Kathryn Crawford

Kathryn Crawford

Born: October 5, 1908
Died: December 7, 1980
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.

Movies for Kathryn Crawford...

City of Missing Girls
Title: City of Missing Girls
Character: Helen Whitney
Released: March 27, 1941
Type: Movie
A female reporter goes undercover to investigate the series of mysterious disappearances of young women, who were all linked to a local drama school.
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Skyway
Title: Skyway
Character: Lila Beaumont
Released: August 29, 1933
Type: Movie
A cocky young pilot, at the urging of his girlfriend, takes a nice, "safe" job at the bank where her father is president.
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New Morals for Old
Title: New Morals for Old
Character: Zoe Atkinson
Released: June 4, 1932
Type: Movie
Proper parents who treat their adult children as teenagers have a son who wants to go to Paris to study art, and a daughter in love with a married man.
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Emma
Title: Emma
Character: Sue
Released: January 2, 1932
Type: Movie
When Fred Smith's wife dies in childbirth, Emma Thatcher, who has been nanny to the couple's three children, cares also for the family's new addition. Fred becomes rich and successful, then he and Emma marry. When Fred dies, his will becomes a source of trouble between the children and Emma.
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Flying High
Title: Flying High
Character: Eileen Smith
Released: November 14, 1931
Type: Movie
An inventor and his lanky girlfriend set an altitude record in his winged contraption.
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The Concentratin' Kid
Title: The Concentratin' Kid
Character: Betty Lou Vaughn
Released: October 26, 1930
Type: Movie
A cowboy who loves a radio singer he's never met makes a bet that he can meet and win her.
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Safety in Numbers
Title: Safety in Numbers
Character: Jacqueline
Released: May 30, 1930
Type: Movie
Before handing over a large inheritance, a guardian hires three chorus girls to educate his charge about the "underside" of big-city life.
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Mountain Justice
Title: Mountain Justice
Character: Coral Harland
Released: May 4, 1930
Type: Movie
In the Kentucky mountains, Ken McTavish comes to Kettle Creek looking for the killer of his father. When he learns that it was Abner Harland, he fakes the killing of his friend Rusty, puts Abner in a coffin, and takes off. Lem Harland, seeing Rusty alive, realizes what happened and the chase is on.
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King of Jazz
Title: King of Jazz
Character: Fourth Reporter ('Ladies of the Press')
Released: April 20, 1930
Type: Movie
Made during the early years of the movie musical, this exuberant revue was one of the most extravagant, eclectic, and technically ambitious Hollywood productions of its day. Starring the bandleader Paul Whiteman, then widely celebrated as the King of Jazz, the film drew from Broadway variety shows to present a spectacular array of sketches, performances by such acts as the Rhythm Boys (featuring a young Bing Crosby), and orchestral numbers—all lavishly staged by veteran theater director John Murray Anderson.
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Hide-Out
Title: Hide-Out
Character: Dorothy Evans
Released: March 30, 1930
Type: Movie
A bootlegger on the run from the law hides out on a college campus. He disguises himself as a student and soon becomes the school's star athlete and the most popular man on campus.
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The Climax
Title: The Climax
Character: Adella Golfanti
Released: January 4, 1930
Type: Movie
Young Italian girl wants to become a great opera singer.
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Red Hot Rhythm
Title: Red Hot Rhythm
Character: Mary
Released: November 23, 1929
Type: Movie
A 1929 film by Leo McCarey.
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Señor Americano
Title: Señor Americano
Character: Carmelita DeAccosta
Released: November 10, 1929
Type: Movie
A U.S. soldier goes after bandits in California, although it is still owned by Mexico.
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Modern Love
Title: Modern Love
Character: Patricia Brown
Released: July 21, 1929
Type: Movie
In order to keep her job, a young dress designer must keep her recent marriage a secret from her boss. An important client arrives from Paris and her boss decides to hold a dinner party for the man at the girl's house. When her husband finds out that the client wants to take her back to Paris so she can "study," he comes up with a plan to stop it, and it begins with his being the "server" at the dinner party.
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King of the Rodeo
Title: King of the Rodeo
Character: Dulcie Harlan
Released: January 6, 1929
Type: Movie
A Montana cowboy battles lowlifes while preparing for a competition in Chicago.
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Fashion News
Title: Fashion News
Character: Self (1929)
Released: November 6, 1928
Type: Movie
Hollywood actresses including Jeanette Loff and Raquel Torres modeling Spring fashions in color.