Johnny Crawford: The Rifleman Child Star and Cindy's Birthday Singer Die

Johnny Crawford was an American actor, singer and bandleader, best known as Mark McCain on the Western series The Rifleman. Born John Ernest Crawford on March 26, 1946, in Los Angeles, he was one of the original Mouseketeers on The Mickey Mouse Club.

Crawford joined The Mickey Mouse Club in 1955 and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy in 1959, at age 13, for The Rifleman. His single "Cindy's Birthday" reached No. 8 on the Billboard Top 40 in 1962. In 1992 he founded the Johnny Crawford Orchestra, a vintage dance band that played the Art Directors Guild Awards for 15 consecutive years.

Crawford married his high school sweetheart, Charlotte Samco, in 1995. His brother Robert Crawford Jr. was also an actor. He contracted COVID-19 and pneumonia and later died of Alzheimer's disease in a care home in Los Angeles on April 29, 2021, at age 75. Remembered for his sweetness and his love of vintage music, he was a lifelong entertainer.

Achievements: Original Mouseketeer on The Mickey Mouse Club (1955), Emmy nominee for The Rifleman (1959), "Cindy's Birthday" reached No. 8 on the Billboard Top 40 (1962), founded the Johnny Crawford Orchestra (1992).

Birth: March 26, 1946 - Los Angeles, California.

Profession: Actor, singer and bandleader.

Interesting Facts: He acted in The Resurrection of Broncho Billy as a favor to a friend, and the short film won an Academy Award in 1971. His maternal grandfather was a violinist.