Patricia Crowley, a beloved actress from Hollywood’s golden era, passed away peacefully at her Los Angeles home on Sunday at the age of 91. She was celebrated for her roles alongside cinema’s biggest stars of the 1950s, later transitioning to a highly successful and enduring career in television.
Her son, Jon Hookstratten, who serves as the executive vice president of administration and operations at Sony Pictures Entertainment, confirmed her passing.
Fresh out of high school, Ms. Crowley quickly made her mark on both television and Broadway. Her undeniable charisma, warm presence, and vibrant energy soon set her on a path to becoming a prominent actress of her time.
Pat Crowley and Jerry Lewis in a promotional photo for the film "Money from Home."
She made her Hollywood debut in two Paramount productions, including "Money From Home" (1953). This film was her first of two comedies with the iconic duo Martin and Lewis, where she charmingly portrayed the veterinarian love interest of Jerry Lewis’s eccentric character, who was the cousin of Dean Martin’s gambler. This role also ignited a professional collaboration with Dean Martin that spanned decades, with Crowley frequently appearing as a guest on his popular variety show.
Her next role was in "Forever Female" (1954), a theatrical comedy by Julius and Philip Epstein, loosely inspired by J.M. Barrie’s play "Rosalind." In it, she portrayed a lively teenager vying for a role coveted by a veteran actress (Ginger Rogers), who ultimately accepts the part of the mother. The film also featured notable performances by William Holden and Paul Douglas.
These two captivating performances earned Ms. Crowley a Golden Globe in 1954, where she was recognized as the "new star of the year" – an award category that was later retired in the 1980s.
In "Forever Female" (1954), Pat Crowley played a spirited teenager aiming for a role coveted by a more established star.
Frequently cast as the innocent ingénue, Ms. Crowley continued to grace the screen with leading actors of her time. Her credits include the western musical spoof "Red Garters" (1954) with Rosemary Clooney, and Douglas Sirk’s noir-inspired "There’s Always Tomorrow" (1956), where she starred alongside Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray. In "The Square Jungle" (1955), she played the romantic interest to Tony Curtis’s character, a grocery clerk with boxing aspirations.
Despite the early promise, Ms. Crowley never quite achieved the blockbuster stardom Paramount envisioned, and her contract with the studio was eventually terminated. She continued her acting career, primarily shifting her focus to television roles.
"The entertainment industry is quite challenging, and I was never deeply immersed in its strategic aspects," Ms. Crowley candidly shared in a 2020 interview for this remembrance. "I never had a manager or a dedicated publicist. I was always in that space where my agent would simply call me with audition opportunities."
Her television career, primarily featuring guest appearances, flourished for many decades. Notably, her portrayal of a captain’s ex-wife in the 1963 military drama "The Lieutenant" deeply impressed her co-star Robert Vaughn. This led him to personally select her for the pilot episode of "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." (1964), where she played a Midwestern housewife unexpectedly drawn into the high-stakes world of espionage. A particularly unforgettable scene saw the two protagonists, soaked in sweat and steam, hanging from a pipe in a locked boiler room.
Pat Crowley in a memorable 1964 scene with Robert Vaughn in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E."
In 1965, her career gained further momentum with "Please Don’t Eat the Daisies," a family sitcom based on Jean Kerr’s book. She starred as Joan Nash, a newspaper columnist navigating life with four sons, a sheepdog, and a college professor husband. Ms. Crowley felt a strong connection to Ms. Kerr, who had loosely based the main character on her own life, as both women hailed from northeast Pennsylvania.
Patricia Margaret Crowley was born on September 17, 1933, in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. She was the younger of two daughters to Vincent and Helen (Swartz) Crowley. Her father worked as a foreman in the coal mines, while her mother, a homemaker, had a deep passion for music and theater.
During her teenage years, Pat’s older sister, Ann, was discovered by the renowned pianist and vocal coach Frank La Forge after a performance at a local men’s luncheon. La Forge offered to train Ann in New York, leading Ann and her mother to relocate to the city. The following year, the rest of the family joined them, settling into an apartment in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen.
Pat Crowley in 1955, having already launched her career in television and on Broadway right after high school.
She gained early stage experience with a walk-on role in the touring production of "Carousel," which featured her sister. Continuing to hone her talents in acting, singing, and dancing, she graduated from Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts in 1950, sharing her graduating class with acclaimed comic actor Dom DeLuise.
Following graduation, Ms. Crowley engaged in numerous theater productions. Even when the plays themselves received lukewarm critiques, her performances consistently garnered praise. For instance, in a review of Margo Jones’s "Southern Exposure," Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times famously described her as "practically the only professional thing on the stage." Her talent was further acknowledged with a Theater World Award as one of the most promising new personalities of the 1950-51 season. She also rose to prominence as the titular character in "A Date With Judy," a live television program broadcast on Saturday mornings in New York during the early 1950s.
In 1957, Ms. Crowley married Ed Hookstratten, who would later become a highly successful entertainment lawyer and agent. They had two children before separating in the early 1980s. She subsequently married television executive Andy Friendly in 1986.
Pat Crowley in 2014. She maintained a decades-long career in television guest roles, concluding with the indie romance film "Mont Rêve" in 2012.
Beyond her son, Ms. Crowley’s survivors include her husband, Andy Friendly; her daughter, Ann Osher; five grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.
Over her expansive career, Ms. Crowley made numerous guest appearances across a wide spectrum of television shows and genres. Her credits include "Columbo" (1971), "Happy Days" (1980), "Police Story" (1980), "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1997-98), and "Friends" (1998). She also graced the world of soap operas with recurring roles in "Dynasty," "Generations," "Port Charles," and "The Bold and the Beautiful."
Her final acting credit was a return to film in 2012, starring in the independent romance "Mont Rêve."
Reflecting on her early career, she once remarked, "I didn’t really possess the classic ‘face for film’ like the renowned beauties. My niche was always playing the spirited, slightly mischievous character."