Johnny Crawford Dead: Original Mouseketeer, ‘The Rifleman’ Child Star Was 75

Johnny Crawford, the original Mouseketeer who known for playing Chuck Connors’ son in the ABC series The Rifleman, has died. According to a statement shared to the Johnny Crawford Legacy website, which is maintained by his family, Crawford passed away “peacefully” Thursday evening, two years after an Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis and following a recent battle with Covid-19 and pneumonia. He was 75.

The statement said it was “with great sadness and heaviness of heart” that the Johnny Crawford Legacy team confirmed his passing. According to the website, Crawford died with his wife, Charlotte, by his side. The site added, “Sadly, Johnny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and he was living in a memory care residence before contracting COVID-19, then pneumonia. After a temporary placement at a skilled nursing facility, he was recently moved to an excellent smaller care home close to his wife.”

Born John Ernest Crawford in Los Angeles in 1956, Crawford did a tap-dancing routine, showed producers he could fence, and performed a rendition Johnnie Ray’s “Cry” during his audition for ABC’s The Mickey Mouse Club, according to Deadline. He became one of 24 Mouseketeers in the first season of ABC’s The Mickey Mouse Club. His early TV roles included The Lone Ranger, The Frank Sinatra Show, The Danny Thomas Show, and Wagon Train. In 1958, he scored the role of Mark McCain, the son of Civil War veteran Lucas McCain, in The Rifleman. The role proved to be his standout performance, and he was nominated in the best supporting actor (continuing character) in a dramatic series category at the Primetime Emmys in 1959 when he was just 13. Crawford starred on the series from 1958 until 1963.

Crawford’s other credits include Rawhide, Lancer, The Big Valley, Hawaii Five-O, Little House on the Prairie, and Murder She Wrote, among many others. He co-starred with Kim Darby in the 1965 film The Restless Ones. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1965 to 1967, Crawford continued to make TV appearances through the 1990s. Crawford also had a musical career and recorded several albums during his time on The Rifleman, with his most popular single, “Cindy’s Birthday,” reaching No. 8 on the charts in June 1962. Other tracks by him include “Rumors,” “Your Nose Is Gonna Grow,” and “Proud.”

News of Crawford’s passing has sparked tributes online, with film historian James L. Neibaur tweeting, “ANOTHER SAD FAREWELL And my childhood continues to grow dimmer. RIP Johnny Crawford.” Arrested Development actor Scott Baio wrote, “I pray for his wife Charlotte as she was by his side. Johnny was a real cowboy and will be greatly missed. He was an original Mickey Mouse Club member and played the son on The Rifleman.” Crawford is survived by wife Charlotte, whom he married in 1995, and brother Bobby.