Crawford John Thomas, son of character actor Jack Thomas, was born in Los Angeles and graduated from John Marshall High School with a passion for the film industry. He collaborated with cult director Edward D. Wood, Jr. on his first film, as well as the 1996 documentary feature The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr.
Thomas's early career included a stage appearance alongside Wood and Dolores Fuller in the play The Blackguard Returns at the Gateway Theater in 1947. He and Wood also formed a film production company, Wood-Thomas Productions, and invested in their first movie, Streets of Laredo, which was never completed due to financial constraints.
Thomas went on to appear in minor films and eventually retired from the industry. He re-emerged in the 1990s, working with director Brett Thompson on the documentary The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr. and helping to restore Wood's lost first film, Crossroads of Laredo, with Dolores Fuller.
The restored film, featuring a score by Jerry Marcellino and Michael Edging of Diamond in the Sun Music, was released in 1995. Thomas's final film project was the documentary The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood, Jr., which explored the life and career of Wood through film clips, still photos, and interviews with actors, ministers, and girlfriends who worked with him.
The documentary featured a reunion of legendary actors from Wood's films, including Norma McCarty, David Ward, "Vampira" Maila Nurmi, Gregory Walcott, Harry Thomas, "Kelton the Cop" Paul Marco, and Dolores Fuller, as well as Conrad Brooks, Bela Lugosi, Jr. Loretta King, and Lyle Talbot.
