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Pat Crowley

Pat Crowley (September 17, 1933 – September 14, 2025) was an American actress renowned for her versatile performances in film, television, and theater spanning over seven decades. Born Patricia Margaret Crowley in Olyphant, Pennsylvania, she began her career as a teenager on Broadway and quickly rose to prominence in Hollywood with early film roles alongside major stars like Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, and Ginger Rogers. Crowley's breakthrough came in the 1950s, earning her the 1954 Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress for her supporting roles in Forever Female and Money from Home. Transitioning prominently to television in the , Crowley starred as Joan Nash, the harried mother and magazine columnist, in the sitcom (1965–1967), which ran for 58 episodes and adapted Jean Kerr's bestselling book about suburban family life. She amassed over 100 credits across the medium, including guest appearances on , The Man from U.N.C.L.E., , and , as well as recurring roles such as Emily Fallmont on in the 1980s and Mary Scanlon on the (1997–2003), where she appeared in more than 250 episodes. Her film work included notable titles like The Square Jungle (1955) and her final on-screen role in the 2012 short Mont Rêve. On stage, Crowley debuted on Broadway in 1950 with Southern Exposure and earned a Theatre World Award for her performance in Southern Exposure during the 1950–1951 season. In her personal life, she was married twice—first to businessman Ed Hookstratten from 1957 until their divorce in 1977, with whom she had two children, and later to television producer Andy Friendly in 1986—and was survived by her second husband, children, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Crowley passed away of natural causes at her home in at the age of 91, just days before her 92nd birthday.

Early life and education

Childhood and family background

Patricia Crowley was born on September 17, 1933, in , to Vincent Crowley, a section foreman, and Helen (Swartz) Crowley. As the younger of two daughters, she grew up alongside her older sister, Ann Crowley, who later pursued a career in acting and musical theater, appearing in Broadway productions such as , Oklahoma!, and Paint Your Wagon. The Crowley family relocated from Olyphant to nearby , in 1943 during her early years, immersing them in the socioeconomic context of a working-class mining community in Lackawanna County. Olyphant and were hubs of anthracite coal production, where families like the Crowleys navigated the challenges of industrial labor and economic hardship typical of the region's Depression-era and post-World War II landscape. Crowley's early exposure to the performing arts stemmed from her sister's budding involvement in theater and the cultural influences of local communities, fostering her foundational interest in performance. Ann's pursuits provided a direct familial link to , highlighting the supportive yet modest environment in which the sisters developed their shared affinity for .

Early acting pursuits

Crowley's entry into acting was shaped by her family's relocation to , driven by her older sister Ann's burgeoning career in the chorus of the Broadway musical Oklahoma!. She enrolled at the (now ), where she honed her skills in acting, singing, and dance, graduating in 1950. During her high school years, Crowley balanced her studies with modeling work, beginning as a photographer's model at age 11 and later becoming a Conover model, which provided early exposure in the entertainment industry. At 17, she auditioned among hundreds for her first opportunity and secured the role of Carol Randall in the comedy Southern Exposure, which ran from September 26 to October 14, 1950, at the Biltmore Theatre. This debut marked her professional stage launch. She followed this with another Broadway appearance as Dorothy Bawke in Four Twelves Are 48, a short-lived that opened on January 17, 1951, and closed after two performances. These early stage experiences solidified her foundation in theater. Prior to shifting toward film opportunities, Crowley garnered several small television roles in , including appearances on that helped build her on-screen presence in the early 1950s.

Acting career

Stage performances

Pat Crowley began her professional stage career as a teenager, appearing as Bessie in the national tour of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel from 1947 to 1949, which established her as a stage veteran by the time she was 17. By 1950, still a high school senior, she made her Broadway debut as the lead Carol Randall in the comedy Southern Exposure, a role that earned her the Theatre World Award for the 1950–1951 season, recognizing her as one of the most promising new talents. In the early 1950s, Crowley solidified her reputation as a versatile ingenue through a series of roles that showcased her comedic timing and youthful charm. She starred as Dorothy Bawke in the short-lived Four Twelves Are 48 in 1951, followed by Helene Dupont in the revival of Tovarich in 1952, opposite , where she contributed to the production's blend of and . These performances highlighted her ability to hold the stage in ensemble casts, building critical notice before her transition to film in 1952. Amid a career dominated by screen work, Crowley made sporadic returns to the theater, demonstrating her enduring commitment to live performance.

Film roles

Pat Crowley made her screen debut in the 1953 Paramount comedy Forever Female, portraying a spirited young actress vying for a leading role against established star , which highlighted her as a fresh ingenue in Hollywood. Later that year, she secured a prominent co-starring role as veterinarian Dr. Autumn Claypool in the Martin and Lewis vehicle Money from Home, opposite and , marking an early boost to her visibility in the industry. These breakthrough performances in 1953 earned her the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year at the 1954 ceremony. Throughout the 1950s, Crowley continued to build her film career with supporting and leading roles in diverse productions. She played the romantic interest to boxer in the Universal drama The Square Jungle (1955). In 1956, she appeared as the daughter in Douglas Sirk's family melodrama There's Always Tomorrow, opposite and . That same year, she reunited with for their final collaboration, Hollywood or Bust, as aspiring actress Terry Roberts. She rounded out the decade with an ensemble part in Elia Kazan's satirical drama A Face in the Crowd (1957), sharing the screen with in a story of . Entering the 1960s, Crowley's roles evolved toward more mature supporting characters, reflecting a shift from ingenue parts to versatile character work. Notable appearances included the terrorized wife in the thriller Key Witness (1960) and the sharp-witted secretary Eloise Cott in the comedy The Wheeler Dealers (1963), opposite . She took on a key supporting role in the crime drama The Scarface Mob (1962), a theatrical compilation of The Untouchables storyline. This transition continued into the 1970s with maternal figures like the mother in Disney's The Biscuit Eater (1972). Crowley sustained her film presence into the late 20th and early 21st centuries, often in character parts that drew on her seasoned poise. Examples include the HBO biopic 61* (2001), where she portrayed Pat Maris, wife of baseball player Roger Maris. Her final film role was in the 2012 short Mont Rêve. Over her career, she appeared in more than 30 feature films, transitioning fully to nuanced supporting roles by the post-1960s era.

Television roles

Crowley's television career began in the early 1950s with guest appearances in New York-based anthology series, including an episode of Kraft Television Theatre titled "Sixteen" on NBC in 1950. She also featured in other live drama programs of the era, such as The Ford Theatre Hour and Armstrong Circle Theatre, establishing her presence in the burgeoning medium of broadcast television. These early roles showcased her versatility in dramatic formats, often portraying young women in short-form stories adapted from literature or original teleplays. A significant breakthrough came in 1965 when Crowley landed the lead role of Joan Nash, a harried and mother of four, in the sitcom , which ran for two seasons and 58 episodes until 1967. Based on Jean Kerr's 1957 bestselling book about suburban family life, the series highlighted Crowley's comedic timing as she navigated domestic chaos alongside co-star Mark Miller as her professor husband, Jim Nash. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Crowley made numerous guest appearances on popular series, including episodes of (1959), Rawhide (1963), (1959), and Batman (1967), where she appeared in the two-part King Tut storyline as a . Her work extended to spy and adventure shows like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964) and westerns such as , amassing dozens of credits that demonstrated her range across genres. In the 1980s, she took on a recurring role as Emily Fallmont, the wife of a senator entangled in the drama, appearing in nine episodes of from 1986 to 1987. She also guested on in 1987 as Trudy Howard in the episode "No Laughing Murder," contributing to the show's ensemble of mystery-solving narratives. Crowley's later career emphasized soap operas and TV movies, with a regular role as Mary Scanlon, a family matriarch, on the ABC daytime series from 1997 to 2003, spanning 251 episodes as part of the General Hospital spin-off. She appeared in TV films such as (1985) as Beverly Gerber, a passenger facing crisis, and A Family Upside Down (1978), portraying a mother dealing with her husband's Alzheimer's. Additional guest spots in the 1990s and 2000s included sitcoms like (1993), (1988), and (1994), as well as dramas such as (2009) and (2012). Over her seven-decade career, Crowley accumulated more than 100 television credits, blending lead roles with memorable supporting turns in both prime-time and daytime programming.

Personal life

Marriages and family

Crowley married entertainment lawyer and agent Ed Hookstratten on February 2, 1957. Hookstratten represented high-profile clients such as , , and throughout his career. The couple had two children: a son, Jon Hookstratten, and a daughter, Ann Hookstratten Osher. They separated in the late and divorced in 1978 after more than two decades of . In April 1986, Crowley married television producer Andy Friendly, with whom she remained until her death; the couple had no children together. Friendly, an Emmy-nominated producer known for work on Entertainment Tonight, shared a long partnership with Crowley centered in Los Angeles. The family resided in , where Crowley balanced her professional life with raising her children, who have largely maintained their privacy from public scrutiny. Her son pursued a in the entertainment industry as executive vice president of administration and operations at , reflecting a peripheral family connection to the field. Her daughter Ann has kept a low profile, with limited public details available about her life. Crowley's sister, Ann Crowley, also followed a path in entertainment as a singer and actress, paralleling aspects of the family's involvement in .

Later years and death

In the 2000s, after more than five decades in the entertainment industry, Crowley significantly reduced her on-screen appearances while making occasional guest roles on television series such as . She resided in with her husband, Andy Friendly, to whom she had been married since —a union that lasted nearly 40 years until her death. Crowley supported performing arts education through initiatives tied to her early training, including a scholarship fund established in her name at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, reflecting her roots at New York's where she honed her skills as a performer. Crowley died on September 14, 2025, in , , at the age of 91 from natural causes. Her death was announced by her son, Jon Hookstratten, executive vice president of administration and operations at . She was survived by her husband, Andy Friendly, and her two children from her first marriage, Ann Hookstratten Osher and Jon Hookstratten, as well as five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Awards and honors

Early recognition

Pat Crowley's Broadway debut in the 1950 comedy Southern Exposure marked her as a rising talent, earning her the Theatre World Award for the 1950–1951 season as one of the most promising personalities on the stage. This recognition highlighted her performance as Carol Randall, a role that showcased her comedic timing and poise at just 17 years old. Transitioning swiftly to film, Crowley's appearances in Forever Female (1953) and Money from Home (1953) propelled her into spotlight, culminating in a shared Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress in 1954. The award tied her with and , affirming her status as one of the year's most promising female newcomers. press in 1953–1954 frequently praised Crowley as a promising ingenue, noting her rapid ascent from obscurity to co-starring roles alongside luminaries like and , which signaled her potential as a versatile leading lady. This early acclaim established a foundation for her enduring career in film and television.

Career accolades

Crowley's portrayal of Joan Nash in the 1960s sitcom garnered significant praise for her sharp comedic timing, positioning her as a standout in ensemble , though the series did not result in personal Emmy Award nominations. Her performance was highlighted in industry retrospectives as a key factor in the show's enduring appeal, reflecting her ability to balance humor and relatability in family-oriented narratives. In the and , Crowley's guest starring roles, including her recurring appearance as Emily Fallmont on , contributed to her reputation as a versatile character actress in anthology and serialized television. Following her death in 2025, obituaries reflected on Crowley's remarkable legacy, emphasizing her over 100 credits across six decades and the foundational influence of her early Golden Globe win as a promising newcomer. These tributes celebrated her as a pillar of television history, with her Golden Globe legacy symbolizing a career marked by and broad appeal.

References

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