Background
Crawley, Judith Rosemary was born on April 21, 1914 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Daughter of Roderick Percy and Rheba (Fraser) Sparks.
Crawley, Judith Rosemary was born on April 21, 1914 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Daughter of Roderick Percy and Rheba (Fraser) Sparks.
She studied at the Ottawa Ladies" College, and later graduated from McGill University in 1936 after three years, having earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Economics.
After being hired by renewed Scottish documentary filmmaker John Grierson, Crawley became a freelance cinematographer, screenwriter, editor and director for the National Film Board of Canada from 1941 to 1944. During her time at the NFB, Crawley directed Four New Apple Dishes, the first NFB film to be directed by a woman. As her family grew, Crawley became increasingly interested how to properly raise children.
In 1947, she wrote, directed and starred in the educational childcare short film Know Your Baby.
Despite its financial failure upon release, the film became immensely popular with audiences, and prompted two follow-up series commissioned by McGraw Hill. After 1961, Crawley elected to focus on producing and writing rather than directing.
From 1979 to 1982, Crawley was the president of the Canadian Film Institute. Crawley is considered to be the first Canadian female filmmaker, and is recognized as being a pioneer for women who work in the film industry.
Crawley succumbed to respiratory disease on September 16, 1986.
Married F. Radford Crawley, October 1, 1938. Children: Michal Crawley Crosley, Patrick, Roderick, Alexander, Jennifer, Mariah.