Johnny's paternal grandfather was Robert Lawrence "Bobby" Crawford. Robert was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Russian Jewish parents. He was a horse jockey who became a successful music publisher and founded De Sylva, Brown & Henderson and Crawford Music Corp. Isaac was born in Tiraspol, the son of Moses Faden. Rose was born in Bessarabia, the daughter of Nathan Isserman and Alice. At age 12, Crawford rose to prominence playing Mark McCain in the series The Rifleman, for which he was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Emmy Award at age 13. Crawford had a brief career as a recording artist in the 1950s and 1960s. He continued to act on television and in film as an adult. Beginning in 1992, Crawford led the California-based Johnny Crawford Orchestra, a vintage dance orchestra that performed at special events. During thelate 1950s and early 1960s, Crawford had wide popularity with American teenagers and a recording career on Del-Fi Records that generated four Billboard Top 40 hits, including the single "Cindy's Birthday", which peaked at number eight in 1962. His other hits included "Rumors" (number 12, 1962), "Your Nose Is Gonna Grow", and "Proud" (number 29, 1963). The Resurrection of Broncho Billy was a student film Crawford agreed to do as a favor to his close friend, producer John Longenecker. It won the 1970 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Subject.