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 Ordre de tuer (1958), La clé (1958) and Un homme pour le bagne (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 L'aventure du Poséidon (1972), the hearty Tom Iverson in La fugue (1975), the bumbling mayor of San Francisco in L'inspecteur ne renonce jamais (1976), hard-nosed police chief Buzz Cavanaugh in Un couple en fuite (1977) and amiable old mine hand Brian Deerling in The Boogens (1981). John had recurring parts as Sheriff Ep Bridges in La famille des collines (1971) and Capt. Parks on Sergent Anderson (1974). Among the many TV shows he made guest appearances in are The Lone Ranger (1949), Superman (1952), Les espions (1965), La quatrième dimension (1959), Les incorruptibles (1959), La grande caravane (1957), Le fugitif (1963), Star Trek (1966), Perdus dans l'espace (1965), Bonanza (1959), Stalag 13 (1965), Mission impossible (1966), Gunsmoke (1955), Super Jaimie (1976), Dallas (1978) and Dynastie (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 Ann Wakefield, four daughters and two grandchildren.
