Wayne Crawford

Wayne Crawford, man, this guy had quite the ride. Born smack-dab in Geneva, New York, back in ’47—yeah, that’s a while ago—he wound up making his mark in Hollywood, just doing his own thing. He wasn’t one of those dudes who just faded into the background. Nah, he showed up and you remembered him. Jake Speed? Classic. If you’ve never seen it, you’re missing out on some wild, pulpy adventure. Then there’s Okavango: The Wild Frontier from the early '90s, which, let’s be real, just screams nostalgia if you’re into those animal-packed TV dramas. And Snake Island? That one’s got its own kind of goofy charm, especially if you’re into low-budget thrillers where things go sideways real fast. Wayne wasn’t just in front of the camera either. He produced, wrote, acted, probably wrangled a few snakes himself. The guy wore a bunch of hats and clearly had fun doing it. Married to Olena, so you know he had a life off-screen too, which is refreshing. Honestly, he came off like one of those old-school Hollywood guys who could handle just about anything thrown his way. Sadly, we lost him in 2016 down in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. But you get the sense he lived the life he wanted, no regrets. Not a household name, maybe, but definitely one of those faces you recognize if you’ve spent any time with B-movies or cult classics. Just a solid presence in everything he touched.