John Crawford 1920-2010

[rowdycat]

Link

John Crawford, who appeared in more than 200 titles in his over 40-year career, died of a stroke on Sept. 21 in Newbury Park, Calif. He was 90.

Crawford was spotted by a Warner Bros. scout while attending the U. of Washington's School of Drama and though he failed a screen test he joined RKO as a laborer.

He followed that up by working at Circle Theater in Los Angeles building sets and persuaded the producers to cast him in some of its plays. Soon Columbia signed him to act in its westerns.

He moved to bigger roles in such films as 1958's "Orders to Kill" and "The Key" in the U.K. On his return to the U.S. he was

cast in 1970s action pics including "The Enforcer," "Towering Inferno" and "The Poseidon Adventure."

Crawford had recurring arcs in iconic TV shows of the era from "The Waltons" to "Swiss Family Robinson" and "Gunsmoke." He last appeared on TV in 1986's "Hardcastle and McCormick."

In 2009, "My Rodeo Years: Memoir of a Bronc Rider's Path to Hollywood Fame" was published, with Crawford sharing writing credits with stuntman Yakima Canutt.

Survivors include his longtime companion, Ann Wakefield; four daughters; and two grandchildren.

[rowdycat]

I didn't see anything about John's passing, If it has already been posted then please accept my sincerest apologies and merge or delete it.

[dfnmeows44]

Dear Rowdycat.
I could not click onto this link you gave me. I assume it may be from LATIMES.com
or some similar web page. We have lost several of our Walton cast recently.

[Marilyn]

I think it was posted the day he died... he will be missed.

[mauro43]

It is very sad to heat that, but I noticed that many memebers of the cast died after a very long life (Grandma, Baldwin sisters, Rose, Sheriff Ep,...). Maybe the Waltons is good for health.

[Ryan James]

Yes, I beleive I posted something about him a while back. I had the honor of getting to talk with him on the phone in 2009 I beleive it was and he was so nice and told me "It's nice to be remembered". I was very sad when I found out he passed away last year.

RYAN J.

[rowdycat]

Feb 24, 2011 10:27:07 GMT -5 Marilyn said:

I think it was posted the day he died... he will be missed.

Thanks, I used the search feature and didn't see anything but I most likely overlooked it. Still sad though, I always liked him as Sheriff Bridges. Another role I enjoyed was in The Twilight Zone episode "A Hundred Yards Over the Rim."

[Ryan James]

Here was the link to mine. I too did a search and my result didn't come up either. But no worries on posting it here!

waltonswebpage.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ot&action=display&thread=1397

RYAN J.

[Brennan]

I am so saddened to hear about the deaths of both John Crawford AND Peggy Rea. They both played very upstanding and big-hearted characters on the Waltons. They will both be missed very much. I can still hear Rose's jolly laugh. She brought some levity back to the show that had been missing after Grandpa passed away.

[bucky]

Loved that character and the actor who played him.

[davidm]

So many of the older cast members have passed away. Grandpa, grandma, the Baldwin sisters, Sheriff Bridges, Maude and others. They will be missed.