Broderick Crawford was an American character actor who was born in Philadelphia.He was the son of actress Helen Broderick and actor Lester Crawford. He started acting in radio, then went to Broadway and on to Hollywood.
All The King's Men
Beefy, gruff voiced, Broderick Crawford, writer-director Robert Rossen and actress Mercedes McCambridge (in her
film debut) took home Oscars in 1949 (for Best Actor, Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress, respectively) for this
adaptation of Robert Penn Warren's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.
Crawford stars as Willie Stark, a Southern politician who belies his "man of the people" roots as he ruthlessly maneuvers, lies, and deals his way into the halls of power.
Crawford had laboured many years as a heavy and in bit parts before striking it rich in All The King’s Men. The next year, in 1950, he made Born Yesterday with Judy Holliday. He was then one of the first movie actors to enter the medium of television when he accepted the role of Chief Dan Mathews in Highway Patrol.
"Whenever the laws of any state are broken, a duly authorized organization swings into action. It may be called the State Police, State Troopers, Militia, the Rangers or the Highway Patrol. These are the stories of the men whose training, skill and courage have enforced and preserved our state laws."
This paragraph above was the opening narration of each and every episode of the Highway Patrol television show.
In the early 1950s California Highway Patrol Commissioner Caldwell wanted some publicity for his Highway Patrol, so he sent a PR man to Hollywood to sell a programme about it. That was start of Highway Patrol one of the most successful syndicated shows in television history with 156 episodes that originally played over four seasons from 1955 to 1959. Most people remember Broderick Crawford best from this series, growling “10-4” into his car microphone. The success of the series (which was an overnight hit) was in part because of the no-nonsense bearing of Crawford’s character, and in part because of the authenticity of the stories and the scripts. Plots and scenes in many of the episodes were based on the personal experiences of Officer's.
Broderick Crawford later appeared in a 1977 episode of CHiPs, a much less authentic show about the California Highway Patrol, and he made a hilarious cameo as himself in that sweet, sweet movie A Little Romance (1979).