Burly, handsome and rugged character actor John Crawford appeared in
over 200 movies and TV shows combined in a career that spanned over 40
years, usually cast as tough and/or villainous characters.
Crawford was born Cleve Richardson on September 13, 1920, in Colfax,
Washington. He was discovered by a Warner Bros. scout while attending
the University of Washington's School of Drama. Although he failed his
screen test, Crawford nonetheless joined RKO as a laborer. He then got
a job building sets at Circle Theater in Los Angeles, and eventually
persuaded the producers to cast him in some of their plays. He was soon
signed to Columbia Pictures to act in secondary roles in westerns. In
the late 1950s he graduated to bigger parts in such films as
Der lautlose Krieg (1958),
Der Schlüssel (1958) and
Hetzjagd (1960), all of
which were made in the UK. Crawford returned to America in the early
1960s and began a prolific career in both movies and TV series, up
until 1986. His most memorable film roles include the ill-fated chief
engineer in
Die Höllenfahrt der Poseidon (1972),
the hearty Tom Iverson in
Die heiße Spur (1975), the bumbling
mayor of San Francisco in
Der Unerbittliche (1976), hard-nosed
police chief Buzz Cavanaugh in
Outlaw Blues (1977) and amiable old
mine hand Brian Deerling in
The Boogens (1981). John had
recurring parts as Sheriff Ep Bridges in
Die Waltons (1972) and Capt.
Parks on Make-Up und Pistolen (1974).
Among the many TV shows he made guest appearances in are
The Lone Ranger (1949),
Superman - Retter in der Not (1952),
Tennisschläger und Kanonen (1965),
Unwahrscheinliche Geschichten (1959),
Die Unbestechlichen (1959),
Wagon Train (1957),
Auf der Flucht (1963),
Raumschiff Enterprise (1966),
Verschollen zwischen fremden Welten (1965),
Bonanza (1959),
Ein Käfig voller Helden (1965),
Kobra, übernehmen Sie (1966),
Rauchende Colts (1955),
Die Sieben-Millionen-Dollar Frau (1976),
Dallas (1978) and
Der Denver-Clan (1981). Crawford died at age
90 following complications from a stroke on September 21, 2010, in
Thousand Oaks, California. He's survived by his ex-wife Anne Wakefield,
four daughters and two grandchildren.
