Actor. He was one of the very few actors who successfully made the transition from child actor to adult. At age 12 he appeared with Burgess Meredith on Broadway in 'The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'. He made several television appearances on such shows as 'Goodyear Theatre', 'Studio One,' 'Kraft Theatre,' 'Armstrong Circle Theatre,' 'Have Gun Will Travel,' 'The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,' 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents,' and 'The Defenders.' He would later attend Harvard University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1962. Hailed by critics from coast to coast for his work in the play 'Barefoot in the Park', he eventually took the lead when the play made it to Broadway in 1966. Also in 1966, he had taken the role of "Joe Haskell" on the television show 'Dark Shadows' and would also play another character, "Nathan Forbes" on the show. He left the show in 1969 to persue other intrests which led him to various other daytime shows as 'Secret Storm' (Ken Stevens), 'Somerset' (Julian Cannell) and 'Edge of Night' (Dr. Miles Cavanaugh). His daytime soap fame drew attention to the ground breaking Off-Broadway play 'Torch Song Trilogy,' which starred unknown actors at the time, Harvey Fierstein, Estelle Getty and Matthew Broderick. It was the story of a homosexual drag queen and his bisexual lover, which was played by Joel. The cast, along with many of his co-workers over the years, knew that Joel was gay, but he chose to remain closeted over his sexuality. When the show went to Broadway, Joel left the production. Joel's last work was on the soap opera 'Santa Barbara' as character J. Stanfield Lee, in 1985.
Actor. He was one of the very few actors who successfully made the transition from child actor to adult. At age 12 he appeared with Burgess Meredith on Broadway in 'The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker'. He made several television appearances on such shows as 'Goodyear Theatre', 'Studio One,' 'Kraft Theatre,' 'Armstrong Circle Theatre,' 'Have Gun Will Travel,' 'The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis,' 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents,' and 'The Defenders.' He would later attend Harvard University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1962. Hailed by critics from coast to coast for his work in the play 'Barefoot in the Park', he eventually took the lead when the play made it to Broadway in 1966. Also in 1966, he had taken the role of "Joe Haskell" on the television show 'Dark Shadows' and would also play another character, "Nathan Forbes" on the show. He left the show in 1969 to persue other intrests which led him to various other daytime shows as 'Secret Storm' (Ken Stevens), 'Somerset' (Julian Cannell) and 'Edge of Night' (Dr. Miles Cavanaugh). His daytime soap fame drew attention to the ground breaking Off-Broadway play 'Torch Song Trilogy,' which starred unknown actors at the time, Harvey Fierstein, Estelle Getty and Matthew Broderick. It was the story of a homosexual drag queen and his bisexual lover, which was played by Joel. The cast, along with many of his co-workers over the years, knew that Joel was gay, but he chose to remain closeted over his sexuality. When the show went to Broadway, Joel left the production. Joel's last work was on the soap opera 'Santa Barbara' as character J. Stanfield Lee, in 1985.
Bio by: Allcalmap
Family Members
Parents
Siblings
Advertisement
See more Crothers memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
