Robert Edward Crane (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American disc jockey and Emmy award-nominated actor, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E. Hogan in the television sitcom Hogan's Heroes from 1965 to 1971. Image File history File links This is a copyrighted promotional photo with a known source. ... is the 194th day of the year (195th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... For other meanings of DJ, see DJ (disambiguation). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Hogans Heroes was an American television situation comedy that ran from September 17, 1965 to July 4, 1971 on the CBS network for 168 episodes. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ...

Crane was born in Waterbury, Connecticut. He graduated from high school in 1946 and became a drummer, performing with dance bands and a symphony orchestra. In 1949, he married high school sweetheart Anne Terzian; they eventually had three children, Deborah Ann, Karen Leslie, and Robert David (known as "Bob, Jr."). He later divorced and remarried, producing another son. His death by murder remains controversial. Nickname: Location in Connecticut Coordinates: , NECTA Waterbury Region Central Naugatuck Valley Incorporated (town) 1686 Incorporated (city) 1853 Consolidated 1902 Government  - Type Mayor-board of aldermen  - Mayor Michael J. Jarjura Area  - City 74. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...

Early career

In 1950, Crane started his broadcasting career at WLEA in Hornell, New York, from which he quickly moved to WBIS in Bristol, Connecticut, followed by WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut, a 500-watt operation where he remained until 1956, when the CBS radio network plucked Crane out to help stop his huge popularity from affecting their own station's ratings, and then Crane moved his family to California to host the morning show at KNX in Hollywood. He filled the broadcast with sly wit, drumming, and guests including Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, and it quickly became the number-one rated morning show in the LA area, with Crane known as "The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves." Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hornell (New York) Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, USA. The population was 9,019 at the 2000 census. ... Nickname: Mum City Coordinates: NECTA Hartford Region Central Connecticut Incorporated (town) 1785 Incorporated (city) 1911 Government  - Type Mayor-council  - Mayor William T. Stortz Area  - City 69. ... WICC-AM 600 is a news and information radio station in Bridgeport, Connecticut. ... Nickname: Location in Connecticut Coordinates: , NECTA Bridgeport-Stamford Region Greater Bridgeport Incorporated (town) 1821 Incorporated (city) 1836 Government  - Type Mayor-council  - Mayor John M. Fabrizi Area  - City 19. ... Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... KNX is a Los Angeles, California, clear channel radio station operating on 1070 kHz with 50,000 watts of power from a transmitter site in Torrance, and a key West Coast station for the CBS Radio Network. ... ... Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962), was a Golden Globe Award-winning American actress, singer, model and pop icon. ... Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American jazz oriented popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor. ... Bob Hope, KBE (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-Born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel, well known for his good natured humor and career longevity. ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ...

Crane's acting ambitions led to his subbing for Johnny Carson on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust? and appearances on The Twilight Zone, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and General Electric Theater. When Carl Reiner appeared on his show, Crane persuaded him to book him for a guest shot on The Dick Van Dyke Show, where he was noticed by Donna Reed, who suggested him for the role of neighbor Dr. Dave Kelsey in her eponymous sitcom from 1963 through 1965. For other persons named John Carson, see John Carson (disambiguation). ... Who Do You Trust? was a fairly popular game show during the 1950s and 1960s emceed by Johnny Carson. ... The Twilight Zone title. ... Screenshot of opening sequence of Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents was a half-hour anthology television series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. ... General Electric Theater was a half-hour CBS television anthology broadcast every Sunday evening beginning February 1, 1953 and ending May 27, 1962. ... Carl Reiner (born March 20, 1922) is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. ... The Dick Van Dyke Show was an American television situation comedy which aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to September 7, 1966. ... Main title caption from Dallas. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ...

Hogan's Heroes

In 1965, Crane was offered the starring role in a television comedy pilot about a German P.O.W. camp. Hogan's Heroes became a hit and finished in the Top Ten in its first year on the air. The series lasted six seasons, and Crane was nominated for an Emmy Award twice, in 1966 and 1967. During its run, he met Patricia Olsen who played Hilda under the stage name Sigrid Valdis. He divorced his wife of twenty years and married Olsen on the set of the show in 1970. They had a son, Scotty (Robert Scott), and adopted a daughter named Ana Marie. Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Hogans Heroes was an American television situation comedy that ran from September 17, 1965 to July 4, 1971 on the CBS network for 168 episodes. ... An Emmy Award. ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... Sigrid Valdis, whose birth-name was Patricia Olson, is most famous for playing Hilda, Colonel Klinks secretary on the television sitcom Hogans Heroes. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ...

Crane's drumming ability can be seen in the sixth season episode, "Look at the Pretty Snowflakes," where he has an extended drum solo during the prisoners' performance of the jazz standard "Cherokee". Jazz standard refers to a tune that is widely known, performed, and recorded among jazz musicians. ... Ray Noble was a British bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. ...

Decline and fall

Following the cancellation of Hogan's Heroes in 1971, Crane continued to act, appearing in two Disney films and a number of TV shows, including Police Woman, Quincy, M.E., and The Love Boat. A second series of his own, 1975's The Bob Crane Show, was cancelled by NBC after three months. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... Police Woman was an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran from 1974 to 1978 on NBC. It is considered the first successful primetime drama to feature a female lead, and a female as a police officer. ... Quincy, M.E. (or simply Quincy) is the name of a United States television series that aired from October 3, 1976, to May 11, 1983, on NBC (and can be seen in the UK on ITV3 and intermittently on ITV1, as well as in syndication on MeTV in Chicago, Illinois... The Love Boat was an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from 1977 until 1986. ...

During the run of Hogan's Heroes, Crane met John Henry Carpenter, an electronics expert who sold VCRs. Carpenter is alleged to have lured Crane into a life of sexual decadence. Although Crane's family contests this version of the story, it is a fact that Crane made home videotapes of numerous sexual orgies, using video technology supplied by Carpenter, with Carpenter also usually participating in the orgies. Crane is known to have made pornographic films as early as 1956.^{[citation needed]} The video cassette recorder (or VCR, less popularly video tape recorder) is a type of video tape recorder that uses removable cassettes containing magnetic tape to record audio and video from a television broadcast so it can be played back later. ...

For several years Crane led an increasingly dissolute life which affected his public image and his ability to get steady work. Finally, one late night in 1978, Crane allegedly called Carpenter to tell him that their friendship was over. The following day, Crane was discovered violently bludgeoned to death with a weapon that was never found but believed to be a camera tripod at the Winfield Place Apartments in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he had been appearing in a dinner theatre production of a play entitled Beginner's Luck at the Windmill Dinner Theatre. Nickname: Location in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA Coordinates: , Country United States State Arizona Counties Maricopa Government  - Mayor Mary Manross Area  - City  184. ... Dinner theater is an entertainment that combines a restaurant meal with a staged play. ...

According to an episode of A&E's Cold Case Files on the subject, police officers who arrived at the scene of the crime noted that Carpenter called the residence several times and didn't seem suprised that the police were there. This immediatly raised suspicion against Carpenter, and the car he had rented the previous day was impounded by the police. In the car several blood smears were found that matched Crane's blood type. At that time DNA testing didn't exist to confirm if it was Crane's blood or not. Due to the lack of evidence the district attorney declined to file charges and the case went cold. Biography is one of A&Es longest-running and most popular programs. ... Cold Case Files is a program on the A&E Network hosted by Bill Kurtis which documents various diverse unsolved crime scenarios by using modern forensics and technology, criminal psychology and recent breakthroughs in the case(s) involving previously silent witnesses. ... Blood type (or blood group) is determined, in part, by the ABO blood group antigens present on red blood cells. ...

Fourteen years after the murder in 1992 the case was reopened. An attempt to test the blood found in the car Carpenter rented failed to produce a result due to improper preservation of the evidence. The detective in charge instead hoped a picture of what appeared to be piece of skin taken off the rental car (the physical bit of skin had been lost) would incriminate Carpenter. He was arrested and indicted. During Carpenter's trial in 1994, the prosecution showed videotape of Crane and Carpenter engaging in sex with the same woman to demonstrate their close relationship. Carpenter was acquitted. Both the murder and the motive remain offically unsolved. Carpenter maintained his innocence until his death on September 4 1998. Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ...

Biographical film

Crane's life and murder were the subject of the 2002 film Auto Focus, directed by Paul Schrader. The film portrays Crane as a happily married, churchgoing family man and popular L.A. disc jockey who suddenly becomes a Hollywood celebrity, and just as rapidly becomes a sex addict, hanging out at strip clubs and participating in orgies. He documents his exploits on video tape, and is compelled by his addiction into ever more salacious excesses, which eventually crowd everything else out of his life: marriage, family, non-sexual friends, career. A device connected to an optical system. ... Paul Joseph Schrader (born July 22, 1946 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a screenwriter and film director, renowned for his characters that fall into desperation while their world crumbles around them. ...

Crane's second wife and their son Scotty objected to the way Crane was portrayed in the film, and took to the media to present their side of the story. Shortly before the film's release, Scotty also started the website www.bobcrane.com to provide documents and testimony that would contest the movie's version of his father's story. The website notably featured clips from a pornographic home video Bob Crane had made in 1956, before his meeting with Carpenter. (Scotty later removed the pornographic clips from the site.)

In an interview posted to the site, Scotty stated, "My father had been having extramarital affairs and photographing hundreds of nude women engaged in sexual activity since the 1940s. He did not suddenly become a 'sex addict' when he met my mother. We have amateur home erotic movies of his that date back to 1956, and I can assure you that the women in those movies were not his wife at the time. [...]

"My father did attend church -- when people died. He wasn't religious and he didn't raise me to be religious. The whole mythology about him being this church-going saint that was brought down and corrupted by the evils of Hollywood -- is really just a dramatic way to dress up a story. But it's totally untrue. He was an overly sexual person from an early age. In the twelve years that my mom knew him, he went to church three times: my baptism, his father's funeral and his own funeral. He never had a family priest for a ‘buddy’ as Auto Focus depicts".^[1]

His last televised appearance was in the Canadian cooking show Celebrity Cooks. A TV cooking show is a television program that presents the preparation of food, in a kitchen on the studio set. ... Celebrity Cooks was a Canadian cooking show produced by the CBC in the late 1970s starring Bruno Gerussi who introduced various celebrities who chatted with Gerussi and prepared dishes for the audience. ...

Filmography

• Man-Trap (1961)
• Return to Peyton Place (1961)
• The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
• Superdad (1973)
• Gus (1976)

Return to Peyton Place is a 1959 novel by Grace Metalious. ... Gus is a gay film, i mean really gay 1976 film by Walt Disney Studios. ...

See Also

• Hogan's Heroes

Hogans Heroes was an American television situation comedy that ran from September 17, 1965 to July 4, 1971 on the CBS network for 168 episodes. ...

References

The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

External links

• Bob Crane at the Internet Movie Database
• Bob Crane tribute site, operated by son Scotty
• Find a Grave Memorial