Robert was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Bessarabian Jewish parents (born Samuel Faden, the son of Isaac Faden and Rose Isserman). 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. His work on the series earned him an Emmy nomination in 1959, the same year his two sons were also nominated for their acting work on other pro- jects. Crawford Sr. contributed to 43 episodes of The Bob Cummings Show, from 1955 to 1959. He also worked on the series The New Adventures of Black Beauty, Sugarfoot, 77 Sunset Strip, Bronco, Maverick, Cheyenne, Hawaiian Eye, Lawman, Gidget, The Monkees and Tarzan. Additionally, he edited the television special Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders II. He also served as an editor and associate producer on the film Indian Paint, starring his son Johnny. And he worked on the documentary short The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Robert Crawford also worked as an actor for a brief time in the early 1960s, appearing in twelve episodes of the crime series Manhunt, as Det. Phil Burns. Later in life, he established his own independent editing service for commercials and worked on various series from the Filmation animation studio before finally retiring in 1986.