The Late Great Pat Crowley

Many may know Pat Crowley (also billed under her full name, Patricia Crowley) from the sitcom Please Don't Eat the Daisies, which ran from 1965 to 1967 on NBC. While I caught a few of its episodes when it was rerun on KPLR in the Eighties, for the most part I am familiar with Miss Crowley from her many guest appearances on television, everything from Maverick to The Closer. What is more, I adored her. Pat Crowley brought warmth and charm to many of her roles, so it was always a delight to see her when she guest-starred on a show, whether it was The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or Friends. Sadly, Pat Crowley died on September 14, 2025, just a few days shy of her 92nd birthday tomorrow, September 17.

Patricia Crowley was born on September 17, 1933, in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. Her father was a coal miner. Her older sister, Ann Crowley, was a singer and actress who appeared in the chorus of Oklahoma! and attended the High School of Performing Arts. Young Pat Crowley followed her sister into acting and to New York City. She was a senior in high school when she starred on Broadway in the comedy Southern Exposure in 1950. That same year she appeared on television in episodes of The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre, Kraft Television Theatre, and The Ford Theatre Hour.

In 1951, Pat Crowley starred as the title character on the Saturday afternoon show A Date with Judy, an adaptation of the radio show of the same name. In the Fifties, she guest-starred on the shows The Web, Suspense, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Inner Sanctum, The Philco Television Playhouse, Goodyear Television Playhouse, The United States Steel Hour, The Eddie Cantor Comedy Theatre, Lux Video Theatre, Climax!, West Point, Crossroads, The Frank Sinatra Show, General Electric Theatre, Studio 57, Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse, Wanted: Dead or Alive, The Loretta Young Show, Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, Bronco, Maverick, Cheyenne, Riverboat, The Dupont Show with June Allyson, Goodyear Theatre, The Tab Hunter Show, Hong Kong, Walt Disney Presents. and The Roaring Twenties. She made her movie debut in 1953 in Forever Female. She appeared in the movies Money from Home (1953), Red Garters (1954), The Square Jungle (1955), There's Always Tomorrow (1956), Walk the Proud Land (1956), Hollywood or Bust (1956), and Key Witness (1960). She appeared on Broadway in Four Twelves are 48 and Tovarich.

It was in 1965 that she began playing the role of Joan Nash on the sitcom Please Don't Eat the Daisies, based on Jean Kerr's 1957 book and the 1960 movie of the same name. She guest starred on the shows Michael Shayne; Tales of Wells Fargo; 87th Precinct; The Detectives; Cain's Hundred; Rawhide; Bonanza; The Twilight Zone, The Eleventh Hour; The Fugitive; Mr. Novak; 77 Sunset Strip; The Lieutenant; Arrest and Trial; The Alfred Hitchcock Hour; Dr. Kildare; The Man From U.N.C.L.E.; The Virginian; Insight; Judd for the Defense; Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Colour; and Love, American Style. She appeared in the movies The Wheeler Dealers (1960) and Send Me No Flowers (1964).

In the Seventies, Pat Crowley was a regular on the show Joe Forrester. She guest starred on the shows The Name of the Game (1971); Marcus Welby, M.D.; Columbo; The Bold Ones: The New Doctors; Alias Smith and Jones; Owen Marshall, Counsellor At Law; Griff; Matt Helm; Police Story; Police Woman; Family; Tales of the Unexpected; The Feather and Father Game; The Eddie Capra Mysteries; The Rockford Files; Friends (1979); The Love Boat; The Wonderful World of Disney, Happy Days; Hawaii Five-O; and Charlie's Angels. She appeared in the movie The Biscuit Eater (1972).

In the Eighties, Patricia Crowley was a regular on the daytime soap opera Generations. She guest-starred on the TV shows Aloha Paradise, Today's F.B.I., The Love Boat; Matt Houston; Trauma Center; Fantasy Island; Falcon Crest; Hotel; Finder of Lost Loves; Blacke's Magic; Dynasty; Murder, She Wrote; and Empty Nest.

In the Nineties, Pat Crowley was a regular on the soap opera Port Charles. She guest-starred on the shows Fraise; Thunder Alley; Melrose Place; General Hospital; Friends; Pacific Blue; Beverly Hills, 90120; Love Boat: The Next Wave; Charmed; and Family Law. In the Naughts, she guest-starred on The Bold and the Beautiful; The Closer; and Cold Case. She made her last on-screen appearance in the movie Mont Reve (2012).

Pat Crowley was an incredibly talented actress. She had a particular gift for comedy, and I am guessing many will remember her best as Joan Nash, the freelance columnist and mother of four on Please Don't Eat the Daisies. In the Bonanza episode "The Actress," she played Julia Grant, a young mother who wanted to become a star on the stage. In the pilot episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., 'The Vulcan Affair," she played Elaine May Donaldson, a housewife who gets caught up in a THRUSH plot to commit an assassination. In the Maverick episode "The Rivals," she played Lydia Lynley, the sentimental, book-obsessed object of playboy John Vandergelt's (Roger Moore) affection.

As gifted as Patrica Crowley was with comedy, she did well with dramatic roles as well. In the pilot for The Untouchables, she played Eliot Ness's fiancée Betty Anderson. In "The Witch," an episode of The Fugitive, she played Emily Norton, a young teacher that many of the local mothers resent because she is attractive. In the movie There's Always Tomorrow, she played the somewhat serious ingenue Ann. Pat Crowley shined in comedy, but she could perform dramatic roles. Not only was she versatile, but she was also unforgettable. Pat Crowley always made an impression on the screen.