Bob Crane
Encyclopedia
Robert Edward "Bob" Crane (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American actor and disc jockey
, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E. Hogan in the television
sitcom Hogan's Heroes
from 1965 to 1971, and for his 1978 murder, which remains officially unsolved.
, but he spent his childhood and teenage years in Stamford, Connecticut
. He graduated from Stamford High School (Stamford, Connecticut) in 1946. Music was always very important to Crane, and he started playing drums very early in life. By junior high, he was organizing local drum and bugle parades with his neighborhood friends in Stamford. Later, he became very involved in his high school marching and jazz bands, as well as in the school’s orchestra. He also played for the Connecticut Symphony and the Norwalk Symphony Orchestras as part of the youth orchestra program. On June 21, 1948, Bob enlisted in the National Guard
and was honorably discharged on May 1, 1950. In 1949, he married high school sweetheart Anne Terzian, and they raised three children - Robert David, Deborah Ann, and Karen Leslie.
in Hornell, New York
. He soon moved to WBIS
in Bristol, Connecticut
, followed by WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut
. This was 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. Crane moved his family to California
to host the morning show at KNX
radio in Hollywood. He filled the broadcast with sly wit, drumming, and guests such as Marilyn Monroe
, Frank Sinatra
, and Bob Hope
. It quickly became the number-one rated morning show in the LA
area, with Crane known as "The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves."
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
(uncredited), Channing
, 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.
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.
In addition to playing the drums on the theme song, Crane's musical talent can also 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"
.
In 1968, during the run of Hogan's Heroes, Crane and series costars Werner Klemperer
, Leon Askin
, and John Banner
appeared, with Elke Sommer
, in a feature film called The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
. The setting was the divided city
of Berlin
inside East Germany. Paula Schultz was being tempted to defect to the West, with Crane encouraging her to do so. Klemperer and Banner were involved as East German officials trying to keep Paula in the East.
with the title role and Gus from 1976 in a cameo.
In 1973, Crane purchased the rights to Beginner's Luck, a play that he starred in and directed. The production toured for five years, predominantly at dinner theatres from Florida to California to Texas, Hawaii and Arizona in 1978. During breaks, he guest starred in 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 canceled by NBC after three months.
, who worked with the video department at Sony Electronics
and had access to early video tape recorders. In later years, Carpenter photographed some of Crane's sexual escapades with various women.
In 1978 Crane was appearing in Scottsdale in his Beginner's Luck production at the Windmill Dinner Theatre. On the night of June 28, 1978, Crane is alleged to have called Carpenter to tell him that their friendship was over. The following day, Crane was discovered bludgeoned to death with a weapon that was never found (but was believed to be a camera tripod) at the Winfield Place Apartments in Scottsdale, Arizona
.
's Cold Case Files
, police officers who arrived at the scene of the crime noted that Carpenter called the apartment several times and did not seem surprised that the police were there, which raised suspicions. The car Carpenter had rented the previous day was impounded. In it, several blood smears were found that matched Crane's blood type
. DNA
testing, which might have confirmed whether it was Crane's blood or not, did not exist at that time. Due to insufficient evidence, Maricopa County Attorney Charles F. Hyder declined to file charges.
During Carpenter's 1994 trial, defense attorneys attacked the prosecution case as circumstantial and inconclusive. They denied the claim that Carpenter and Crane were on bad terms just before the slaying, and they said the police theory that a camera tripod was the murder weapon was sheer speculation based on Carpenter's occupation. They also disputed the claim that the rediscovered photo showed brain tissue, and they noted that authorities did not have the tissue itself. The defense pointed out that Crane had been videotaped and photographed in compromising sexual positions with numerous women, implying that a jealous person or someone fearing blackmail might have been the killer.
Carpenter was found not guilty. He maintained his innocence until his death on September 4, 1998, and the murder remains officially unsolved.
In July 1978, Bob Crane was interred in Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, California. More than 20 years later, Crane's family had the actor's remains exhumed and transported about 25 miles southeast, to another cemetery, Westwood Village Memorial Park, located in Westwood.
, directed by Paul Schrader
and starring Greg Kinnear
as Crane. The film, based on Robert Graysmith
's book The Murder of Bob Crane: Who Killed the Star of Hogan's Heroes?, portrays Crane as a happily married, church-going family man and popular L.A. disc jockey
who suddenly becomes a Hollywood celebrity, and subsequently declines into sex addiction.
Crane's son, Scotty, bitterly attacked the film as being inaccurate. In an October 2002 piece he wrote on the movie, Scotty said that his father was not a regular church-goer and had only been to church three times in the last dozen years of his life, which included his own funeral. There is no evidence that Crane engaged in S&M and director Paul Schrader told Scotty that the S&M scene was based on his own personal experience. Scotty also claims that his father and John Carpenter did not become close friends who socialized together until 1975. Also, Crane was a sex addict long before he became a star, who started recording his sexual encounters at least as early as 1956.
Scotty and his mother had shopped a rival script for a Bob Crane movie biography. The script, alternately entitled "F-Stop" and "Take Off Your Clothes and Smile". The spec script was written up in Variety
by venerable columnist Army Archerd
, but after "Auto-Focus" was announced, interest in Scotty's script ceased.
At the time of the article denouncing Auto Focus, Scotty Crane was operating the Web site www.bobcrane.com, which included a paid section that featured outtakes from his father's pornographic films and videos. It also included the autopsy report, which Crane claimed proved his allegation that his father did not have a penile implant. The site now calling itself "Bob Crane The Official Web Site" is now far more sedate and does not include any controversial material.
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
, best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E. Hogan in the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sitcom Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
from 1965 to 1971, and for his 1978 murder, which remains officially unsolved.
Early life
Bob Crane was born in Waterbury, ConnecticutWaterbury, Connecticut
Waterbury is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, on the Naugatuck River, 33 miles southwest of Hartford and 77 miles northeast of New York City...
, but he spent his childhood and teenage years in Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
. He graduated from Stamford High School (Stamford, Connecticut) in 1946. Music was always very important to Crane, and he started playing drums very early in life. By junior high, he was organizing local drum and bugle parades with his neighborhood friends in Stamford. Later, he became very involved in his high school marching and jazz bands, as well as in the school’s orchestra. He also played for the Connecticut Symphony and the Norwalk Symphony Orchestras as part of the youth orchestra program. On June 21, 1948, Bob enlisted in the National Guard
Connecticut Army National Guard
The Connecticut Army National Guard is a component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the US Army's available combat forces and approximately one third of its support organization...
and was honorably discharged on May 1, 1950. In 1949, he married high school sweetheart Anne Terzian, and they raised three children - Robert David, Deborah Ann, and Karen Leslie.
Early career
In 1950, Crane started his broadcasting career at WLEAWLEA
WLEA is a radio station broadcasting a combined talk radio and oldies format. Licensed to Hornell, New York, USA, the station serves the Elmira-Corning area. The station is currently owned by Pmj Communications, Inc...
in Hornell, New York
Hornell, New York
Hornell is a city in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 9,019 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Hornell family, early settlers. Its current population has not yet been released by the new census....
. He soon moved to WBIS
WPRX
WPRX was a radio station licensed to serve Bristol, Connecticut. The station is owned by Nievezquez Productions, Inc. It last aired a Spanish Tropical format....
in Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol, Connecticut
Bristol is a suburban city located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 61,353. Bristol is primarily known as the home of ESPN, whose central studios are in the city. Bristol is also home to...
, followed by WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
. This was 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. Crane moved his family to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to host the morning show at KNX
KNX (AM)
KNX is an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, California, USA. The station operates on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio. KNX broadcasts from facilities shared with sister stations KFWB, KCBS-FM, KTWV, and KAMP on Los Angeles' Miracle Mile...
radio in Hollywood. He filled the broadcast with sly wit, drumming, and guests such as Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, and Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. It quickly became the number-one rated morning show in the LA
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
area, with Crane known as "The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves."
Crane's acting ambitions led to his subbing for Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
on the daytime game show Who Do You Trust?
Who Do You Trust?
Who Do You Trust? is an American game show which aired from September 30, 1957, to November 15, 1957, at 4:30 PM, Eastern on ABC, and from November 18, 1957, to December 27, 1963 at 3:30 PM, Eastern - which helped garner a significant number of young viewers coming home from school.The series was...
and appearances on The Twilight Zone
Static (The Twilight Zone)
"Static" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Opening narration:As Ed Lindsay retrieves his old radio from the boarding house basement, he says to a boy watching him, "Don't you know what a radio is?". "Sure", says the kid, "but I've never seen one like that ...
(uncredited), Channing
Channing (TV series)
Channing is an American drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company from September 18, 1963 to April 8, 1964...
, Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
, and General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater
General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
. When Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner
Carl Reiner is an American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. He has won nine Emmy Awards and one Grammy Award during this career...
appeared on his show, Crane persuaded him to book him for a guest shot on The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
, where he was noticed by Donna Reed
Donna Reed
Donna Reed was an American film and television actress.With appearances in over 40 films, Reed received the 1953 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the tramp Lorene in the war drama From Here to Eternity. She is also noted for her role in the perennial Christmas...
, who suggested him for the role of neighbor Dr. Dave Kelsey in her eponymous sitcom
The Donna Reed Show
The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
from 1963 through 1965.
Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971)
In 1965, Crane was offered the starring role in a television comedy pilot about a German P.O.W.Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp. Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes
Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
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
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
twice, in 1966 and 1967. During its run, he met Patricia Olsen, who played Hilda under the stage name Sigrid Valdis
Sigrid Valdis
Sigrid Valdis was the stage name of Patricia Annette Olson, an American actress. She was best known for playing Hilda on Hogan's Heroes.-Early life and career:Valdis began acting in the late 1950s...
. 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.
In addition to playing the drums on the theme song, Crane's musical talent can also 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
Jazz standard
Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive list of jazz standards, and the list of songs deemed to be...
"Cherokee"
Ray Noble (musician)
Ray Noble was an English bandleader, composer, arranger and actor. Noble studied music at the Royal Academy of Music and became leader of the HMV Records studio band in 1929. The band, known as the New Mayfair Dance Orchestra, featured members of many of the top hotel orchestras of the day...
.
In 1968, during the run of Hogan's Heroes, Crane and series costars Werner Klemperer
Werner Klemperer
Werner Klemperer was a comedic and dramatic actor, best known for his role as Colonel Klink on the CBS television sitcom, Hogan's Heroes.-Early life:...
, Leon Askin
Leon Askin
Leon Askin was an Austrian actor best known for portraying the character "General Burkhalter" on the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes.-Early life:...
, and John Banner
John Banner
John Banner , born Johann Banner, was an American film and television actor, who was born and died in Vienna, Austria....
appeared, with Elke Sommer
Elke Sommer
Elke Sommer , born Baroness Elke Schletz, is a German actress, entertainer and artist.-Career:Sommer was born in Berlin to a Lutheran minister and his wife...
, in a feature film called The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz is a 1968 American comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Elke Sommer, Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and Leon Askin...
. The setting was the divided city
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
inside East Germany. Paula Schultz was being tempted to defect to the West, with Crane encouraging her to do so. Klemperer and Banner were involved as East German officials trying to keep Paula in the East.
Career after Hogan's Heroes (1973-1978)
Following the cancellation of Hogan's Heroes in 1971, Crane was frustrated that he was offered few quality roles. He appeared in two Disney films, 1973's SuperdadSuperdad
Superdad is a 1973 American comedy film by Walt Disney Productions and starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Kathleen Cody...
with the title role and Gus from 1976 in a cameo.
In 1973, Crane purchased the rights to Beginner's Luck, a play that he starred in and directed. The production toured for five years, predominantly at dinner theatres from Florida to California to Texas, Hawaii and Arizona in 1978. During breaks, he guest starred in a number of TV shows, including Police Woman
Police Woman (TV series)
Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
, Quincy, M.E.
Quincy, M.E.
Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC...
, and The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
. A second series of his own, 1975's The Bob Crane Show
The Bob Crane Show
The Bob Crane Show is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC. The series starred Bob Crane as Bob Wilcox, a man in his 40s who quits his job as an insurance salesman to return to medical school. The series co-starred Patricia Harty as his wife Ellie Wilcox, who becomes the family's...
, was canceled by NBC after three months.
Crane's murder
During the run of Hogan's Heroes, sitcom costar Richard Dawson introduced Crane (a photography enthusiast) to John Henry CarpenterJohn Henry Carpenter
John Henry Carpenter was most widely known as the friend, and accused murderer, of actor Bob Crane in 1978.-Life:...
, who worked with the video department at Sony Electronics
Sony Electronics
Sony Electronics Inc., headquartered in San Diego, Calif., is the largest component of Sony Corporation of America, the U.S. holding company for Sony's U.S.-based electronics and entertainment businesses.-External links:***...
and had access to early video tape recorders. In later years, Carpenter photographed some of Crane's sexual escapades with various women.
In 1978 Crane was appearing in Scottsdale in his Beginner's Luck production at the Windmill Dinner Theatre. On the night of June 28, 1978, Crane is alleged to have called Carpenter to tell him that their friendship was over. The following day, Crane was discovered bludgeoned to death with a weapon that was never found (but was believed to be a camera tripod) at the Winfield Place Apartments in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385...
.
A&E's Cold Case Files account
According to an episode of A&EA&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
's Cold Case Files
Cold Case Files
Cold Case Files is documentary television series on the cable channel A&E Network hosted by Bill Kurtis that documents the investigation of various long-unsolved murders through the use of modern forensic science , and criminal psychology, in addition to recent breakthroughs in the...
, police officers who arrived at the scene of the crime noted that Carpenter called the apartment several times and did not seem surprised that the police were there, which raised suspicions. The car Carpenter had rented the previous day was impounded. In it, several blood smears were found that matched Crane's blood type
Blood type
A blood type is a classification of blood based on the presence or absence of inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells . These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrates, glycoproteins, or glycolipids, depending on the blood group system...
. DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
testing, which might have confirmed whether it was Crane's blood or not, did not exist at that time. Due to insufficient evidence, Maricopa County Attorney Charles F. Hyder declined to file charges.
Murder case reopened
The case was reopened in 1990, 12 years after the murder. A 1978 attempt to test the blood found in the car that Carpenter had rented resulted in a match to Bob Crane's blood type, but it failed to produce any additional results. DNA testing in 1990 could not be completed due to an insufficient remaining sample. The detectives in charge, Barry Vassall and Jim Raines, instead hoped that additional witnesses and a picture of a possible piece of brain tissue found in the rental car (which had been lost since the original investigation) would incriminate Carpenter. He was arrested and held for trial after a preliminary hearing before a Superior Court Judge finding that evidence presented justified a trial by jury.During Carpenter's 1994 trial, defense attorneys attacked the prosecution case as circumstantial and inconclusive. They denied the claim that Carpenter and Crane were on bad terms just before the slaying, and they said the police theory that a camera tripod was the murder weapon was sheer speculation based on Carpenter's occupation. They also disputed the claim that the rediscovered photo showed brain tissue, and they noted that authorities did not have the tissue itself. The defense pointed out that Crane had been videotaped and photographed in compromising sexual positions with numerous women, implying that a jealous person or someone fearing blackmail might have been the killer.
Carpenter was found not guilty. He maintained his innocence until his death on September 4, 1998, and the murder remains officially unsolved.
In July 1978, Bob Crane was interred in Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, California. More than 20 years later, Crane's family had the actor's remains exhumed and transported about 25 miles southeast, to another cemetery, Westwood Village Memorial Park, located in Westwood.
Biographical film Auto Focus (2002)
Crane's life and murder were the subject of the 2002 film Auto FocusAuto Focus
Auto Focus is a 2002 American biographical film directed by Paul Schrader that stars Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe. The screenplay by Michael Gerbosi is based on the book The Murder of Bob Crane by Robert Graysmith....
, directed by Paul Schrader
Paul Schrader
Paul Joseph Schrader is an American screenwriter, film director, and former film critic. Apart from his credentials as a director, Schrader is most notably known for his screenplays for Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver and Raging Bull....
and starring Greg Kinnear
Greg Kinnear
Gregory "Greg" Kinnear is an American actor and television personality who first rose to stardom in 1991. He has appeared in more than 20 motion pictures, and was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in As Good as It Gets.-Early life:Kinnear was born in Logansport, Indiana, the son of...
as Crane. The film, based on Robert Graysmith
Robert Graysmith
Robert Graysmith is an American true crime author. He was working as a political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle in 1969 when the Zodiac Killer case came to light. Graysmith attempted to decode letters written by the killer...
's book The Murder of Bob Crane: Who Killed the Star of Hogan's Heroes?, portrays Crane as a happily married, church-going family man and popular L.A. disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
who suddenly becomes a Hollywood celebrity, and subsequently declines into sex addiction.
Crane's son, Scotty, bitterly attacked the film as being inaccurate. In an October 2002 piece he wrote on the movie, Scotty said that his father was not a regular church-goer and had only been to church three times in the last dozen years of his life, which included his own funeral. There is no evidence that Crane engaged in S&M and director Paul Schrader told Scotty that the S&M scene was based on his own personal experience. Scotty also claims that his father and John Carpenter did not become close friends who socialized together until 1975. Also, Crane was a sex addict long before he became a star, who started recording his sexual encounters at least as early as 1956.
Scotty and his mother had shopped a rival script for a Bob Crane movie biography. The script, alternately entitled "F-Stop" and "Take Off Your Clothes and Smile". The spec script was written up in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
by venerable columnist Army Archerd
Army Archerd
Armand Andre "Army" Archerd was a columnist for Variety for over fifty years before retiring his "Just for Variety" column in September 2005. In November 2005, Archerd began blogging for Variety and was working on a memoir when he died.-Life and career:Archerd was born in The Bronx, New York, and...
, but after "Auto-Focus" was announced, interest in Scotty's script ceased.
At the time of the article denouncing Auto Focus, Scotty Crane was operating the Web site www.bobcrane.com, which included a paid section that featured outtakes from his father's pornographic films and videos. It also included the autopsy report, which Crane claimed proved his allegation that his father did not have a penile implant. The site now calling itself "Bob Crane The Official Web Site" is now far more sedate and does not include any controversial material.
Filmography
- Return to Peyton PlaceReturn to Peyton PlaceReturn to Peyton Place is a 1959 novel by Grace Metalious, a sequel to her best-selling 1956 novel Peyton Place.-Plot summary:After the phenomenal success of her first novel, Metalious hastily penned a sequel centering on the life and loves of bestselling author Allison MacKenzie, who ironically...
(Uncredited, 1961) - Man-TrapMan-TrapMan-Trap is a 1961 American drama film about a Korean War veteran who becomes involved in a scheme to steal $3.5 million dollars from a Central American dictator. The film was directed by Edmond O'Brien, and stars Jeffrey Hunter, David Janssen, Stella Stevens, Elaine Devry, Arthur Batanides, Cortez...
(Uncredited, 1961) - The Wicked Dreams of Paula SchultzThe Wicked Dreams of Paula SchultzThe Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz is a 1968 American comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Elke Sommer, Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and Leon Askin...
(1968) - Patriotism (educational filmEducational filmAn educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods.-Cultural significance:...
, 1972, re-released by RifftraxRiffTraxRiffTrax are downloadable audio commentaries featuring comedians Michael J. Nelson, Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett heckling films in the style of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a TV show in which Nelson was the head writer, and later the host. The RiffTrax are sold online and delivered by digital...
in 2008) - SuperdadSuperdadSuperdad is a 1973 American comedy film by Walt Disney Productions and starring Bob Crane, Barbara Rush, Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, and Kathleen Cody...
(1973) - Gus (1976)
Television
- The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
(1 episode, 1961) - General Electric TheaterGeneral Electric TheaterGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
(2 episodes, 1953–1961) - The Dick Van Dyke ShowThe Dick Van Dyke ShowThe Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
(1 episode, 1962) - Your First ImpressionYour First ImpressionYour First Impression is a NBC daytime game show which aired from January 2, 1962, to June 26, 1964. A panel of three celebrities tried to guess the identity of mystery guests from clues supplied by the host. Bill Leyden was the MC of the program, with Dennis James as a regular panelist or...
(1 episode, 1962) - The Alfred Hitchcock HourAlfred Hitchcock PresentsAlfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades...
(1 episode, 1963) - ChanningChanning (TV series)Channing is an American drama series that aired on American Broadcasting Company from September 18, 1963 to April 8, 1964...
(1 episode, 1963) - The Donna Reed ShowThe Donna Reed ShowThe Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...
(63 episodes, 1963–1965) - The Smothers Brothers Comedy HourThe Smothers Brothers Comedy HourThe Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour is an American comedy and variety show hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969.-History:...
(1 episode, 1967) - Arsenic and Old Lace (1969)
- Hogan's HeroesHogan's HeroesHogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
(168 episodes, 1965–1971) - Night GalleryNight GalleryNight Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...
(1 episode, 1971) - Love, American StyleLove, American StyleLove, American Style is an hour-long TV anthology produced by Paramount Television and originally aired between September 1969 and January 1974...
(4 episodes, 1969–1971) - Here's LucyHere's LucyHere's Lucy is Lucille Ball's third network television sitcom. It ran on CBS from 1968 to 1974.-Background:Though The Lucy Show was still hugely popular during the previous season, finishing in the top five of the Nielsen Ratings , Ball opted to end that series at the end of that season and create...
(1 episode, 1972) - The Delphi BureauThe Delphi BureauThe Delphi Bureau was a dramatic television series aired in the United States by ABC as one of three elements of The Men, a wheel series shown as part of its 1972-73 schedule....
(1972) - TenaflyTenafly (TV series)Tenafly is a drama series and one of the TV shows for the NBC Mystery Movie for the 1973-74 season.-Overview:It starred James McEachin as Harry Tenafly, a former cop turned detective who finds himself in one pickle after another. It was also one of the few series that had a main black character on...
(1 episode, 1974) - Police WomanPolice Woman (TV series)Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
(1 episode, 1974) - The Bob Crane Show (14 episodes, 1975)
- Joe Forrester (1 episode, 1976)
- Spencer's PilotsSpencer's PilotsSpencer's Pilots is an American adventure series that aired on CBS from September 17 to November 19, 1976. Created by Larry Rosen, the series stars Gene Evans.-Synopsis:Evans stars as Spencer Parish, the owner of Spencer Aviation...
(1 episode, 1976) - Ellery QueenEllery Queen (TV series)Ellery Queen is an American television detective mystery series that ran for one season from 1975 to 1976 on NBC. It starred Jim Hutton as Ellery Queen, and David Wayne as his father, Inspector Richard Queen...
(1 episode, 1976) - Gibbsville (1 episode, 1976)
- Quincy, M.E.Quincy, M.E.Quincy, M.E., also called Quincy, is a United States television series from Universal Studios that aired from October 3, 1976, to September 5, 1983, on NBC...
(1 episode, 1977) as Dr. Jamison on Season 2, episode 7 "Has Anybody Here Seen Quincy?" - The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew MysteriesThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew MysteriesThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries is a television series which aired for three seasons on ABC...
(1 episode, 1977) - The Love BoatThe Love BoatThe Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
(1 episode, 1978)
Award nominations
Emmy AwardEmmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
- Nominated: Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series, Hogan's Heroes (1966)
- Nominated: Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series, Hogan's Heroes (1967)
See also
- Hogan's HeroesHogan's HeroesHogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to March 28, 1971, on the CBS network. The show was set in a German prisoner of war camp during the Second World War. Bob Crane had the starring role as Colonel Robert E...
- The Donna Reed ShowThe Donna Reed ShowThe Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September...