>>Johnny Crawford [singing]: I can make
the rain go anytime I move my finger >>Chuck Connors: He was a,
he was a major national star had two, two or three hit records >>Narration: Some days begin with a trip
to the studio for yet another audition. It's a lifestyle not unlike that of
many actors in Hollywood however he's probably the only one
making the trip in a vintage 1930 Chrysler. >>Johnny Crawford [singing]: I've got the song that I sing. I can make
the rain go anytime I move my finger [music] What a world, what a life, I'm in love [music] >>Narration: His acting resume
is not like the others either. You see, 25 years ago, Johnny Crawford had
already experienced what most actors long for. He was a star. He not only earned an
Emmy nomination as Chuck Connor's wide-eyed son on The Rifleman,
but won our affection as well. [film clip sound]
You know Pa, Walt was right all along that bird never did nothing to get all chained up for. [sound of bird] >>Q: John, on the program, The Rifleman, your
relationship with Chuck Connors on screen seemed to be much closer than just two actors
working together. Was that the case off screen? >>Crawford: Well, I was always very
proud of the fact that I was an actor and took my job very seriously but uh uh Chuck and I did work well together.
There was a uh, a rapport there that worked and I admired
him very much and uh uh we were very close.
We've never uh had any of the cliché fights that co-stars are supposed to have. >>Mm-hmm. We all hear stories
about child actors who really don't have much of a childhood. They don't have little
childhood chums and that sort of thing. How did that all work out
for you, being a child actor? >>Well, I was aware of those uh stories and a lot of the clichés that went with being
a child actor and I tried to avoid them and also, I felt that I was very lucky. I, I uh thought I was the luckiest kid on
earth doing a western television series and so I was aware that I didn't
get to play as much baseball. I didn't belong to the cub scouts, things like that but I wouldn't have changed it. I figured uh that uh I was getting something in return
for losing out on those things. >>Narration: Being a star was
never that important for Crawford. Being a thoroughly professional
actor was, and still is today and that father-son relationship
on screen was indeed real, for Chuck Connors remains a close friend. >>Chuck Conners: and I'll tell you something
if I may about that boy, you talk about a hero, he's my hero. He came on the set
as a 12-year-old boy and called the various members of the crew
yes sir, no sir, yes ma'am, no ma'am. Five years later he was a,
he was a major national star had two, two or three hit records and on the last day he left the set,
sir, Mister Jones, it was yes sir, no sir all the way, never changed.
To this day, he hasn't changed and I admire him more than any performer
I've ever worked with, as a person. >>Narration: His previous experience
included some 60 acting credits including time as an original
Mouseketeer, and there was the singing career that he would eventually return to,
but he drifted away from acting in the mid-60s and before becoming absorbed in
the music and trappings of the 1920s, even became a real-life
cowboy on the rodeo circuit. >>Crawford: My agents could
never find me and, and uh it's not that I really wanted to give up
acting but I couldn't get myself to stay in Los Angeles waiting for the jobs when I knew
that Cheyenne was coming up and Calgary and Pendleton and it was exciting. >>Q: You've now found a new
home on the legitimate stage. Will you bring us up to date? >>The last five years have
been very very happy for me I I can't think of anything I would rather do
than theater. It's just the most gratifying thing for an actor to be able to go straight
through the play without an interruption and have all day off to think about it
and then get another chance to do it. >>Narration: In late November, he
dons his western duds once again in The Gambler 2 with
Kenny Rogers and Linda Evans but the New York stage is his goal now. His heroes, the great song
and dance men of Broadway and after 33 years of show business experience Johnny Crawford has learned
there's no need to hurry. [music]
