John Crawford

Burly, handsome and rugged character actor 'John Crawford' (qv) 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 _Orders to Kill (1958)_ (qv), _The Key (1958)_ (qv) and _Hell Is a City (1960)_ (qv), 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 _The Poseidon Adventure (1972)_ (qv), the hearty Tom Iverson in _Night Moves (1975)_ (qv), the bumbling mayor of San Francisco in _The Enforcer (1976)_ (qv), hard-nosed police chief Buzz Cavanaugh in _Outlaw Blues (1977)_ (qv) and amiable old mine hand Brian Deerling in _The Boogens (1981)_ (qv). John had recurring parts as Sheriff Ep Bridges in _The Waltons (1972)_ (qv) and Capt. Parks on _Police Woman (1974)_ (qv). Among the many TV shows he made guest appearances in are _The Lone Ranger (1949)_ (qv), _Adventures of Superman (1952)_ (qv), _I Spy (1965)_ (qv), _The Twilight Zone (1959)_ (qv), _The Untouchables (1959)_ (qv), _Wagon Train (1957)_ (qv), _The Fugitive (1963)_ (qv), _Star Trek: The Original Series (1966)_ (qv), _Lost in Space (1965)_ (qv), _Bonanza (1959)_ (qv), _Hogan's Heroes (1965)_ (qv), _Mission: Impossible (1966)_ (qv), _Gunsmoke (1955)_ (qv), _Die sieben Millionen Dollar Frau (1976)_ (qv), _Dallas (1978)_ (qv) and _Dynasty (1981)_ (qv). 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.::woodyanders (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)