Editing Broderick Crawford (section)

==Acting career==
[[File:Ford-Crawford-Of-Mice-and-Men-1938-cropped.jpg|thumb|260px|[[Wallace Ford]] and Crawford (right) in the original 1938 Broadway production ''[[Of Mice and Men (play)|Of Mice and Men]]'']]
Crawford returned to vaudeville and radio, which included a period with the [[Marx Brothers]] in the radio comedy show ''[[Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel]]''.<ref name="Wiggins219"/>

He played his first serious character as a footballer in ''She Loves Me Not'' at the [[Adelphi Theatre]], London in 1932. Crawford was originally stereotyped as a fast-talking tough guy early in his career and often played villainous parts.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} 

He gained fame in 1937 as Lennie in ''[[Of Mice and Men (play)|Of Mice and Men]]'' on Broadway. He moved to Hollywood and began working in films.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} 

===Early films===
Crawford made his film debut for [[Sam Goldwyn]] in ''[[Woman Chases Man]]'' (1937). He was in ''[[Start Cheering]]'' (1938) at Columbia but missed out on reprising his stage performance as Lenny in the [[Of Mice and Men (1939 film)|film version of ''Of Mice and Men'']], losing it to [[Lon Chaney Jr.]]

===Paramount===
[[File:Broderick Crawford David Niven Loretta Young Eternally Yours.jpg|thumb|right|Crawford, [[David Niven]] and [[Loretta Young]] in ''[[Eternally Yours (film)|Eternally Yours]]'' (1939)]]
Crawford signed a contract with Paramount.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} He appeared in some "B" films: ''[[Ambush (1939 film)|Ambush]]'' (1939), ''[[Sudden Money]]'' (1939) and ''[[Undercover Doctor]]'' (1939). He had a good role in the prestigious ''[[Beau Geste (1939 film)|Beau Geste]]'' with [[Gary Cooper]], [[Ray Milland]], [[Robert Preston (actor)|Robert Preston]], [[Brian Donlevy]] and [[Susan Hayward]] and directed by [[William A. Wellman]].

After appearing in ''[[Island of Lost Men]]'' (1939) starring [[Anna May Wong]], Crawford appeared in ''[[The Real Glory]]'' (1939) with Gary Cooper and [[David Niven]]. He appeared in two films for [[Walter Wanger]] and [[Tay Garnett]], ''[[Eternally Yours (film)|Eternally Yours]]'' (1939) with [[David Niven]] and [[Loretta Young]] and ''[[Slightly Honorable]]'' (1939) with [[Pat O'Brien (actor)|Pat O'Brien]] and [[Edward Arnold (actor)|Edward Arnold]].

===Universal===
Crawford moved over to Universal, where he was given his first starring role, in the "B" picture ''[[I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby (film)|I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby]]'' (1940).

He had support parts in ''[[When the Daltons Rode]]'' (1940); ''[[Seven Sinners (1940 film)|Seven Sinners]]'' (1940), for Garnett; and ''[[Trail of the Vigilantes]]'' (1940). He went back to Paramount for ''[[Texas Rangers Ride Again]]'' (1940) then returned to Universal for ''[[The Black Cat (1941 film)|The Black Cat]]'' (1941), ''[[Tight Shoes (film)|Tight Shoes]]'' (1941), and ''[[Badlands of Dakota]]'' (1941).

Crawford had one of the leads in ''[[South of Tahiti]]'' (1941) and ''[[North to the Klondike]]'' (1941). He supported [[Edward G. Robinson]] in ''[[Larceny, Inc.]]'' (1942) and [[George Raft]] in ''[[Broadway (1942 film)|Broadway]]'' (1942), and co-starred with [[Robert Stack]] in ''[[Men of Texas]]'' (1942) and [[Constance Bennett]] in ''[[Sin Town (1942 film)|Sin Town]]'' (1942).

During [[World War II]], Crawford enlisted in the [[United States Army Air Corps]]. Assigned to the [[Armed Forces Network]], he was sent to Britain in 1944 as a sergeant, he served as an announcer for the [[Glenn Miller]] American Band. He was one of two announcers on Miller's weekly program ''[[I Sustain the Wings]]'', prior to Miller and the band being shipped to England.{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} 

He returned to films with roles in the [[film noir]] ''[[Black Angel (1946 film)|Black Angel]]'' (1946) with [[Dan Duryea]] and [[Peter Lorre]] and ''[[Slave Girl (1947 film)|Slave Girl]]'' (1947) with [[Yvonne de Carlo]].

===Freelance actor===
Crawford made ''[[The Flame (1947 film)|The Flame]]'' (1947) for Republic, and ''[[The Time of Your Life (film)|The Time of Your Life]]'' (1948) for [[James Cagney]]'s company. He went back to Paramount for ''[[Sealed Verdict]]'' (1948) and had a co-starring role in ''[[Bad Men of Tombstone]]'' (1949) for the King Brothers.

At [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]] Crawford was in ''[[A Kiss in the Dark (1949 film)|A Kiss in the Dark]]'' (1949) with [[David Niven]] and [[Jane Wyman]] and ''[[Night Unto Night]]'' (1949) with [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[Viveca Lindfors]]. He was also in Monogram's ''[[Anna Lucasta (1949 film)|Anna Lucasta]]'' (1949) with [[Paulette Goddard]].

===''All the King's Men'' and stardom===
[[File:All-the-King's-Men-Willie-Stark.jpg|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 (1949 film)|All the King's Men]]'', a film based on the popular novel by [[Robert Penn Warren]]. The film was a huge hit, and Crawford's performance as the bullying, blustering, yet insecure Governor Stark won him the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]].{{Citation needed |date=July 2024}} 

The film was made by Columbia who put Crawford under contract. He co-starred with [[Glenn Ford]] in ''[[Convicted (1950 film)|Convicted]]'' (1950), then starred in another hit 'A'-list production with [[William Holden]] and [[Judy Holliday]], ''[[Born Yesterday (1950 film)|Born Yesterday]]'' (1950), directed by [[George Cukor]].

Crawford starred in ''[[The Mob (film)|The Mob]]'' (1951), a crime drama. Under the direction of [[Phil Karlson]] he starred in ''[[Scandal Sheet (1952 film)|Scandal Sheet]]'' (1952), based on a novel by [[Sam Fuller]].

MGM borrowed him to play the villain in ''[[Lone Star (1952 film)|Lone Star]]'' (1952), opposite [[Clark Gable]] and [[Ava Gardner]]. He went to Warner Bros. to star in a comedy, ''[[Stop, You're Killing Me]]'' (1952).

Crawford returned to Columbia to star in some Westerns, ''[[Last of the Comanches]]'' (1953), and ''[[The Last Posse]]'' (1954). [[20th Century Fox]] borrowed him to co-star with [[Gregory Peck]] in [[Nunnally Johnson]]'s ''[[Night People (1954 film)|Night People]]'' (1954).

Crawford was reunited with Glenn Ford in ''[[Human Desire]]'' (1954), directed by [[Fritz Lang]]. [[Edward Small]] used him in ''[[Down Three Dark Streets]]'' (1954) and ''[[New York Confidential (film)|New York Confidential]]'' (1955).

In 1955, Crawford assumed the starring role as Rollo Lamar, the most violent of convicts in ''[[Big House, U.S.A.]]''. In the film, 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, including those portrayed by such famous tough-guy actors as [[Charles Bronson]], [[Ralph Meeker]], [[William Talman (actor)|William Talman]], and [[Lon Chaney Jr.]]

[[Stanley Kramer]] cast him in a good supporting role in ''[[Not as a Stranger]]'' (1955) with [[Robert Mitchum]] and [[Frank Sinatra]], which was a big hit. He received an offer in Italy to star in ''[[Il bidone]]'' (1955), directed by [[Federico Fellini]].

===''Highway Patrol''===
In 1955, television producer [[Frederick Ziv]] of [[Ziv Television Programs|ZIV Television Productions]] offered Crawford the lead role as "Dan Mathews" in the police drama ''[[Highway Patrol (American TV series)|Highway Patrol]]'', which dramatized law enforcement activities of the [[California Highway Patrol]] (CHP). ZIV Television Productions operated on an extremely low budget of $25,000 per episode of ''Highway Patrol'' with ten percent of gross receipts going to Crawford as per his contract. While the show's scripts were largely fictional, the use of realistic, rapid-fire dialogue, stark film noir styled feel and Crawford's convincing portrayal of a hard-as-nails police officer helped make the show an instant success. ''Highway Patrol'' remained popular during its four years (1955–1959) of first-run syndication, and would continue in repeat syndication on local stations across the United States for many years after. For much of the period from 1955 until 1965, most of Crawford's television roles were for ZIV Television, among the relatively few producers willing to accept the challenges of working with the hard-living and alcoholic Crawford. Years later, Frederick Ziv admitted in an interview, "To be honest, Broderick could be a handful!"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Highway Patrol with Broderick Crawford / TVparty!|url=http://www.tvparty.com/50-highway-patrol.html|access-date=2021-01-31|website=www.tvparty.com}}</ref>

''Highway Patrol'' helped revive Crawford's career and cement his tough-guy persona, which he used successfully in numerous movie and TV roles for the rest of his life.

During the series' run he appeared in ''[[The Fastest Gun Alive]]'' (1956) with Ford at MGM, a successful Western; ''[[Between Heaven and Hell (film)|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 the show's hectic shooting schedule, Crawford quit ''Highway Patrol'' at the end of 1959 in order to make a film in Spain, and try to get his drinking under control.<ref name="JAS">Jason, Rick, ''[http://www.scrapbooksofmymind.com/broderick_crawford.htm Scrapbooks of My Mind: A Hollywood Autobiography]'' (2000)<!-- ISBN needed --></ref>

===Europe===
Crawford relocated to Europe where he starred in [[Vittorio Cottafavi]]'s ''La vendetta di Ercole'' (1960), known in the U.S. as ''[[Goliath and the Dragon]]''.

Crawford's successful run as Dan Mathews in ''Highway Patrol'' earned him some two million dollars under his contract with ZIV, which eventually paid him in exchange for his agreement to sign for the pilot and subsequent production of a new ZIV production, ''[[King of Diamonds (TV series)|King of Diamonds]]''. Recently back from Europe, and having temporarily stopped drinking, Crawford was signed to play the starring role as diamond industry security chief John King.<ref name="JAS"/> ''King of Diamonds'' was picked up for syndication in 1961, but was a failure, the show lasting only one season.

In 1962, after the end of ''King of Diamonds'', Crawford returned to acting in motion pictures: ''[[Square of Violence]]'' (1962); ''[[Convicts 4]]'' (1962); [[Javier Setó]]'s ''[[The Castilian]]'' (1963); ''[[A House Is Not a Home (film)|A House Is Not a Home]]'' (1964); ''[[Up from the Beach]]'' (1965); ''[[Kid Rodelo]]'' (1966); ''[[The Oscar (film)|The Oscar]]'' (1966); ''[[The Texican]]'' (1966) with [[Audie Murphy]]; ''[[The Vulture (1967 film)|The Vulture]]'' (1967); ''[[Red Tomahawk]]'' (1967).

===1970s===
After 1970, Crawford again returned to television. From 1970 to 1971, he played the role of Dr. Peter Goldstone in ''[[The Interns (TV series)|The Interns]]''.

In 1977, he starred as [[J. Edgar Hoover]] in ''[[The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover]]''. He would eventually make a series of guest appearances on several TV programs, while starring in several made-for-TV movies.

He wore the trademark fedora and black suit when he made an appearance as guest host of a 1977 episode of [[NBC]]'s ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' that included a spoof of ''Highway Patrol''.  He parodied the Dan Matthews character again that year in a commercial for [[Canada Dry]] [[Ginger Ale]] that also featured [[Aldo Ray]] and [[Jack Palance]].

In an episode of ''[[CHiPs]]'', Crawford appeared as himself, recognized after being stopped by Officer Poncherello, who presses a reluctant Crawford to give his trademark line from ''Highway Patrol'' ("Twenty-One-Fifty to Headquarters!").

Musician Webb Wilder's instrumental, "Ruff Rider" (on the album ''It Came From Nashville''), is dedicated to Broderick Crawford in admiration of his ''[[Highway Patrol (U.S. TV series)|Highway Patrol]]'' character's ability to solve any crime committed in California by setting up a road block.

Crawford worked in 140 motion pictures and television series during his career and remained an especially durable presence in television.

Crawford is referenced in the 1977 film ''[[Smokey and the Bandit]]'' in the scene where an Alabama State Patrol officer angrily confronts Sheriff Buford T. Justice ([[Jackie Gleason]]) and his damaged vehicle with its horn that won't stop blaring. When Justice starts to introduce himself, the trooper interrupts him and barks, "I don't care if your name is Broderick Crawford!"

In 1979, Crawford had a cameo as himself in the film ''[[A Little Romance]]'' in which he referenced his drinking.
In 1981, Crawford played a pawnbroker named Slim, on the television series ''[[Vega$]]'', the episode was titled 'Dead Ringer' 

His last role was as a film producer who is murdered in a 1982 episode of the ''[[Simon & Simon]]'' television series. The actor who played the part of the suspected murderer was [[Stuart Whitman]], who had played the recurring part of Sergeant Walters on ''Highway Patrol''.