Joel McCrea

Joel Albert McCrea, (November 5, 1905 - October 20, 1990) was an American film actor.

Related Topics:
November 5 - 1905 - October 20 - 1990 - American - Film - Actor

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Born in South Pasadena, California, McCrea became interested in films after graduating from the Pomona College. He worked as an extra in films from 1927 before being cast in a major role in The Jazz Age (1929). A contract with MGM followed, and then another contract with RKO. He established himself as a handsome leading man who was considered versatile enough to star in both drama and comedy. In the early 1940s he reached the peak of this stage of his career in such films as Alfred Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent (1940), Preston Sturges' Sullivan's Travels (1941) and The Palm Beach Story (1942).

Related Topics:
South Pasadena, California - Pomona College - 1927 - 1929 - MGM - RKO - Alfred Hitchcock - Foreign Correspondent - 1940 - Preston Sturges - Sullivan's Travels - 1941 - The Palm Beach Story - 1942

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From the mid 1940s he appeared predominantly in westerns and became one of the most highly regarded actors of this genre. He costarred with fellow veteran western star Randolph Scott in Ride the High Country (1962) but only appeared in a few more films after this, as he preferred to live the remainder of his life as a rancher. In 1969, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For his contribution to the motion picture industry, Joel McCrea has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6901 Hollywood Blvd. and another star at 6241 Hollywood Blvd. for his contribution to radio.

Related Topics:
Randolph Scott - Ride the High Country - 1962 - Western Performers Hall of Fame - National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Hollywood Walk of Fame

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He was married to the actress Frances Dee from 1933 until his death in Woodland Hills, California from pneumonia at the age of 84 in 1990. According to David Raban's Stars of the '30s, The McCreas were prodigious savers, accumulating an estate to the tune of $50,000,000 USD at the time McCrea's passing. This was probably in part due to McCrea's Scottish heritage (meaning he was frugal) and due to his friendship in the 1930s with fellow sometime actor, Will Rogers. McCrea recounted that "the Oklahoma Sage" gave him a profound piece of advice: "Save half of what you make, and live on just the other half."

Related Topics:
Frances Dee - 1933 - Woodland Hills, California - Pneumonia - 1990 - Will Rogers

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During his lifetime, McCrea and his wife, Frances, lived, raised their children, and rode their horses on their ranch in what was then an unincorporated area of Eastern Ventura County, California. The McCreas ultimately donated several hundred acres of their personal property to the newly formed Conejo Valley YMCA for the City of Thousand Oaks, California (which both celebrated their respective 40th anniversaries in 2004). Today, the land on which the Conejo Valley YMCA rests is called "Joel McCrea Park".

Related Topics:
Ventura County, California - YMCA - Thousand Oaks, California - 2004

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