Joel Crothers was born on January 28, 1941 in Cincinnati, Ohio and raised in New York. He began acting at age 9 on the religious television show Lamp Unto My Feet. He then appeared on Broadway at age 12 in The Remarkable Mr. Penny Packer. He was a 1962 Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard.

A veteran of daytime soap operas, Crothers had roles on Dark Shadows, Somerset and The Secret Storm, and spent eight years as Miles Cavanaugh on The Edge of Night. His other TV appearances included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Have Gun Will Travel and The Defenders.

In addition, Crothers originated the role of Ed in the ground-breaking off-Broadway show Torch Song Trilogy. His last role was on Santa Barbara as both Jack Lee, a high-powered playboy attorney, and his villainous lookalike cousin Jerry Cooper, who was impersonating Jack and using his name.

Crothers died of AIDS-related complications on November 6, 1985 in Los Angeles. He was 44.