Have you really lost them? If all the top growth is dead, and you are sure it is dead, cut down to the ground and they will regrow.

how about yucka plants they are real close and tropical looking thow a bit spightfull lol .

Hum... don't think I would view as a replacement for a Crinodendron would give a whole different feel to the area

I'm slightly confused as to why you'd want replacements that only get to 4 feet - Crinodendron gets a lot bigger than that, so something of 4 feet won't fill the gap, surely. Assuming the area concerned is shady, I can't think of a single evergreen shrub at that size which flowers late, apart from something like Hebe Autumn Glory, though it requires half sun half shade.

Crinodendron generally flower in May, which isn't particularly late, so I'm not sure if that's specifically what you're seeking to replicate?

Late (i.e. summer/autumn) flowering evergreen shrubs are few and far between. Eucryphia lucida is considerably hardier than the Crinodendrons - a pair have survived -17C completely unscathed here - and would fit the bill nicely, as would any of the Illiciums, of which I. floridanum is the best, ornamentally speaking. Illiciums are bone hardy, although they are slower growing than Crinodendrons.

There are a number of summer flowering Rhododendrons that might be worth considering too.