to make several major films in the first half of the 1950s, including Born Yesterday (1950), Lone Star (1952), Last of the Comanches (1953), and Night People (1954).
In 1955, Crawford took on the starring role of Rollo Lamar, the most violent of convicts in Big House, U.S.A., in which Crawford's character is a hardened convict so violent he commands the obedience of even the most violent and psychotic prisoners in the prison yard, followed by a co-starring role in the hit Not as a Stranger (1955).
Highway Patrol
In 1955, television producer Frederick Ziv of ZIV Television Productions offered Crawford the lead role in the police drama Highway Patrol, which dramatized law enforcement activities of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). ZIV operated on a low budget of $25,000 per episode, with ten percent of gross receipts going to Crawford. While the show's scripts were largely fictional, the use of realistic, rapid-fire dialogue, stark film noir style and Crawford's convincing portrayal of a hard-as-nails police officer made the show an instant success. Highway Patrol remained popular during its four years (1955–1959) of first-run syndication, and continued in rerun syndication across the United States for many years. From 1955 until 1965, most of Crawford's television roles were for ZIV, which was one of the few producers willing to accept the challenges of working with the hard-living and alcoholic Crawford. Years later, Frederick Ziv said, "To be honest, Broderick could be a handful!"
Highway Patrol revived Crawford's career and cemented his tough-guy persona, which he used successfully in numerous roles for the rest of his life.
During the series' run he was in three significant films: The Fastest Gun Alive (1956) for director Russell Rouse at MGM, Between Heaven and Hell (1956) with Robert Wagner at Fox, directed by Richard Fleischer, and The Decks Ran Red (1958) with James Mason for Andrew L. Stone.
Fed up with its hectic shooting schedule, Crawford quit Highway Patrol at the end of 1959 to make a film in Spain.
Crawford's successful run on Highway Patrol earned him two million dollars, and he re-signed with ZIV for King of Diamonds. Having temporarily stopped drinking, Crawford played the starring role as diamond industry security chief John King. Eventually the drinking strained the show's relationship with the CHP as well as Crawford's relationship with ZIV.
Death
He died in 1986, aged 74 after a series of strokes.
Legacy
Crawford has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One for motion pictures at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard, and another for television at 6734 Hollywood Boulevard.
His popularity on Highway Patrol led to him being memorialized in the poker game of Texas Hold 'em; a starting hand of a 10-4 (a common police radio code) is nicknamed a "Broderick Crawford".
In season 14/episode 80 of Family Feud, Steve Harvey disclosed that his real name is Broderick Stephen Harvey, and he was named after Broderick Crawford.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role
!Notes
|-
|1937
|Woman Chases Man
|Hunk
|
|-
|1938
|Start Cheering
|Biff Gordon
|
|-
| rowspan="8" |1939
|Ambush
|Randall
|
|-
|Sudden Money
|Doc Finney
|
|-
|Undercover Doctor
|Eddie Krator
|
|-
|Beau Geste
|Hank Miller
|
|-
|Island of Lost Men
|Tex Ballister
|
|-
|The Real Glory
|Lt. Larson
|
|-
|Eternally Yours
|Don Burns
|
|-
|Slightly Honorable
|Russ Sampson
|
|-
| rowspan="5" |1940
|I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby
|Sonny McGann
|
|-
|When the Daltons Rode
|Bob Dalton
|
|-
|Seven Sinners
|Little Ned
|
|-
|Trail of the Vigilantes
|Swanee
|
|-
|Texas Rangers Ride Again
|Mace Townsley
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |1941
|The Black Cat
|Gil Smith
|
|-
|Tight Shoes
|Speedy Miller
|
|-
|Badlands of Dakota
|Bob Holliday
|
|-
|South of Tahiti
|Chuck
|
|-
| rowspan="7" |1942
|North to the Klondike
|John Thorn
|
|-
|Butch Minds the Baby
|Butch Grogan
|
|-
|Larceny, Inc.
|Jug Martin
|
|-
|Broadway
|Steve Crandall
|
|-
|Men of Texas
|Henry Clay Jackson
|
|-
|Sin Town
|Dude McNair
|
|-
|Keeping Fit
|Brod
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1946
|The Runaround
|Louis Prentiss
|
|-
|Black Angel
|Capt. Flood
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1947
|Slave Girl
|Chips Jackson
|
|-
|The Flame
|Ernie Hicks
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1948
|The Time of Your Life
|Krupp
|
|-
|Sealed Verdict
|Capt. Kinsella
|
|-
| rowspan="5" |1949
|Bad Men of Tombstone
|William Morgan
|
|-
|A Kiss in the Dark
|Mr. Botts
|
|-
|Night Unto Night
|C.L. Shawn
|
|-
|Anna Lucasta
|Frank
|
|-
|All the King's Men
|Willie Stark
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |1950
|Cargo to Capetown
|Johnny Phelan
|
|-
|Convicted
|George Knowland
|
|-
|Born Yesterday
|Harry Brock
|
|-
|1951
|The Mob
|Johnny Damico
|
|-
| rowspan="4" |1952
|Scandal Sheet
|Mark Chapman / George Grant
|
|-
|Lone Star
|Thomas Craden
|
|-
|Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder
|Himself
|Uncredited cameo
|-
|Stop, You're Killing Me
|Remy Marko
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1953
|Last of the Comanches
|Sgt. Matt Trainor
|
|-
|The Last Posse
|Sheriff John Frazier
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |1954
|Night People
|Charles Leatherby
|
|-
|Human Desire
|Carl Buckley
|
|-
|Down Three Dark Streets
|FBI Agent John 'Rip' Ripley
|
|-
| rowspan="5" |1955
|New York Confidential
|Charlie Lupo
|
|-
|Big House, U.S.A.
|Rollo Lamar
|
|-
|Man on a Bus
|Nahum
|Short film
|-
|Not as a Stranger
|Dr. Aarons
|
|-
|Il bidone
|Augusto
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1956
|The Fastest Gun Alive
|Vinnie Harold
|
|-
|Between Heaven and Hell
|Capt. 'Waco' Grimes
|
|-
|1958
|The Decks Ran Red
|Henry Scott
|
|-
|1960
|Goliath and the Dragon
|King Eurystheus
|
|-
|1961
|Square of Violence
|Dr. Stefan Bernardi
|
|-
|1962
|Convicts 4
|Warden
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1963
|The Castilian
|Don Sancho
|
|-
|No temas a la ley
|Man in Hotel
|Uncredited cameo
|-
|1964
|A House Is Not a Home
|Harrigan
|
|-
|1965
|Up from the Beach
|MP Major
|
|-
| rowspan="5" |1966
|Kid Rodelo
|Joe Harbin
|
|-
|Mutiny at Fort Sharpe
|Col. Lenox
|
|-
|The Oscar
|Sheriff
|
|-
|The Texican
|Luke Starr
|
|-
|The Vulture
|Brian F. Stroud
|
|-
|1967
|Red Tomahawk
|Columbus Smith
|
|-
| rowspan="6" |1970
|Ransom Money
|Insp. Joseph Medford
|
|-
|Hell's Bloody Devils
|Gavin
|
|-
|Maharlika
|Gen. Hadley
|
|-
|How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business?
|B.J. Hankins
|
|-
|Gregorio and His Angel
|Gregorio
|
|-
|The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go
|Parker
|
|-
|1972
|Embassy
|Frank Dunniger
|
|-
|1972
|The Candidate
|Commercial Narrator (voice)
|Uncredited
|-
|1973
|Terror in the Wax Museum
|Amos Burns
|
|-
|1975
|Death Brings Roses
|Bartender
|
|-
|1976
|Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood
|Special Effects Man
|Cameo appearance
|-
| rowspan="2" |1977
|Proof of the Man
|Capt. O'Brien
|
|-
|The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover
|J. Edgar Hoover
|
|-
|1979
|A Little Romance
|Himself
|
|-
| rowspan="2" |1980
|Harlequin
|Doc Wheelan
|
|-
|There Goes the Bride
|Petrol Attendant
|
|-
|1981
|Liar's Moon
|Col. Tubman
|
|-
|1982
|'
|Mike Carrady
|
|-
|1983
|The Creature Wasn't Nice
|Max the Computer (voice)
|Uncredited
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role(s)
!Notes
|-
|1952-53
|Lux Video Theatre
|David, Socko Renard
|2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" |1953
|Four Star Playhouse
|Mike Dundee
|Episode: "Knockout"
|-
|General Electric Theater
|Scott
|Episode: "Ride the River"
|-
|Ford Theatre
|Lt. Mike Fargo
|Episode: "Margin for Fear"
|-
|1953-54
|Schlitz Playhouse of Stars
|Tim, Joe Mitchell
|2 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1955
|Producers' Showcase
|Walter Reed
|Episode: "Yellow Jack"
|-
|Damon Runyon Theater
|Heine Schmitz
|Episode: "Dancing Dan's Christmas"
|-
|1955-59
|Highway Patrol
|Dan Matthews
|Main cast
|-
|1958
|Bat Masterson
|Sgt. Foley
|Episode: "Two Graves for Swan Valley"
|-
|1959
|The Rough Riders
|William Quantrill
|Episode: "The Plot to Assassinate President Johnson"
|-
|1961-62
|King of Diamonds
|John King
|Main cast
|-
| rowspan="3" |1963
|Kraft Mystery Theatre
|Keyes
|Episode: "Shadow of a Man"
|-
|The Virginian
|George Wolfe
|Episode: "A Killer in Town"
|-
|Arrest and Trial
|Grant Randolph
|Episode: "A Flame in the Dark"
|-
| rowspan="3" |1964
|Rawhide
|Jud Hammerklein
|Episode: "Incident at Deadhorse"
|-
|Destry
|Oakley
|Episode: "The Solid Gold Girl"
|-
|Burke's Law
|Various roles
|4 episodes
|-
|1964-66
|Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
|Various roles
|3 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" |1965
|The Rogues
|Amos Cavanaugh
|Episode: "Gambit by the Golden Gate"
|-
|Kraft Suspense Theatre
|Walter 'Pop' Tullett
|Episode: "The Long Ravine"
|-
| rowspan="3" |1967
|The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
|Mark Tenza
|Episode: "The 'J' for Judas Affair"
|-
|The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.
|Soyil Irosian
|Episode: "The Low Blue C Affair"
|-
|Cimarron Strip
|A-1 Joe Lehigh
|Episode: "The Blue Moon Train"
|-
|1968-69
|The Name of the Game
|Various roles
|3 episodes
|-
| rowspan="4" |1969
|Ironside
|Jack Stuart
|Episode: "In Search of an Artist"
|-
|Land of the Giants
|Prof. Gorn
|Episode: "The Mechanical Man"
|-
|Get Smart
|C. Errol Madre
|Episode: "The Treasure of C. Errol Madre"
|-
|Love, American Style
|Francis Adams
|Episode: "Love and the Dating Computer"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1970
|Bracken's World
|Insp. Ed Harlow
|Episode: "A Perfect Piece of Casting"
|-
|It Takes a Thief
|Harvey Galishaw
|Episode: "Fortune City"
|-
|1970-71
|The Interns
|Dr. Peter Goldstone
|Main cast
|-
| rowspan="2" |1971
|The Man and the City
|Holland Sr.
|Episode: "Disaster on Turner Street"
|-
|Cade's County
|Wes Novak
|Episode: "Requiem for a Miss Madrid"
|-
| rowspan="3" |1972
|Alias Smith and Jones
|Chester E. Powers
|Episode: "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red gap"
|-
|Night Gallery
|Joseph Fulton
|Episode: "You Can't Get Help Like That Anymore"
|-
|Banacek
|Gilbert Deretzo
|Episode: "No Sign of the Cross"
|-
|1974
|Harry O
|John Mackenzie
|2 episodes
|-
|1975
|Medical Story
|Joe Hudson
|Episode: "The God Syndrome"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1976
|City of Angels
|Burton Macklin
|Episode: "The Losers"
|-
|Hunter
|Gen. Meeker
|Pilot episode
|-
|1977
|CHiPs
|Himself
|Episode: "Hustle"
|-
|1978
|Flying High
|Willard
|Episode: "South by Southwest"
|-
| rowspan="2" |1981
|Vega$
|Winslow
|Episode: "Dead Ringer"
|-
|Fantasy Island
|Jake Dutton
|Episode: "Lillian Russell/The Lagoon"
|-
|1982
|Simon & Simon
|Kern Barnett
|Episode: "Rough Rider Rides Again"
|}
TV films and miniseries
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Role(s)
|-
|1970
|The Challenge
|Gen. Lewis Meyers
|-
|1971
|A Tattered Web
|Willard Edson
|-
|1972
|The Adventures of Nick Carter
|Otis Duncan
|-
|1974
|The Phantom of Hollywood
|Capt. O'Neal
|-
| rowspan="2" |1976
|Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby
|Sheriff Holtzman
|-
|Mayday at 40,000 Feet!
|Marshal Riese
|}
Stage appearances (partial)
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year !! Title
!Role!! Venue
!
|-
|1934
|She Loves Me Not
|Henry Broughton
|Adelphi Theatre, London
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1935 || Point Valaine
|George Fox|| Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York
|
|-
| Sweet Mystery of Life
|Boop Oglethorpe|| Shubert Theatre, New York
|
|-
| 1953 || Cavalcade of America || Star and Shield
|
|-
| 1954 || Suspense || Parole to Panic
|
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Institution
!Year
!Category
!Work
!Result
!
|-
|Academy Awards
|1950
|Best Actor
| rowspan="3" |All the King's Men
|
|
|-
|Golden Globes
|1950
|Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
|
|
|-
|New York Film Critics Circle
|1949
|Best Actor
|
|
|-
|Pula Film Festival
|1961
|Special Award (Acting)
|Square of Violence
|
|
|}
See also
References
External links
- Watch Highway Patrol
- Broderick Crawford in Il Bidone