Life in the Spotlight

     Johnny Crawford was born March 26, 1946 to a family immersed in the entertainment world. His grandparents were primarily involved in the music industry. His father, Robert Crawford, was film editor for Columbia Pictures. His mother had been a "bit" actress for Warner Brothers. Nancy, his older sister, went into television at the age of six. Johnny and his older brother Robert Crawford, Jr. (Bobby) were taken to the studios at an early age by their father and used as "extras" in a few movies. For the Crawfords, show business was a family affair.

    Johnny's mother, Betty, was active with a theater group. When he was 5 years old, she was instrumental in getting Johnny an audition which led to a role in the local production of Mr. Belvedere. Interestingly enough, it was the boys' Sunday School teacher, Jeanne Haliburton, who was also a Hollywood agent that recognized the young Crawfords' talent. With their parents permission, she took Bobby and Johnny on as clients. In May of 1955, Johnny and Bobby auditioned for a new show being created by Mr. Walt Disney. The boys did a fencing routine and Johnny sang an imitation of Johnny Ray's Cry. He was chosen as one of the original mouseketeers on the new Mickey Mouse Club.

    This was a big step for Johnny and he was thrilled to be a part of the show. However, his joy was short lived as he was dropped from the show in November, after the first season. By January 1956, only 9 mouseketeers remained of the twenty-four original cast. Johnny was devastated and depressed. He felt his career was over.

    Bobby and Johnny continued to audition for and get other parts. Johnny was quickly building up a repertoire of guest rolls in TV shows. In 1957, Johnny had a major roll in the movie The Courage of Black Beauty. He loved working with the horses. What he really wanted to do more than anything was a western.

    One new western show being produced in 1958 starred Chuck Connors as a rifle toting widower raising his young son in 1880's New Mexico. Johnny, along with at least 50 other young boys, auditioned for the part. One of the producers, Arnold Laven, has stated that Johnny was near perfect for the part. No other boy came close to the chemistry match between him and Chuck Connors. There wasn't even a 'second choice' for the part. It was a dream come true for Johnny to play the role of Mark McCain.

     Johnny displayed impressive acting talent on the show and in 1959 was nominated for an emmy for Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series. The Rifleman show was also nominated for Best Western Series. This same year his brother, Bobby, was also nominated for Best Single Performance by an Actor for a role he played in Playhouse 90's episode "Child of Our Time". This episode also had nominations in four other categories. Along with the two boys, their father was also nominated for Best Editing of a Film for Television for his editing work on the Bob Cummings Show. The family heads to the  awards ceremony with the three Crawford men carrying nominations. Unfortunately, they did not win the awards.
(Robert Crawford Sr. with wife Betty and sons Johnny and Robert Jr.)

Westerns were very popular in those days and The Rifleman as a big hit. Johnny Crawford was also becoming a big hit in teen idol magazines. It was not uncommon for young stars of a hit show to try a shot at recording. A neighbor of the Crawford family recommended to Bob Keane, who was owner of Del-Fi Records, that he try recording Johnny. Johnny was only 15 when he signed on with Del-Fi Records. The first few tries were not very successful, but Johnny's third single, "Cindy's Birthday", was in the top 20 in 1962.
"Your Nose Is Gonna Grow" was a second hit. He went on to make more singles and several albums. Johnny also recorded the single "Good Buddies" with his brother Bobby.

    The Rifleman ran from 1958 to 1963. According to David Fury's book "Chuck Connors - The Man Behind the Rifle", The Rifleman would have continued on at least another year. It was to be in color it's sixth season. Patricia Blair, who played Lou Mallory on the show, was quoted as saying, "I think it could have gone on as long as Bonanza..." Chuck Connors had decided to go to a new drama called Arrest and Trial. Johnny went back to public school and spent more time pursuing a main interest of his.

    During his time on The Rifleman, Johnny had been given a pinto quarter horse by a St. Louis rancher, and he learned to ride and rope well. He became very active in junior rodeos. With The Rifleman over and his last year and a half of high school finished, Johnny headed out to pursue his passion for rodeos. Johnny collected several ribbons with the help of Gene McLaughlin, a champion roper. "I wanted to be a real cowboy," Johnny said.

    Meanwhile, the Vietnam war was going on and Johnny was soon drafted into the Army. Because of his filming background, his two year tour was spent making training films. (Bobby had a kidney operation as a child, which excluded him from service.) After his tour of duty was over, Johnny went back to acting and rodeos. Through the '70s the acting parts were getting fewer and farther between.

    Johnny was also performing on stage in theaters around the country. He has said he found theater to be more rewarding than television. By the late '80s, Johnny had also been singing in nightclubs with another man's band and had decided to put together his own. Johnny's love of the 1920's and 1930's big band music from his grandparent's time had set him on a new ambition. Today he conducts his own orchestra performing at upscale events. Johnny truly loves what he is doing now and it shows in every performance.