Patricia Crowley, Beloved Actress of Film and TV, Dies at 91

16 September 2025

Patricia “Pat” Crowley, the Golden Globe-winning actress known for her roles in classic cinema and beloved television shows, has died at the age of 91. She passed away from natural causes in Los Angeles on September 14, 2025, just two days before what would’ve been her 92nd birthday, according to her son Jon Hookstratten.

Crowley’s career began in the early 1950s and spanned more than six decades. Her early film work earned her a Golden Globe for New Star of the Year in 1954 thanks to performances in Forever Female and Money From Home. She became especially well-known for her television role as Joan Nash on the sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, which aired from 1965-1967. For many fans that remains one of her signature performances.

Crowley had an otherwise incredibly diverse résumé. Among her roles were appearances on Dynasty, The Twilight Zone, General Hospital, Port Charles, and The Love Boat. Her final on-screen appearance was in the 2012 film Mont Reve.

She was born on September 17, 1933 in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. Family was part of her story too. Crowley was married twice. Her second husband was producer Andy Friendly. She is survived by her two children, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Friends, fans, and colleagues have been paying tribute. Many have noted her warmth, her professionalism, her longevity in show business, and her capacity to bring intelligence and charm to every character she played. Crowley was admirably consistent, moving between genres from comedy to drama, sitcoms to soaps, movies to television.

Her death marks the loss of a true Golden Age talent, someone whose presence spanned multiple eras of Hollywood. Patricia Crowley helped shape television and movie audiences’ expectations of female roles in the 1950s and beyond. She was an actress who navigated Hollywood’s changing landscape with grace, delivering performances that felt real, relatable, memorable.