He joined the cast of Dark Shadows in 1966, making his first appearance in the second episode. He portrayed two characters on the show: Joe Haskell, and Lt. Nathan Forbes. He left the show in 1969 to appear in another soap, The Secret Storm. His first Broadway role was in The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker. He was one of the actors to play Paul Bratter in Barefoot in the Park. Crothers graduated from Harvard. He had roles on Santa Barbara, The Edge of Night, and Somerset.