Robert Lawrence Crawford, Jr. was born May 13, 1944, in Quantico, Virginia. He is the older brother of Johnny Crawford who played Mark McCain on The Rifleman. Robert's father was in the Marine Corps and stationed in Virginia during the time he came along. After the service in the military was finished, the Crawford family moved to Los Angeles, California, where Robert, Sr. became a film editor. 

     Bobby had already done some bit parts in movies when he was discovered by his Sunday school teacher, who happened to be a Hollywood agent. "I used to go to Sunday school and church very regularly and I was in most of the pageants and somtimes sang in the choir." Bobby's teacher, Jeanne Haliburton, took both Bobby and Johnny on as clients.

     Bobby got his big break in February 1959 when he was cast in a difficult child role. He portrayed a young boy shoved from one horrible concentration-torture camp to another during World War II in Playhouse 90's Child of Our Time. The show got magnificent reviews which alerted the nation that a star had been born. The mail response was so great that the network re-ran the show! Bobby was nominated for an emmy for Best Single Performance by an Actor. Later that year Bobby landed the role of Andy Sherman in Laramie, which was a new western series. After Laramie, he appeared in a number of movies and shows.

     Following graduation from Hollywood High, Bobby went on to UCLA for a degree in Business. He has always shown a keen interest in the stock market. He also continued with his main hobby of fencing. Bobby was on the UCLA fencing team and would regularly wind up in the winner's circle in college meets. 

     In 1966, after Bob finished college, director George Roy Hill asked him to work with him on a film called Hawaii. Bobby had a small role in it, but then began working behind the camera with Mr. Hill. He started out as production assistant and then co-producer. Bobby has an impressive list of production credits and has also been screenplay writer. However, what Bobby would probably consider to be his most important roll has been that of husband and father.