Joel Crothers

Joel Anthony Crothers (January 28, 1941 – November 6, 1985) was an American actor whose career spanned Broadway, prime-time television, and daytime soap operas. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he was raised in New York City and graduated from Birch Wathen School in 1958. He later earned a degree from Harvard University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1962.

Crothers demonstrated an interest in performing from the age of nine, when he auditioned for the CBS religious television series Lamp Unto My Feet. His father, George Crothers, was a production supervisor on the program at the time and was unaware his son had auditioned under a different name. By age twelve, Crothers had made his Broadway debut in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker at the Coronet Theatre in 1954, appearing alongside Burgess Meredith. His Broadway work continued through the following decade, with additional credits including A Case of Libel and, in 1966, a starring role opposite Joan Van Ark in Barefoot in the Park.

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Crothers appeared as a guest on numerous prime-time television programs, among them Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Defenders, Have Gun – Will Travel, Rescue 8, Zane Grey Theater, Studio One, Playhouse 90, Kraft Television Theatre, and Goodyear Playhouse. In 1960, he was cast in the Death Valley Days episode "3-7-77," playing Jim Badger, a young man who comes into conflict with corrupt lawmen and vigilantes. The syndicated anthology series was hosted by Stanley Andrews.

Beginning in 1966, Crothers joined the cast of the ABC supernatural serial Dark Shadows, where he played two roles. As Joe Haskell, the boyfriend first of Carolyn Stoddard (Nancy Barrett) and later of Maggie Evans (Kathryn Leigh Scott), he appeared from 1966 to 1969. Within the show's 1795 historical storyline, he also portrayed Lieutenant Nathan Forbes, a devious naval officer who used blackmail to gain influence over the Collins family. After Forbes was killed off, Joe Haskell's storyline took a darker turn when he was bitten by the vampire Angélique Bouchard Collins (Lara Parker) and fell under her control. Tormented by the apparition of his deceased cousin Tom Jennings (Don Briscoe) and unable to cope with the revelation that Tom's twin brother Chris was a werewolf, Joe lost his grip on reality and was committed to a mental institution by Maggie. The character was never seen again and received only a single subsequent mention. Crothers performed his Dark Shadows role concurrently with his 1966 Broadway appearance in Barefoot in the Park.

From 1969 to 1971, Crothers played Ken Stevens No. 2 on the CBS daytime serial The Secret Storm, a character described as a twice-married cheat and liar. Several episodes from 1971 have been preserved by UCLA's TV Archives, though the VHS recordings have not yet been digitally transferred and remain unavailable for public viewing. He then moved to the NBC serial Somerset, where from 1972 to 1976 he played Julian Cannell, a concert pianist who became a newspaper editor. It was on the set of Somerset's final season that he met actress Veleka Gray, who played his character's love interest, Vicki Paisley; the two became close friends.

From 1977 to 1984, Crothers played Dr. Miles Cavanaugh on ABC's The Edge of Night, a role he held for the duration of the series. He received two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for that performance, in 1979 and 1984. The series concluded on December 28, 1984. His final television role came in 1985 on Santa Barbara, where he played both Jack Lee, a prominent attorney, and Jack's villainous lookalike cousin Jerry Cooper, who had imprisoned Jack and assumed his identity.

Before Barefoot in the Park transferred to Broadway, Crothers also appeared in the original off-Broadway production of Torch Song Trilogy, playing Ed Reiss, the bisexual lover of Arnold Beckoff, the character written and performed by Harvey Fierstein. At the time of the production's premiere, Crothers was more widely recognized than his castmates, which included Estelle Getty and Matthew Broderick, and received top billing on posters, playbills, and tickets. He departed the cast before the show moved to Broadway. The role of Ed Reiss was played by Brian Kerwin in the 1988 film adaptation. Crothers also appeared in the daytime television film First Ladies Diaries: Martha Washington.

Crothers was openly gay among colleagues in the entertainment industry but remained publicly closeted. At the time of his death, he was engaged to Veleka Gray, described as a close friend. He died on November 6, 1985, in Los Angeles from lymphoma at the age of 44. His remains were cremated and scattered in Lake George, New York.