John Ernest "Johnny" Crawford is an American character actor, singer, and
musician. At age 12, Crawford rose to fame for playing Mark McCain, the son of
Lucas McCain, in the popular ABC western series, The Rifleman, which originally
aired from 1958 to 1963. Crawford first performed before a national audience as
a Mouseketeer. Family life
Crawford was born in Los Angeles, the son of Betty and Robert Lawrence
Crawford, Sr. His maternal grandparents were Belgian; his maternal grandfather
was violinist Alfred Eugene Megerlin. In 1959, Johnny, his older brother Robert
L. Crawford, Jr., a co-star of NBC's Laramie series, and their father Robert,
Sr., were all nominated for Emmy Awards. Career
One of The Walt Disney Company's original Mouseketeers, in 1955, Crawford
has acted on stage, in films and on television.
Disney started out with 24 original Mouseketeers. But, at the end of the
first season the studio reduced the number to 12, and Crawford was released
from his contract. His first important break as an actor followed with the
title role in a Lux Video Theatre production of, "Little Boy Lost," a live
NBC broadcast on March 15, 1956. He also appeared in the popular western series
The Lone Ranger, in 1956, in one of the few color episodes of that series.
Following that performance, the young actor worked steadily with many seasoned
actors and directors. Freelancing for two-and-a-half years, he accumulated
almost 60 television credits, including featured roles in three episodes of
NBC's The Loretta Young Show and an appearance as Manuel in, "I Am an
American," an episode of the syndicated crime drama Sheriff of Cochise. By the
spring of 1958, he had also performed 14 demanding roles in live teleplays for
NBC's Matinee Theatre, appeared on CBS's sitcom, Mr. Adams and Eve, in the Wagon
Train episode "The Sally Potter Story" and on the syndicated series,
Crossroads, Sheriff of Cochise and Whirlybirds and made three pilots in the
hope of being on a TV series. The third pilot, which was made as an episode of
Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater, was picked up by ABC and the first season of
The Rifleman began filming in July 1958. Crawford was nominated for an Emmy
Award, at age 13, for his role as Mark McCain, the son of Lucas McCain, played
by Chuck Connors, in the Four Star Television series The Rifleman, which
originally aired from 1958 to 1963. Throughout The Rifleman's five seasons,
there was a remarkable on-screen chemistry between Connors and Crawford
in the depiction of their father-son relationship. They were still close
friends when Connors died on November 10, 1992, and Crawford gave a eulogy at
Connors' memorial service. During the late 1950s and early 1960s,
Crawford had wide popularity with American teenagers and a recording
career that generated five Billboard Top 40 hits, including the single, "Cindy's
Birthday," which peaked at #8, in 1962. His other hits included "Rumors", "Your
Nose is Gonna Grow" and "Proud". Late in 1961, Crawford appeared as
Victor in the episode "A Very Bright Boy" of the ABC sitcom, The Donna Reed
Show. His brother Robert had also been a guest star on The Donna Reed Show. Once
in 1964 and once in 1965, Crawford appeared on the NBC education drama Mr.
Novak. Among his films, Crawford played an
American Indian in the unique adventure film, Indian Paint. He played a
character involved with a disturbed young girl played by Kim Darby in The
Restless Ones; and played a character shot by John Wayne's character in El
Dorado. While enlisted in the United States Army
for two years, Crawford worked on training films as a production
coordinator, assistant director, script supervisor and occasional actor. His
rank was sergeant at the time of his honorable discharge in December 1967.
In 1968, Crawford played a soldier wanted for murder in, "By the Numbers",
an episode of the popular TV series Hawaii Five-O. The Resurrection of
Broncho Billy was a USC student film Crawford agreed to do as a favor to his
close friend, producer John Longenecker. It won the 1970 Academy Award for Best
Live Action Short Subject. The Naked Ape was a partially animated
1973 feature film starring Crawford and Victoria Principal, produced by Hugh
Hefner. In 1985, Crawford appeared as Noah
Paisley, sheriff's deputy, in an episode of Murder, She Wrote.
Since 1992, Crawford has led a California-based vintage dance orchestra
which performs at special events. His band has been sponsored by the Playboy
Jazz Festival; and the orchestra has been the repeated choice for 15
consecutive annual Art Directors Guild Awards shows at the Beverly Hilton, in
Beverly Hills. A remastered version of the orchestra's highly rated first
album, "Sweepin' the Clouds Away," was released on August 21, 2012, on the CD
Baby label. Personal life
Crawford reconnected with his high school sweetheart, Charlotte Samco, in
1990, and they married in 1995. Crawford had a key role in the early
career of entertainer Victoria Jackson, of Saturday Night Live fame. After the
two appeared together in a summer stock production of Meet Me in St. Louis, he
presented her with a one-way ticket to California and encouraged her to pursue
a Hollywood career. This led Jackson to early appearances on the Tonight Show
Starring Johnny Carson, before she was cast as a regular on SNL.
Singles AAlso peaked at #2 in Billboard Adult
Contemporary charts. References
External links Johnny Crawford on The Rifleman
Official Site for Crawford Music Broncho Billy short film
Johnny Crawford's MySpace site Johnny Crawford at the Internet Movie
Database