Joel McCrea | |
---|---|
McCrea in Four Faces West (1948) | |
Born | Joel Albert McCrea November 5, 1905 |
Died | October 20, 1990 84) | (aged
Resting place | Remains scattered into the Pacific Ocean |
Alma mater | Pomona College |
Years active | 1927–1976 |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 3, including Jody McCrea |
Joel Albert McCrea (November 5, 1905 – October 20, 1990) was an American actor whose career spanned almost five decades, appearing in more than one hundred films. [1] These films include Alfred Hitchcock's espionage thriller Foreign Correspondent (1940), Preston Sturges' comedy classics Sullivan's Travels (1941), and The Palm Beach Story (1942), the romance film Bird of Paradise (1932), the adventure classic The Most Dangerous Game (1932), Gregory La Cava's bawdy comedy Bed of Roses (1933), George Stevens' romantic comedy The More the Merrier (1943), William Wyler's These Three , Come and Get It (both 1936) and Dead End (1937), Howard Hawks' Barbary Coast (1935), and a number of western films, including Wichita (1955) as Wyatt Earp and Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country (1962), opposite Randolph Scott.
With the exception of the British thriller film Rough Shoot (1953), McCrea appeared in Western films exclusively from 1946 until his retirement in 1976.
McCrea was born in South Pasadena, California, the son of Thomas McCrea, who was an executive with the L.A. Gas & Electric Company, [2] and Louise "Lou" Whipple. [3] As a boy, he had a paper route, and delivered the Los Angeles Times to Cecil B. DeMille and other people in the film industry. He also had the opportunity to watch D. W. Griffith filming Intolerance , and was an extra in a serial starring Ruth Roland. [2] [4]
McCrea graduated from Hollywood High School and then Pomona College (class of 1928 [5] ), where he had acted on stage and took courses in drama and public speaking, while appearing regularly at the Pasadena Playhouse. As a high school student, he worked as a stunt double [4] and held horses for cowboy stars William S. Hart and Tom Mix. [2]
The 6'2½" McCrea worked as an extra, stunt man and bit player from 1927-28, when he signed a contract with MGM, where he was cast in a major role in The Jazz Age (1929), and got his first leading role that same year in The Silver Horde . [2] He moved to RKO in 1930, where he established himself as a handsome leading man who was considered versatile enough to star in both dramas and comedies.
In the 1930s, McCrea starred in Bird of Paradise (1932), directed by King Vidor, causing controversy for his nude scenes with Dolores del Río. In RKO's The Sport Parade (1932), McCrea and William Gargan are friends on the Dartmouth football team, who are shown snapping towels at each other in the locker room, while other players are taking a shower.[ citation needed ] In 1932 he starred with Fay Wray in The Most Dangerous Game - which used some of the same jungle sets built for King Kong as well as cast members Wray and Robert Armstrong. He was originally intended for Jack Driscoll in King Kong (1933), which went to Bruce Cabot.[ citation needed ]
In 1934, he made his first appearances with two leading ladies he would be paired with often: with Miriam Hopkins he made The Richest Girl in the World , the first of their five films together, [6] and with Barbara Stanwyck he appeared in Gambling Lady , the first of their six films. [7]
Later in the decade, he was the first actor to play "Dr. Kildare", in the film Internes Can't Take Money (1937), and he starred in two large-scale Westerns, Wells Fargo (1937) with his wife Frances Dee, and Cecil B. DeMille's Union Pacific (1939). [8]
McCrea reached the peak of his early career in the early 1940s, in Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940), The More the Merrier (1943) directed by George Stevens, and two by Preston Sturges: Sullivan's Travels (1941) and The Palm Beach Story (1942). [9]
McCrea also starred in two William A. Wellman westerns, The Great Man's Lady (1942), again with Stanwyck, and Buffalo Bill (1944), with character actor Edgar Buchanan and a young Maureen O'Hara. After the success of The Virginian in 1946, McCrea made Westerns exclusively for the rest of his career, with the exception of the British-made Rough Shoot (1953).[ citation needed ]
Performing in Westerns was a return to what he had done earlier in his career, and McCrea enjoyed the genre. He was Wyatt Earp in Wichita directed by Jacques Tourneur. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association awarded the film with "Best Picture - Outdoor Drama" in 1955. In a 1978 interview, he said:
I liked doing comedies, but as I got older I was better suited to do Westerns. Because I think it becomes unattractive for an older fellow trying to look young, falling in love with attractive girls in those kinds of situations.... Anyway, I always felt so much more comfortable in the Western. The minute I got a horse and a hat and a pair of boots on, I felt easier. I didn't feel like I was an actor anymore. I felt like I was the guy out there doing it. [2]
In the early 1950s, McCrea starred as Jace Pearson on the radio series western, Tales of the Texas Rangers .[ citation needed ]
In 1959, McCrea and his son Jody starred in the NBC-TV series Wichita Town , which lasted only one season. Earlier he had turned down the lead in Rawhide , feeling it would make too heavy a workload. A few years later, McCrea united with fellow veteran of westerns Randolph Scott in Ride the High Country (1962), directed by Sam Peckinpah, after which he did not make another feature film until The Young Rounders (1966). Four more years were to pass before his next film, but 1970 saw the release of two films: Cry Blood, Apache , again with his son Jody, and Sioux Nation. He made his final film appearance in 1976, in Mustang Country .[ citation needed ]
In 1968, McCrea received a career achievement award from the L.A. Film Critics Association, [10] and the following year he was inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
For his contribution to the motion picture industry, McCrea has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. and another star at 6241 Hollywood Blvd. for his contribution to radio.
This section needs additional citations for verification . (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) |
McCrea married actress Frances Dee in Brooklyn on October 20, 1933, [11] after they met while filming The Silver Cord . [2] [12] The couple had three sons, Jody, Peter and David. Joel and Frances remained married until his death 57 years later.
McCrea – who was an outdoorsman who had once listed his occupation as "rancher" and his hobby as "acting" – had begun buying property as early as 1933, when he purchased his first 1,000 acres (400 ha) in a then unincorporated area of eastern Ventura County, California, which later became Thousand Oaks, California. This was the beginning of what became a 3,000-acre (1,200 ha) spread. McCrea and his wife Frances lived, raised their sons, and rode their horses on this ranch. [2] [13]
By the end of the 1940s, McCrea was a multi-millionaire, as much from his real-estate dealings as from his movie stardom. In the early 1960s, he sold 1,200 acres (490 ha) of land to an oil company, on the condition that they would not drill within sight of his home. [4]
McCrea's work ethic may have stemmed from his friendship in the 1930s with fellow personality and sometime actor Will Rogers. McCrea recounted that "the Oklahoma Sage" gave him a profound piece of advice: "Save half of what you make, and live on just the other half." [14]
After his death his family ultimately donated thirty five acres of their personal property to the newly formed Conejo Valley YMCA for the city of Thousand Oaks, California preserving the ranch. [15] They also donated 75 acres to the Conejo Open Space Conservancy Agency (COSCA), which is designated as the Joel McCrea Wildlife Preserve[ citation needed ]; and five acres to the Boys and Girls Club of Camarillo, CA.
McCrea supported Thomas Dewey in the 1944 United States presidential election. [16]
McCrea made his final public appearance on October 3, 1990, at a fundraiser for Republican gubernatorial candidate Pete Wilson in Beverly Hills. [2] He died less than three weeks later, on October 20, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California from pneumonia, at the age of 84. [17]
Wardell Edwin Bond was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series Wagon Train from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Bert, the cop, in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Captain Clayton in John Ford's The Searchers (1956).
Waldo Brian Donlevy was an American actor, noted for playing dangerous tough guys from the 1930s to the 1960s. He usually appeared in supporting roles. Among his best-known films are Beau Geste (1939), The Great McGinty (1940) and Wake Island (1942), in which he played the lead. For his role as Sergeant Markoff in Beau Geste, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Tom London was an American actor who played frequently in B-Westerns. According to The Guinness Book of Movie Records, London is credited with appearing in the most films in the history of Hollywood, according to the 2001 book Film Facts, which says that the performer who played in the most films was "Tom London, who made his first of over 2,000 appearances in The Great Train Robbery, 1903. He used his birth name in films until 1924.
William Gilbert Barron was an American comedian, actor, writer and film director known for his comic sneeze routines. He appeared in over 200 feature films, short subjects and television shows starting in 1929.
Tom Tyler was an American actor known for his leading roles in low-budget Western films in the silent and sound eras, and for his portrayal of superhero Captain Marvel in the 1941 serial film The Adventures of Captain Marvel. Tyler also played Kharis in 1940's The Mummy's Hand, a popular Universal Studios monster film.
Franklin Pangborn was an American comedic character actor famous for playing small but memorable roles with comic flair. He appeared in many Preston Sturges movies as well as the W. C. Fields films International House, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. For his contributions to motion pictures, Pangborn received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1500 Vine Street on February 8, 1960.
Arthur Hoyt was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 275 films in his 34-year film career, about a third of them silent films. He was a brother of Harry O. Hoyt.
Eugene William Pallette was an American film actor who worked in both the silent and sound eras, performing in more than 240 productions between 1913 and 1946.
George Chandler was an American actor who starred in over 140 feature films, usually in smaller supporting roles, and he is perhaps best known for playing the character of Uncle Petrie Martin on the television series Lassie.
Al Bridge was an American character actor who played mostly small roles in over 270 films between 1931 and 1954. Bridge's persona was an unpleasant, gravel-voiced man with an untidy moustache. Sometimes credited as Alan Bridge, and frequently not credited onscreen at all, he appeared in many westerns, especially in the Hopalong Cassidy series, where he played crooked sheriffs and henchmen.
Francis Charles Moran was an American boxer and film actor who fought twice for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, and appeared in over 135 movies in a 25-year film career.
Fred "Snowflake" Toones was an American actor and comedian. He appeared in over 200 films in his career spanning 23 years.
John Farrell MacDonald was an American character actor and director. He played supporting roles and occasional leads. He appeared in over 325 films over a 41-year career from 1911 to 1951, and directed forty-four silent films from 1912 to 1917.
Victor Potel was an American film character actor who began in the silent era and appeared in more than 430 films in his 38-year career.
Dewey Robinson was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 250 films between 1931 and 1952.
Robert Greig was an Australian-American actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1930 and 1949, usually as the dutiful butler. Born Arthur Alfred Bede Greig, he was the nephew of Australian politician and solicitor William Bede Dalley. He was commonly known as "Bob".
Willard Robertson was an American actor and writer. He appeared in 147 films between 1924 and 1948. He was born in Runnels, Texas, and died in Hollywood, California.
Georgiana Caine was an American actress who performed both on Broadway and in more than 80 films in her 51-year career.
Charles R. Moore was an American actor who appeared in over 100 films in his acting career, and was sometimes credited as Charles Moore or Charlie Moore
Max Wagner was a Mexican-born American film actor who specialized in playing small parts such as thugs, gangsters, sailors, henchmen, bodyguards, cab drivers and moving men, appearing more than 400 films in his career, most without receiving screen credit. In 1927, he was a leading witness in the well-publicized manslaughter trials of actor Paul Kelly and actress/screenwriter Dorothy Mackaye.
![]() | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joel McCrea . |