Kathryn Crawford

Born: 1908-10-05

From Wikipedia Born Katherine Moran in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, Crawford had a somewhat tumultuous childhood. Her parents divorced when she was four years old; she and her sister stayed with her mother. In 1917, her mother was hospitalized after an accident. While her mother was in the hospital an aunt took Kathryn and her sister, Margaret (1907-1975) away from their mother's house to live with their father. Soon after Crawford's mother fell ill, her father moved the family to Los Angeles, California. She didn't get along with her stepmother, and at the age of 15, Crawford eloped with her sister's boyfriend to get out of the house. After a year and a half of marriage, the two separated. Her mother, who later remarried and was working as a hotelmaid, searched 12 years for her daughters and found them after she saw Kathryn in a movie magazine in 1929. Crawford starred in her first film in 1929, when she appeared opposite Hoot Gibson in King of the Rodeo. She would star in seven films that year, and in 1930 she appeared in another six films, including Safety in Numbers (1930) alongside Carole Lombard and up and coming actress and "WAMPAS Baby Star" Josephine Dunn. Her only starring role on Broadway was in the Cole Porter musical The New Yorkers in which she was the original singer of "Love for Sale". However, by 1931 her career had cooled. She would star in only one film that year, and only three between 1932 and 1933, only one of which would be a starring lead role. Crawford's final acting part came in 1941, when she was credited under the name "Katherine Crawford" in City of Missing Girls, and which starred H. B. Warner and John Archer. She retired from acting after that film, and moved to Pasadena, California. Crawford turned to interior decorating, which she pursued for 40 years. She designed the interiors for the homes and apartments of famous people like Baron Hilton, Douglas MacArthur and President Herbert Hoover. She was the consulting designer for Mary Pickford's Pickfair estate for 20 years. A member of the founding friends of Harvey Mudd College, Claremont,she also was a member of the founders of the Los Angeles Music Center and the Blue Ribbon 400. She was a member of the Society for Preservation of Variety Arts,the Los Angeles County Museum and the Society of American Interior Designers. Crawford died of cancer at the Las Encinas Hospital in Pasadena, California, on December 10, 1980. She was 72 years old.


Placeholder

King of Jazz

as Fourth Reporter ('Ladies of the Press')
Released: 1930-04-20

Made during the early years of the movie musical, this exuberant revue was one of the most...

Movie page

Flying High

as Eileen Smith
Released: 1931-11-14

An inventor and his lanky girlfriend set an altitude record in his winged contraption.

Movie page

Emma

as Sue
Released: 1932-01-02

When Fred Smith's wife dies in childbirth, Emma Thatcher, who has been nanny to the couple's...

Movie page

The Climax

as Adella Golfanti
Released: 1930-01-04

Young Italian girl wants to become a great opera singer.

Movie page

Señor Americano

as Carmelita DeAccosta
Released: 1929-11-10

A U.S. soldier goes after bandits in California, although it is still owned by Mexico.

Movie page

City of Missing Girls

as Helen Whitney
Released: 1941-03-27

A female reporter goes undercover to investigate the series of mysterious disappearances of...

Movie page

Mountain Justice

as Coral Harland
Released: 1930-05-04

In the Kentucky mountains, Ken McTavish comes to Kettle Creek looking for the killer of his...

Movie page

Safety in Numbers

as Jacqueline
Released: 1930-05-30

Before handing over a large inheritance, a guardian hires three chorus girls to educate his...

Movie page

The Concentratin' Kid

as Betty Lou Vaughn
Released: 1930-10-26

A cowboy who loves a radio singer he's never met makes a bet that he can meet and win her.

Movie page

Modern Love

as Patricia Brown
Released: 1929-07-21

In order to keep her job, a young dress designer must keep her recent marriage a secret from her...

Movie page

Skyway

as Lila Beaumont
Released: 1933-08-29

A cocky young pilot, at the urging of his girlfriend, takes a nice, "safe" job at the bank where...

Movie page

Hide-Out

as Dorothy Evans
Released: 1930-03-30

A bootlegger on the run from the law hides out on a college campus. He disguises himself as a...

Movie page

New Morals for Old

as Zoe Atkinson
Released: 1932-06-04

Proper parents who treat their adult children as teenagers have a son who wants to go to Paris...

Movie page

Red Hot Rhythm

as Mary
Released: 1929-11-23

A 1929 film by Leo McCarey.

Movie page

King of the Rodeo

as Dulcie Harlan
Released: 1929-01-06

A Montana cowboy battles lowlifes while preparing for a competition in Chicago.

Movie page