 Between 1937 and 1940, he appeared with his wife Helen in several Vitaphone short films released by Warner Brothers.In 1940, the self-taught Crawford undertook his first formal music study with Joseph Schillinger, whose other students included George Gershwin, Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, and movie score composers Leith Stevens and Nathan Van Cleave.Crawford recorded Hammond organ LPs for Decca Records and worked and began writing, producing sheet music song arrangements for Hammond organ and instruction books.