Johnny Crawford
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Ernest Crawford | |
---|---|
Born | March 26, 1946 Los Angeles, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor, singer, musician |
John Ernest Crawford (born March 26, 1946) in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor, singer, and musician.
An original Mousketeer in 1955, Crawford has acted on stage, in films, and on television.
He received an Emmy Award nomination at the age of 13 for his role as "Mark McCain," the son of Lucas McCain, played by Chuck Connors, on the Four Star Television series The Rifleman, which originally aired from 1958-1963 on ABC. During this time, he had wide popularity with American teenagers and a recording career that generated five Top 40 hits, including the single "Cindy's Birthday," which peaked at #8 on Billboard's Top 40 Hit Chart in 1962.
Crawford played "Horsey," Tommy Kirk's cowboyish sidekick in the 1965 feature film Village of the Giants which also featured Joy Harmon, Beau Bridges, and Ron Howard. In 1968 he played a corporal wanted for murder in an episode of Hawaii Five-O in the episode By the Numbers.
The Naked Ape, a 1973 feature film directed by Donald Driver — based on the book — starred Crawford and Victoria Principal.
Crawford had a key role in the early career of Victoria Jackson of Saturday Night Live fame; after appearing together in a summer stock production of "Meet Me in St. Louis," he presented her with a one-way airline ticket to California and encouraged her to pursue a Hollywood career. This led to her early TV appearances on The Tonight Show before she was cast as a regular on Saturday Night Live.
Crawford is currently the leader of the California-based Johnny Crawford Orchestra, which specializes in traditional jazz, early big band, and classical styles of music.
He reconnected with his high school sweetheart Charlotte in 1990, and they wed in 1995.[1]
[edit] Academy Award winning film
In 1970, Crawford starred with Kristin Nelson in The Resurrection of Broncho Billy. It won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.