Joel Crothers
Encyclopedia
Joel Anthony Crothers was an American
actor
who, in 1981, was noted by columnist Liz Smith
to so strongly resemble Tom Selleck
that they could be twin brothers. His credits primarily included stage and television work, including a number of soap opera roles, the best known being that of Miles Cavanaugh on The Edge of Night
, who he played for eight years. He was also known for his roles as Joe Haskell and Lt. Nathan Forbes on Dark Shadows
.
and raised in New York, Crothers graduated from Birch Wathen School in 1958. His passion for performing emerged at the early age of nine. Crothers auditioned and won a role on the religious television show Lamp Unto My Feet
. At the time, his father was a production supervisor on the show. Unbeknownst to him, his son auditioned for the show under a different name, apparently done as a practical joke. Nevertheless, by the age of twelve, he was taking Broadway bows alongside Burgess Meredith
for his stage debut in 1954 in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker at the Coronet Theatre in New York City.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Crothers made guest appearances on numerous primetime shows, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents
, The Defenders, Have Gun – Will Travel, Death Valley Days
, Rescue 8
, The Investigators, Zane Grey Theater
, Studio One, Playhouse 90
, Kraft Television Theatre
, and Goodyear Playhouse. His later daytime television credits included First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington.
He graduated Harvard University
a Phi Beta Kappa in 1962. In 1966, Crothers returned to Broadway in a starring role opposite Joan Van Ark
in Barefoot in the Park
, which he worked on simultaneously with his stint on Dark Shadows
. From 1966-1969, he played Joe Haskell, boyfriend of Carolyn Stoddard (Nancy Barrett
) and later boyfriend of Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott
). During the 1795 storyline, he played Lt. Nathan Forbes, a devious naval officer who blackmailed his way into to the Collins family. After Nathan Forbes was killed off, Crothers' main character, Joe, was bitten by the vampiric Angélique and placed under her thrall. Haunted by the apparition of his deceased cousin Tom (a victim of vampire Angélique) and unable to cope with the revelation that Tom's twin bother Chris was a werewolf, Joe slowly lost touch with reality and was sent to a mental hospital by Maggie. He was never seen again and was mentioned only once in a later episode.
From 1969-1971, he played twice-married cheat and liar Ken Stevens #2 on the CBS serial The Secret Storm
. Several of his 1971 episodes have been preserved by UCLA's TV Archives, though the magnetic VHS tapes are awaiting digital transfer and are not available for viewing by the public. From 1972-1976, he played concert pianist-turned-newspaper editor Julian Cannell on Somerset.
From 1977-1984, he made it big with another soap opera role: Dr. Miles Cavanaugh on ABC'sThe Edge of Night
, for which he was twice nominated as Best Actor at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 1982 and 1983. He played that role until the series went off the air on December 28, 1984. In 1985, his final role was on Santa Barbara
as both Jack Lee, a prominent attorney, and his villainous lookalike cousin Jerry Cooper, who had locked Jack in a dungeon and was posing as him.
Crothers' soap opera fame helped draw attention to the ground-breaking off-Broadway play Torch Song Trilogy
. The play made major stars of its writer (and lead performer) Harvey Fierstein
and castmates Estelle Getty
and Matthew Broderick
-- but when it premiered, Crothers was better known than any of them and received star billing on posters, playbills, and even the tickets. Fierstein played Arnold, a world-weary, homosexual drag queen
; Crothers played Arnold's bisexual lover, Ed. He left the cast when Torch Song transferred to Broadway.
publicly. He was engaged to actress Veleka Gray
at the time of his death. Joel and Veleka had played the lovers Julian Cannell and Vicki Paisley on Somerset where they became close friends.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who, in 1981, was noted by columnist Liz Smith
Liz Smith (journalist)
Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Smith is an American gossip columnist. She is known as The Grand Dame of Dish.- Early life and career :...
to so strongly resemble Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
that they could be twin brothers. His credits primarily included stage and television work, including a number of soap opera roles, the best known being that of Miles Cavanaugh on The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
, who he played for eight years. He was also known for his roles as Joe Haskell and Lt. Nathan Forbes on Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
.
Early life and career
Born in Cincinnati, OhioCincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
and raised in New York, Crothers graduated from Birch Wathen School in 1958. His passion for performing emerged at the early age of nine. Crothers auditioned and won a role on the religious television show Lamp Unto My Feet
Lamp Unto My Feet
Lamp Unto My Feet is an American religious television program that was produced by CBS and broadcast on Sunday mornings from 1948 to 1979.-Overview:...
. At the time, his father was a production supervisor on the show. Unbeknownst to him, his son auditioned for the show under a different name, apparently done as a practical joke. Nevertheless, by the age of twelve, he was taking Broadway bows alongside Burgess Meredith
Burgess Meredith
Oliver Burgess Meredith , known professionally as Burgess Meredith, was an American actor in theatre, film, and television, who also worked as a director...
for his stage debut in 1954 in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker at the Coronet Theatre in New York City.
During the 1950s and 1960s, Crothers made guest appearances on numerous primetime shows, including Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, The Defenders, Have Gun – Will Travel, Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days
Death Valley Days is an American radio and television anthology series featuring true stories of the old American West, particularly the Death Valley area. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program was broadcast on radio until 1945. It continued from 1952 to 1975 as a syndicated television series...
, Rescue 8
Rescue 8
Rescue 8 is a syndicated American action drama series about Los Angeles County Fire Department Rescue Squad Number 8. It premiered in 1958, and originally ran for two seasons with syndicated reruns continuing for almost a decade after. It starred Jim Davis as fireman Wes Cameron, and Lang Jeffries...
, The Investigators, Zane Grey Theater
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre, sometimes simply called Zane Grey Theatre, is an American Western anthology series which ran on CBS from 1956 to 1961.-Overview:Zane Grey Theatre was created by Luke Short and Charles A. Wallace...
, Studio One, Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90
Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
, Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre
Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J...
, and Goodyear Playhouse. His later daytime television credits included First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington.
He graduated Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
a Phi Beta Kappa in 1962. In 1966, Crothers returned to Broadway in a starring role opposite Joan Van Ark
Joan Van Ark
Joan Van Ark is an American actress, most notable for her role as Valene Ewing, which she originated on the CBS series Dallas and continued for thirteen seasons on its spin-off, Knots Landing...
in Barefoot in the Park
Barefoot in the Park
This article is about the Broadway production. For the film adaptation see Barefoot in the Park .Barefoot in the Park is a romantic comedy by Neil Simon. The original Broadway production, directed by Mike Nichols, opened October 23, 1963, with the four lead roles taken by actors Elizabeth Ashley ,...
, which he worked on simultaneously with his stint on Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
. From 1966-1969, he played Joe Haskell, boyfriend of Carolyn Stoddard (Nancy Barrett
Nancy Barrett
Nancy Barrett, born , is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of "Carolyn Stoddard" in the popular 1960s Gothic soap opera Dark Shadows....
) and later boyfriend of Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott
Kathryn Leigh Scott
Kathryn Leigh Scott is an American television and film actress who is best remembered for playing Maggie Evans, Josette DuPres Collins, Rachel Drummond, Lady Kitty Soames Hampshire, and Maggie Evans PT on Dark Shadows.-Early life:Scott was born Marlene Kringstad in Robbinsdale, Minnesota in 1943...
). During the 1795 storyline, he played Lt. Nathan Forbes, a devious naval officer who blackmailed his way into to the Collins family. After Nathan Forbes was killed off, Crothers' main character, Joe, was bitten by the vampiric Angélique and placed under her thrall. Haunted by the apparition of his deceased cousin Tom (a victim of vampire Angélique) and unable to cope with the revelation that Tom's twin bother Chris was a werewolf, Joe slowly lost touch with reality and was sent to a mental hospital by Maggie. He was never seen again and was mentioned only once in a later episode.
From 1969-1971, he played twice-married cheat and liar Ken Stevens #2 on the CBS serial The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm
The Secret Storm is a soap opera which ran on CBS from February 1, 1954 to February 8, 1974. The series was created by Roy Winsor, who also created the long-running soap operas Search for Tomorrow and Love of Life...
. Several of his 1971 episodes have been preserved by UCLA's TV Archives, though the magnetic VHS tapes are awaiting digital transfer and are not available for viewing by the public. From 1972-1976, he played concert pianist-turned-newspaper editor Julian Cannell on Somerset.
Somerset (TV series)
Somerset is an American television soap opera which ran on NBC from March 30, 1970 until December 31, 1976. The show was a spinoff of another NBC serial, Another World.-Overview :...
From 1977-1984, he made it big with another soap opera role: Dr. Miles Cavanaugh on ABC'sThe Edge of Night
The Edge of Night
The Edge of Night is an American television mystery series/soap opera produced by Procter & Gamble. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network until November 28, 1975; the series then moved to ABC, where it aired from December 1, 1975, until December 28, 1984...
, for which he was twice nominated as Best Actor at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 1982 and 1983. He played that role until the series went off the air on December 28, 1984. In 1985, his final role was on Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...
as both Jack Lee, a prominent attorney, and his villainous lookalike cousin Jerry Cooper, who had locked Jack in a dungeon and was posing as him.
Crothers' soap opera fame helped draw attention to the ground-breaking off-Broadway play Torch Song Trilogy
Torch Song Trilogy
Torch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing Jewish drag queen living in New York City in the late 1970 and 1980s...
. The play made major stars of its writer (and lead performer) Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Fierstein
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is a U.S. actor and playwright, noted for the early distinction of winning Tony Awards for both writing and originating the lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family, as well as writing the...
and castmates Estelle Getty
Estelle Getty
Estelle Scher-Gettleman , better known by her stage name Estelle Getty, was an American actress, who appeared in film, television, and theatre...
and Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick
Matthew Broderick is an American film and stage actor who, among other roles, played the title character in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Adult Simba in The Lion King film series, and Leo Bloom in the film and Broadway productions of The Producers.He has won two Tony Awards, one in 1983 for his...
-- but when it premiered, Crothers was better known than any of them and received star billing on posters, playbills, and even the tickets. Fierstein played Arnold, a world-weary, homosexual drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
; Crothers played Arnold's bisexual lover, Ed. He left the cast when Torch Song transferred to Broadway.
Personal life
Though Crothers was gay, a fact he chose to share with his friends and co-workers, he remained in the closetCloseted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
publicly. He was engaged to actress Veleka Gray
Veleka Gray
Veleka Gray , sometimes credited as Velekka Gray, is an American actress, best known for her roles as department store executive Vicki Paisley Cannell on Somerset, and as Mia Marriott on Love of Life from 1977 - 1980.-Career:...
at the time of his death. Joel and Veleka had played the lovers Julian Cannell and Vicki Paisley on Somerset where they became close friends.
Death
Crothers died from lymphoma on November 6, 1985. His remains were cremated and scattered in Lake George, New YorkLake George (town), New York
Lake George is a town in Warren County, New York, USA. The population was 3,578 at the 2000 census. The town is named after the lake, Lake George. Within the town is a village also named Lake George. The town is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :The lake was...
.