Career
He was cast as the younger brother of Slim Sherman, portrayed by John Smith, owner of the fictitious Sherman Ranch and Relay Station some twelve miles east of Laramie, Wyoming. Their co-star was Robert Fuller in the role of former gunfighter Jess Harper. Crawford is sometimes credited as Bobby Crawford, Junior., or without the generational suffix as Bobby Crawford or Robert L. Crawford.
Their father, also named Robert Crawford and occasionally referred to as Robert Crawford, Senior, was a well-known, Emmy-nominated film editor and occasional actor, who portrayed Detective Philosophy Burns on the syndicated television series, Manhunt.
Before and after Laramie, Crawford appeared in some two dozen film and television productions. His television guest appearances included Walt Disney family adventure series Zorro, The Californians, The Donna Reed Show, National Velvet, Jack Webb"s crime drama Dragnet, Combat!, Mr.
Novak, Rawhide, Cheyenne, and Gunsmoke. In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Crawford was a production assistant, associate producer, and producer on films such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1972), The Sting (1973), Slap Shot (1977), The World According to Garp (1982), and The Parasite (1997).
In 1959, Crawford"s appearance on the Columbia Broadcasting System anthology series Playhouse 90 was nominated for Best Single Performance on the 11th Primetime Emmy Awards.
That year"s Emmy Awards also nominated Crawford"s younger brother, Johnny Crawford, for his recurring portrayal of Mark McCain, son of Lucas McCain, on The Rifleman.