JOEL MCCREA
Name: Joel Albert McCrea
Born: 5 November 1905 South Pasadena, California
Died: 20 October 1990 Los Angeles, California
Joel Albert McCrea, (November 5, 1905 - October 20, 1990) was an American film
actor.
Born in South Pasadena, California, McCrea became interested in films after
graduating from Pomona College. He worked as an extra in films from 1927 before
being cast in a major role in The Jazz Age (1929). A contract with MGM followed,
and then another with RKO. He established himself as a handsome leading man who
was considered versatile enough to star in both dramas and comedies.
In the 1930s, McCrea starred in two Cecil B. DeMille large-scale westerns, Wells
Fargo (1937) with wife-to-be Francis Dee and Union Pacific (1939) with Barbara
Stanwyck. He reached the peak of his early career in the early 1940s, in such
films as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940) and two by Preston
Sturges, Sullivan's Travels (1941), and The Palm Beach Story (1942).
McCrea also starred in two William A. Wellman westerns, The Great Man's Lady (1942),
again with Stanwyck, and Buffalo Bill, with character actor Edgar Buchanan (1944).
After the success of The Virginian (1946), McCrea made westerns exclusively for
the rest of his career--with the exception of the British-made Rough Shoot (1953).
In 1959, Joel McCrea and his son Jody McCrea starred in the NBC-TV series
Wichita Town, which lasted one season and was produced by the Mirisch Corp. 1962
saw him united with fellow veteran of westerns Randolph Scott in Ride the High
Country (1962), under the direction of Sam Peckinpah.
McCrea preferred to live the remainder of his life as a rancher. In 1969, he was
inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy &
Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For his contribution to the
motion picture industry, Joel McCrea has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at
6901 Hollywood Blvd. and another star at 6241 Hollywood Blvd. for his
contribution to radio.
McCrea married actress Frances Dee in 1933. They had three children, David,
Peter, and Jody McCrea, who also became an actor. Joel and Frances remained
married until his death in Woodland Hills, California from pneumonia at the age
of 84 in 1990.
According to David Raban's Stars of the '30s, the McCreas were prodigious savers,
accumulating a large estate, which included working-ranch properties. Joel
McCrea's work ethic was in part attributed to his Scottish heritage and it also
may have stemmed from his friendship in the 1930s with fellow personality and
sometime actor, Will Rogers. McCrea recounted that "the Oklahoma Sage" gave him
a profound piece of advice: "Save half of what you make, and live on just the
other half."
During his lifetime, McCrea and his wife Frances lived, raised their children,
and rode their horses on their ranch in what was then an unincorporated area of
eastern Ventura County, California. The McCreas ultimately donated several
hundred acres of their personal property to the newly formed Conejo Valley YMCA
for the city of Thousand Oaks, California, both of which celebrated their 40th
anniversaries in 2004. Today, the land on which the Conejo Valley YMCA rests is
called "Joel McCrea Park".
Name: Joel Albert McCrea
Born: 5 November 1905 South Pasadena, California
Died: 20 October 1990 Los Angeles, California
Joel Albert McCrea, (November 5, 1905 - October 20, 1990) was an American film
actor.
Born in South Pasadena, California, McCrea became interested in films after
graduating from Pomona College. He worked as an extra in films from 1927 before
being cast in a major role in The Jazz Age (1929). A contract with MGM followed,
and then another with RKO. He established himself as a handsome leading man who
was considered versatile enough to star in both dramas and comedies.
In the 1930s, McCrea starred in two Cecil B. DeMille large-scale westerns, Wells
Fargo (1937) with wife-to-be Francis Dee and Union Pacific (1939) with Barbara
Stanwyck. He reached the peak of his early career in the early 1940s, in such
films as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940) and two by Preston
Sturges, Sullivan's Travels (1941), and The Palm Beach Story (1942).
McCrea also starred in two William A. Wellman westerns, The Great Man's Lady (1942),
again with Stanwyck, and Buffalo Bill, with character actor Edgar Buchanan (1944).
After the success of The Virginian (1946), McCrea made westerns exclusively for
the rest of his career--with the exception of the British-made Rough Shoot (1953).
In 1959, Joel McCrea and his son Jody McCrea starred in the NBC-TV series
Wichita Town, which lasted one season and was produced by the Mirisch Corp. 1962
saw him united with fellow veteran of westerns Randolph Scott in Ride the High
Country (1962), under the direction of Sam Peckinpah.
McCrea preferred to live the remainder of his life as a rancher. In 1969, he was
inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy &
Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For his contribution to the
motion picture industry, Joel McCrea has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at
6901 Hollywood Blvd. and another star at 6241 Hollywood Blvd. for his
contribution to radio.
McCrea married actress Frances Dee in 1933. They had three children, David,
Peter, and Jody McCrea, who also became an actor. Joel and Frances remained
married until his death in Woodland Hills, California from pneumonia at the age
of 84 in 1990.
According to David Raban's Stars of the '30s, the McCreas were prodigious savers,
accumulating a large estate, which included working-ranch properties. Joel
McCrea's work ethic was in part attributed to his Scottish heritage and it also
may have stemmed from his friendship in the 1930s with fellow personality and
sometime actor, Will Rogers. McCrea recounted that "the Oklahoma Sage" gave him
a profound piece of advice: "Save half of what you make, and live on just the
other half."
During his lifetime, McCrea and his wife Frances lived, raised their children,
and rode their horses on their ranch in what was then an unincorporated area of
eastern Ventura County, California. The McCreas ultimately donated several
hundred acres of their personal property to the newly formed Conejo Valley YMCA
for the city of Thousand Oaks, California, both of which celebrated their 40th
anniversaries in 2004. Today, the land on which the Conejo Valley YMCA rests is
called "Joel McCrea Park".