Tell me about Denny Moyer

Crawford, Conrad and "The Wild, Wild West" (Part 3) . . .

Actor Robert Conrad was living the Hollywood dream, he was starring in one of the highest rated shows on network television, and that automatically equates to a lot of power in tinsel town. He played the macho "James West", a one man army who could whip as many bad guys as challenged him, and did so without ever messing up his dark hair.

In Hollywood, fantasy and reality seem to run parallel, but eventuall, reality will strike, and strike hard. One day, on stage five, at the CBS Studio Center, that's exactly what happened.

It was late 1968, and Robert Conrad had just experienced, for the first time, working the corner of his featherweight contender Frankie Crawford. In September, Crawford and Conrad flew to Indianapolis, where Frankie flattened a losing club fighter named Tommy Fix.

When they returned to L.A. Crawford would sign to fight one of the greatest featherweights in the world, Dwight "The Hawk" Hawkins, and Conrad took advantage of the fight's publicity to get a little of his own. Conrad had Crawford training for the Hawkins fight right at the studio, where the actor would jump into the ring with his fighter, serving as a "warm up" sparring partner.

Now you gotta understand that a guy like Conrad may have an inflated ego, but Crawford knew who buttered his bread, and always was careful to box very lightly with the star. Frankie knew that Conrad didn't possess the most important thing to a fighter, heart. By nature, the actor was a bully, and somehow, thru the magic of Hollywood, he really believed he had boxing talent. He may have been able to "act" like how he thought a fighter might act, but when it came to trading blows, the man was a lost ball in high grass.

One day. Conrad invited the studio publicity department to set up a press meeting at the gym/stage, where he would be working out with Crawford. He wanted the world to know he was punching it out with a contender everyday, and the press was invited to an open workout.

Prior to the sparring session, as Crawford sat on a table wrapping his hands, he overhears a reporter ask Conrad how he thought he might fare with Crawford in a "real fight". Conrad told the reporter that Crawford was a world class boxer, and on that alone might have an edge, however, he told the reporter that he weighed more than thirty pounds more than Frankie, and with his size advantage, it might be a pretty close fight.

Crawford was furious, but didn't say a word to the actor. Frankie was a guy who let his fist do the talking and, a couple seconds after the opening bell for the session, the pissed off Irishman let loose with three consecutive left hooks, all bouncing off the chin of the Conrad. Conrad hit the canvas with a thud, and had a ref began to count, he'd have reached a hundred before Conrad came around.

When the actor awoke, everybody attending the "exhibition" had left. His handlers helped him to his feet, and sat him down on a stool that had been placed right in the middle of the ring. As he gathered his senses, he found his boxer standing before him, shaking a finger in his face. Crawford informed Conrad if he even were to suggest he could whip in in a fight, next time he'd kill him.

A couple of weeks later, Irish Frankie Crawford was KOed by Dwight Hawkins, and shortly there after, Robert Conrad and Frankie Crawford were no longer in business together. However, getting rid of the ghost of Frankie Crawford would prove to be a lot harder than just selling a contract. Frankie could be a haunting presence.

More on this later.

 

Crawford, Conrad and the "Wild, Wild West" (final) . . .

Shortly after Frankie Crawford unloaded on Robert Conrad, during a sparring session, the former featherweight contender stepped into the ring with veteran Dwight Hawkins,before a sellout crowd at the Forum,in 1968.

It was a big night for promoter George Parnassus, who also booked Ruben Navarro vs. Arturo Lomeli in a twelve-rounder, for the vacant North American lightweight title. The show would open with future welter king, Jose Napoles, taking on Ireland's Des Rea in a scheduled ten.,

Hawkins destroyed Crawford in eight rounds, and years later, Crawford would claim that his manager, Robert Conrad, had given him "speed" before the fight. There was no proof of Crawford's claim. This would be the last bout that Conrad serve as Crawford's manager, and the beginning of big trouble for both the actor and boxer.

Crawford was always paranoid about being "set-up" for a mob-type "hit", and considering his behavior towards certain people, the idea was not all that far fetched. On one occasion, Crawford had received some sort of info that a known "hit man", who frequented a San Fernando Valley lounge, was "carrying a note on him".

Frankie Crawford had it in his head that Robert Conrad "owed" him $7500. For what? Who knows, but so sure was Crawford he inquired aboiut hiring a mob "strong arm" man to put some pressure on the actor. Crawford was given the name and phone number of somebody who would carry out the job, but the fighter lost the paper it was written on. Left only with memory of the hit man's name, something Italian, he thought, Crawford decided to find the number in the telephone book white pages.

The name looked familiar to Crawford, Joe LaMonica. Crawford calls the number and is soon speaking with LaMonica. The conversation was simple, "I'm Frankie Crawford, the boxer. Do you know who I am?" The surprised voice on the line answered, "Yes, I do."

Now speaking with the man who would solve his problems, Crawford explained what he wanted, and the man on the line responded, "Well, what do you want me to do to Robert Conrad?" Crawford replied, "Oh, it won't take much. He has a heart the size of a pea".

The man arranged too meet the ex-fighter, and when they met, Crawford was arrested. Poor Frankie had called the number of a retired cop.

Can you imaginbe the embarrassment of Coinrad when it became public what Crawford said about the actor's courage.

A court trial resulted in a hung jury, and it soon died out, unresolved. A couple years later, Conrad would actually help Crawford optain a boxing license in Nevada, after denied one in California, unable to pass the physical.

In Las Vegas, Crawford worked as a security guard at a casino, and would quietly train at night. One night, a disagreement with his "new" manager, resulted in Frankie being shot in the back. He lived crippled for four years, before finally taking his life withh a shotgun.

What a wild ride for the star of the "Wild, Wild West".

 

Frankie was not shot in a bar. He was shot in Las Vegas and I was given the details by his sister Chris (Whom Frankie called Choo-Choo). At the moment I haven't time to tell the story, but it has a number of twists and turns, and is something I will share with you in due course. After the shooting, Frankie was almost completely paralyzed, having limited movement in one hand. He was dead from the waste down and did not have the mobility to commit suicide using a shot gun, as was reported by police. Although listed as a suicide, those close to Crawford have good reason to believe he was murdered. It would have been impossible for him to have taken his life using a shotgun. Frankie Crawford knew something long before being shot, he told a mutual friend of ours that he had discovered that a local crime figure was "holding a note" on him. Crawford confronted the man in the bar the "Tail of the ****", which at the time was a trendy San Fernando Valley restaurant. Crawford dared the guy to shoot him right there and then, "right in the back, like to coward you are", Crawford dared him. The man just shook his head and said, "not here Frankie, not now". Crawford then packed up his wife and kids and left for Vegas, where he was about to start a comeback (he could no longer get a license in California). Crawford got a job as a security guard at a casino and secretly trained to resume his boxing career. Shortly thereafter, the shooting occured. The shooter's name was "Ray", and that's about all I have time to tell at the moment. I'll tell you more about what went on leading up to the shooting, and what went on in the hospital as Crawford fought for his life.

 

I enjoyed the Robert Conrad boxing pieces. Conrad continued to deny athletic reality in his 40s on his TV show "Baa Baa Black Sheep," when he had his character win a running race against men in their 20s.

When he was in his 50s Conrad starred himself in a movie as a middle aged man who becomes a first string college football quarterback. It strained the imagination of anyone with a pulse.

I heard that Conrad had some professional fights before he became a star and that he won most of his matches but I don't know the caliber of his opponents.