Joel McCrea

Awarded two Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame--for Motion Pictures at 1719 Vine St. and for Radio at 6241 Hollywood Blvd.

In 1920, he lived with his parents at 7755 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles. In 1930, he lived with his parents at 243 South Rockingham Avenue, Los Angeles. His father, Thomas P. McCrea, was a secretary for the Los Angeles gas and electric company. His mother, Lou Whipple McCrea, was a professional Christian Science practitioner.

One of the great stars of American Westerns, and a very popular leading man in non-Westerns as well. He was born and raised in the surroundings of Hollywood and as a boy became interested in the movies that were being made all around. He studied acting at Pomona College and got some stage experience at the Pasadena Community Playhouse, where other future stars such as Randolph Scott, Robert Young, and Victor Mature would also get their first experience. He worked as an extra after graduation from the University of Southern California in 1928 and did some stunt work. In a rare case of an extra being chosen from the crowd to play a major role, McCrea was given a part in The Jazz Age. A contract at MGM followed, and then a better contract at RKO. Will Rogers took a liking to the young man (they shared a love of ranching and roping) and did much to elevate McCrea's career. His wholesome good looks and quiet manner were soon in demand, primarily in romantic dramas and comedies, and he became an increasingly popular leading man. He hoped to concentrate on Westerns, but several years passed before he could convince the studio heads to cast him in one. When he proved successful in that genre, more and more Westerns came his way. But he continued to make a mark in other kinds of pictures, and proved himself particularly adept at the light comedy of Preston Sturges, for whom he made several films. By the late Forties, his concentration focused on Westerns, and he made few non-Westerns thereafter. He was immensely popular in them, and most of them still hold up well today.

Among movies that he turned down: Spitfire (1934) with Katharine Hepburn, The Impatient Years (1944), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946), Intruder in the Dust (1949), The Story of Will Rogers (1952).

Starred in three Best Picture Oscar nominees: Dead End (1937), Foreign Correspondent (1940) and The More the Merrier (1943).

He soon realized after losing the lead in The Real Glory (1939) to Gary Cooper that as long as Samuel Goldwyn had both he and Cooper under contract, he would always come out second in the studio's choice roles. When he refused to re-sign with Goldwyn, the producer warned him that he'd "never work in this town again!" After that, Goldwyn always referred to the actor as "Joel McCreal." McCrea signed with Cecil B. DeMille for Union Pacific (1939) at Paramount.

A big sight gag in Sullivan's Travels (1941) was the juxtaposition of the big McCrea with his leading lady, Veronica Lake, who apparently was 16 inches shorter. For some shots, however, Lake had to stand on a box so their heads could be seen in the same shot.

McCrea turned down the lead in The Impatient Years (1944), which would have reunited him with his The More the Merrier (1943) co-stars Jean Arthur and Charles Coburn. He refused to play a serviceman of any type, telling a reporter, "If I'm too old to be called, I was too old for that kind of show.".

Many believe that starting with The Virginian (1946) he appeared exclusively in Westerns until the end of his career, but there is actually one exception. Shoot First (1953) is a spy thriller set in modern-day England, although its title makes it easy to mistake for a Western upon cursory examination of his filmography..

Attended high school with future director Jacques Tourneur who would later direct him in Stars in My Crown (1950) (one of McCrea's personal favorites) and a pair of 1955 releases, Wichita (1955) and Stranger on Horseback (1955).

Inducted into the Hall of Great Western Performers of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in 1969.

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 574-575. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.

On August 21, 2019, he was honored with a day of his film work during the Turner Classic Movies Summer Under the Stars.