Johnny Crawford obit

Johnny Crawford, Young Star of 'The Rifleman,' Dies at 75

 

 He was not on the list.

He also appeared on the first season of 'The Mickey Mouse Club' and had hit songs on the Billboard Hot 100.

Johnny Crawford, the original Mouseketeer who starred as the young son of the Civil War veteran portrayed by Chuck Connors on the 1958-63 ABC series The Rifleman, died Thursday, it was announced. He was 75.

In 2019, it was revealed that Crawford had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and a GoFundMe campaign organized by Paul Petersen — the advocate for former child actors and onetime star of The Donna Reed Show — was set up to help the family deal with expenses.

Crawford was 12 when he appeared for the first time as Mark McCain, son of the widower Lucas McCain, on The Rifleman. The Four Star Television series, set in the New Mexico Territory with storylines crafted by Sam Peckinpah, ran for five seasons, from September 30, 1958, to April 8, 1963, and then for decades in syndication and reruns.

In a 2018 interview, Crawford noted that the strength of the program was its father-and-son dynamic.

"That, and the fact that there was always a lesson at the end of every episode. Really, it's such a wholesome show — a healthy show," he said. "And Chuck was so perfect. You know, I still miss him [he died in 1992]. He was unique — I'll never meet anybody else like him again. He tried to be a good influence for me, even off-camera. And he treated me like an adult when we were working. He made it much easier than it might have been. He was a lot of fun."

In 1959, when Crawford was nominated for an Emmy for best supporting actor (continuing character) in a dramatic series, his older brother, Robert Crawford Jr., was nominated for best single performance by an actor (for Playhouse 90) and their father, Robert Crawford, was nominated for film editing (for The Bob Cummings Show).

Born in Los Angeles on March 26, 1946, John Ernest Crawford did a tap-dancing routine, showed producers he could fence — his dad was a state champion — and imitated singer Johnnie Ray during his audition for ABC's The Mickey Mouse Club.

That got him a job as one of the 24 original Mouseketeers for the first season (1955-56) of the show. However, when the number of kids was reduced by half for season two, his option was not picked up.

"I was a has-been at 9," he said in 1982. "I told my agent that I would have worked at Disney for nothing. That's when she told me that I was working for them for nothing.

"[But] being able to go in and say that I had just finished working for a year as a Mouseketeer was to my benefit, because there weren't many 9-year-olds who had experience in film. It gave me a certain confidence that I hadn't had before, and I started getting a few small parts."

He had appeared in an uncredited role in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (1956), starring Gregory Peck, then worked on such TV programs as The Lone Ranger, Climax!, Matinee Theatre and The Loretta Young Show before starring in Courage of Black Beauty (1957).

After The Rifleman was canceled, Crawford and Connors worked together again on a 1965 episode of NBC's Branded, and he appeared opposite John Wayne in El Dorado (1967) and on TV shows including Hawaii Five-O, Little House on the Prairie and Murder, She Wrote.

Starting in the late 1950s, Crawford had a recording contract with Del-Fi Records and managed hits including "Cindy's Birthday," which reached No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1962, "Rumors," "Your Nose Is Gonna Grow" and "Proud."

In the 1990s, he led the Johnny Crawford Orchestra.

Survivors include his wife, high-school sweetheart Charlotte Samco, whom he married in 1995, and his brother.

Actor (61 credits)

 2019 The Marshal

William S. Hart

 1999 The Thirteenth Floor

Singer

 1997 Rupert Patterson Wants to Be a Super Hero (TV Movie)

Art / Gus

 1991 The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw (TV Movie)

Mark McCain

 1989-1990 Paradise (TV Series)

Doug McKay / McKay

- Crossfire (1990) ... Doug McKay

- A Gathering of Guns (1989) ... McKay

 1989 Bloodhounds of Broadway

Musician (uncredited)

 1987-1988 William Tell (TV Series)

Crown Prince Ignatius / Prince Ignatius

- Rejection (1988) ... Crown Prince Ignatius

- The Rebirth (1988) ... Crown Prince Ignatius

- The Handmaiden (1988) ... Prince Ignatius

- Lotus (1988) ... Crown Prince Ignatius (uncredited)

- The Princess (1988) ... Prince Ignatius

Show all 7 episodes

 1985 The All American Cowboy (TV Movie)

 1985 Murder, She Wrote (TV Series)

Noah Paisley

- A Lady in the Lake (1985) ... Noah Paisley

 1984 Movie Macabre (TV Series)

Horsey

- Village of the Giants (1984) ... Horsey

 1983 Kenny Rogers as The Gambler: The Adventure Continues (TV Movie)

Masket

 1981 Macbeth (Video)

Seyton

 1976 Little House on the Prairie (TV Series)

Ben Shelby

- The Hunters (1976) ... Ben Shelby

 1976 The Great Texas Dynamite Chase

Slim

 1974 Sonic Boom (Short)

Charlton Heston

 1974 The Inbreaker

Chris MacRae

 1973 The Naked Ape

Lee

 1971 Cade's County (TV Series)

Billy Don Bucknell

- Requiem for Miss Madrid (1971) ... Billy Don Bucknell

 1970 The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (Short)

Broncho Billy

 1969 The Big Valley (TV Series)

Deputy Sheriff Billy Norris

- The Other Face of Justice (1969) ... Deputy Sheriff Billy Norris

 1968 Hawaii Five-O (TV Series)

Private Jerry Franklin

- By the Numbers (1968) ... Private Jerry Franklin

 1968 Lancer (TV Series)

Jeff Dane

- The Prodigal (1968) ... Jeff Dane

 1966 El Dorado

Luke MacDonald

 1965 Rawhide (TV Series)

Aaron Bolt

- Crossing at White Feather (1965) ... Aaron Bolt

 1965 The Restless Ones

David Winton

 1965 Village of the Giants

Horsey

 1965 Mister Ed (TV Series)

Jeff Kerrigan

- Ed a Go-Go (1965) ... Jeff Kerrigan

 1965 Indian Paint

Nishko

 1964-1965 Mr. Novak (TV Series)

USSR - United Nations Assembly / JoJo Rizzo

- The Tender Twigs (1965) ... USSR - United Nations Assembly

- Let's Dig a Little Grammar (1964) ... JoJo Rizzo

 1965 Branded (TV Series)

Deputy Sheriff Clay Holden

- Coward Step Aside (1965) ... Deputy Sheriff Clay Holden

 1958-1963 The Rifleman (TV Series)

Mark McCain

- Old Tony (1963) ... Mark McCain

- Which Way'd They Go? (1963) ... Mark McCain

- Old Man Running (1963) ... Mark McCain

- The Guest (1963) ... Mark McCain

- Requiem at Mission Springs (1963) ... Mark McCain

Show all 168 episodes

 1963 The Dick Powell Theatre (TV Series)

Pete Johnson

- Apples Don't Fall Far (1963) ... Pete Johnson

 1961 The Donna Reed Show (TV Series)

Victor

- A Very Bright Boy (1961) ... Victor

 1958 Tales of Wells Fargo (TV Series)

Tommy Peel

- The Dealer (1958) ... Tommy Peel

 1958 The Space Children

Ken Brewster

 1958 The Restless Gun (TV Series)

Ned Timberlake

- Gratitude (1958) ... Ned Timberlake

 1956-1958 Matinee Theatre (TV Series)

Leo - Orphan Boy / Dickie Browning / Young Heathcliff / ...

- The Cause (1958)

- Some Blessed People (1958)

- O'Rourke's House (1958)

- The Iceman (1958) ... Leo - Orphan Boy

- Forever and Ever (1958)

Show all 14 episodes

 1958 Trackdown (TV Series)

Eric Paine

- The Deal (1958) ... Eric Paine

- The Boy (1958) ... Eric Paine (as Johnnie Crawford)

 1958 Playhouse 90 (TV Series)

Chuck Ohringer

- The Dungeon (1958) ... Chuck Ohringer

 1958 Wagon Train (TV Series)

Jimmy Bennett

- The Sally Potter Story (1958) ... Jimmy Bennett

 1958 Zane Grey Theatre (TV Series)

Mark McCain / Billy Prescott

- The Sharpshooter (1958) ... Mark McCain

- Man Unforgiving (1958) ... Billy Prescott

 1957-1958 Whirlybirds (TV Series)

Timmy Thompson / Jimmy Aldane / Ricky Scott

- The Brothers (1958) ... Timmy Thompson

- Panic at Green Ridge (1957) ... Jimmy Aldane

- Ghost Town Flight (1957) ... Ricky Scott

 1958 Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok (TV Series)

Johnny

- Spurs for Johnny (1958) ... Johnny

 1956-1958 The Danny Thomas Show (TV Series)

Peter Lorenzo / Rusty's Friend

- Pardon My Accent (1958) ... Peter Lorenzo (as John Crawford)

- Wyatt Earp Visits the Williamses (1956) ... Rusty's Friend

 1957 Have Gun - Will Travel (TV Series)

Robbie

- The Hanging Cross (1957) ... Robbie

 1957 Mr. Adams and Eve (TV Series)

- The Producers (1957)

 1956-1957 The Loretta Young Show (TV Series)

Bobby Wright / Arthur Mullen / Freddy

- The Little Witness (1957) ... Bobby Wright (as John E. Crawford)

- Rhubarb in Apartment B-7 (1956) ... Arthur Mullen

- The End of the Week (1956) ... Freddy

 1957 The Millionaire (TV Series)

Wally

- The Frank Keegan Story (1957) ... Wally

 1957 The Frank Sinatra Show (TV Series)

Gaby

- That Hogan Man (1957) ... Gaby

 1957 Courage of Black Beauty

Bobby Adams (as John Crawford)

 1957 Crossroads (TV Series)

Kenny

- Patchwork Family (1957) ... Kenny

 1956-1957 Telephone Time (TV Series)

Chuckie LaPlante

- Bullet Lou Kirn (1957) ... Chuckie LaPlante (uncredited)

- Fortunatus (1956)

 1957 The Sheriff of Cochise (TV Series)

Manuel Bernel

- I Am an American (1957) ... Manuel Bernel

 1957 The O. Henry Playhouse (TV Series)

Hermitage

- Hearts and Hands (1957) ... Hermitage (as John Crawford)

 1957 Climax! (TV Series)

- Stain of Honor (1957)

 1956 The Count of Monte Cristo (TV Series)

Gerard

- Andorra (1956) ... Gerard (as John Ernest Crawford)

 1956 Cavalcade of America (TV Series)

Billy Brandon (as a boy)

- Innocent Bystander (1956)

- The Boy Nobody Wanted (1956) ... Billy Brandon (as a boy) (as John E. Crawford)

 1956 The Lone Ranger (TV Series)

Tommy McQueen

- The Cross of Santo Domingo (1956) ... Tommy McQueen (as John Crawford)

 1956 Lux Video Theatre (TV Series)

Jerry / Jean

- Road of Fear (1956) ... Jerry

- Little Boy Lost (1956) ... Jean

 1956 Chevron Hall of Stars (TV Series)

Samson Hoytfire

- A Man Named March (1956) ... Samson Hoytfire

 1956 The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Italian Boy with Groceries (uncredited)