Broderick Crawford [SEP] mother
limited to "B films" in supporting or character roles. He realized he did not fit the role of a handsome leading man, once describing himself as looking like a "retired pugilist". Nevertheless, he excelled in roles playing villains and authoritarian figures.
Early life.
Crawford was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Lester Crawford and Helen Broderick, who were both vaudeville performers, as his grandparents had been. Lester appeared in films in the 1920s and 1930s. Helen Broderick had a career in Hollywood comedies
" and "As Thousands Cheer". Her film roles included her stage success made into a film: "Fifty Million Frenchmen", the Astaire-Rogers movies "Top Hat" and "Swing Time". She did leading roles in a few B movies, such as Murder on a Bridle Path.
The wife of actor Lester Crawford (they appear together in the 1931 7-minute comedy short "The Spirits of 76th Street"), she was the mother of Academy Award-winning actor Broderick Crawford.
Broderick