Helen Broderick

Helen Broderick (August 11, 1891 – September 25, 1959) was an American actress born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who built a career spanning Broadway, vaudeville, and Hollywood film. She was particularly recognized for comic roles, most often as a dry-humored, wisecracking character.

Broderick's stage career began in 1907 when she appeared as a chorus girl in the Follies of 1907, the inaugural edition of Florenz Ziegfeld's annual revue series. She subsequently performed in vaudeville as part of the duo Broderick and Crawford alongside her husband, and later transitioned to a solo stage career with her first play, Nifties of 23. Her Broadway work continued with Jumping Jupiter in 1911, and by the 1920s she had established herself in featured comic roles. She appeared in Earl Carroll's Vanities in 1925 and the play Mama Loves Papa, among other productions. Her Broadway career extended from 1907 through 1933.

By the late 1920s and into the early 1930s, Broderick was taking on prominent roles in major productions. She played Violet Hildegarde in the Cole Porter musical Fifty Million Frenchmen and starred in the revue As Thousands Cheer. She also appeared in the revue The Band Wagon during this period.

Her Hollywood career gained momentum when stage productions she had appeared in, including Fifty Million Frenchmen, were adapted into films. She became associated with the Astaire-Rogers cycle of musicals, playing Madge Hardwick in Top Hat (1935) and Mabel Anderson in Swing Time (1936). She also appeared in The Rage of Paris (1938), No, No, Nanette (1940), Father Takes a Wife (1941), Stage Door Canteen (1943), and the comedy Because of Him (1946) with Deanna Durbin, which marked her final film appearance. Among her film roles was the amateur sleuth Hildegarde Withers in Murder on a Bridle Path.

Broderick was married to actor Lester Crawford, with whom she had appeared in the 1930 short Nile Green and two 1931 comedy shorts, The Spirits of 76th Street and Court Plastered. The couple were the parents of actor Broderick Crawford (1911–1986), who won an Academy Award. Lester Crawford died in November 1962. Helen Broderick died on September 25, 1959, following a stroke, at the age of 68.