Crawdaddy

At times he was a lovable lout, a curmudgeon with charm, the gentlest of giants and never left home without his acerbic tongue. A definitive character, said it like he meant it; up on the screen, or in his living room. A man's man, William Broderick Crawford came into our universe, well an east coast Philadelphia to be exact, with a Sagittarian birth-date of December 9, 1911. And born he was right into the no business, like it - for mater and pater Crawford were already seasoned  and second generation Vaudevillians. His father Lester actually himself was a bit of thespian and starred in

a few lesser known pre-code features in the early Thirties.

Broderick by the time he was a teenager,  would often perform with his family via the vaudeville circuit, and this would be a regular gig for the actor, until the movement would start to taper off.

An extremely apt and intelligent young man, Broderick would enroll in an ivy league Harvard, but the student would soon discover the performer's bug, tenaciously biting away. He would secure a part , in the stage rendition of John Steinbeck's Of Mice And Men. Another of Crawford's assets, was that he had a distinct voice and these dulcets of his would soon find their way on

the radio in 1932, when he would join the Marx Brothers on their early NBC radio comedy Flywheel, Shyster, Flywheel and in the interim would also land more roles via the theaters on the Great White Way. 

The very first time he would appear on the big screen, would come in the year 1937, in John G Blystone's screwball comedy Woman Chases Man. And this would offset a dizzying career, and with the exception of a short time out in the early 1940s, Crawford would never miss a day's work for the rest of his life. He was also yet another victim of Hollywood's type-cast machine, his jowly and unconventional looks would equate with him almost always being cast as the wiseguy, the palooka, or the no nonsense cop. He was for the most part a very successful jobbing character actor, but much like in the case of fellow actor Van Heflin, had incredibly astute acting chops, also with an unorthodox appeal in Hollywood's persnickety peeper, would consequently never get the billing they properly deserved.

                                             Alright Hold On Tight...I'm a Highway Staaaaar...

That would not stop Crawford from being one of television's most popular policeman, as he immortalized the role Dan Matthews in Frederick W Ziv's series Highway Patrol (1955-1959)

The infectious series would reach an international market audience that spanned over seventy countries. This would also mark a period where the actor's health would be in decline due to overindulgence in vice and overeating. His rapid weight gain would affect his physical ability

to finish specific scenes on Highway Patrol, much to the chagrin of Ziv, who had little choice but to dissolve the contract with Crawford, after several counts of drunk driving would ensue, thus threatening the reputation of the series. Crawford, still was in demand elsewhere and would star as Johnny King in a now forgotten short life series from 1961 King of Diamonds. His subsequent roles would consist of guest star appearances in several noted series as Burke's Law and the acclaimed first

wheel series production The Name of The Game in it's 1968-1969 incarnation.

                                   The men and the mouse from 1942

Lon Chaney Jr, fellow Universal actor, was one of Crawford's closest confidantes, it was Chaney Jr, who would secure the filmic role of Lenny in Of Mice and Men, despite the fact that the role was promised to Crawford, there was never to be any such bad blood between the two of them. Crawford and Chaney Jr, had more than being thespians in common, both had a predilection for life via the fast lane. In fact the party never actually ended for the two even despite the  fated events in 1973 and 1986 when the pair would respectively see their last day. Crawford may have been seen as Ziv as just another  gluttonous and overindulgent lug - but in reality, he was a modest magician and far more than the mainly backseat roles he would often garner. And rightfully so he did have his day in the golden sun as Willie Stark in All The King's Men and apposite a title that is, for he sincerely was a King among men.