Bob Crane's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Hogan's Heroes Col. Robert… The Face Is Familiar Bob Crane Celebrity Cooks (CA) Bob Crane Gibbsville Lawyer

Main Movie Roles

BIOGRAPHY:

Handsome Bob Crane had many careers, including working as a disc jockey for a while. He started acting around the age of 33. One of his first acting jobs in Return to Peyton Place (1961). After a guest appearance on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (1961) and a supporting role on "The Donna Reed Show" (1958), he landed the lead role of Col. Robert Hogan in "Hogan's Heroes" (1965). After the cancellation of that show he was in several TV movies and two Disney films. He also got his own show in 1975, but it was canceled after only a few months. With his career not going too well Bob started doing dinner theater plays. In 1978 he got the lead in a production of the play "Beginner's Luck in Scottsdale, AZ. A month after he started the play he was found murdered in his hotel room. He had one son and was separated from his second wife, Sigrid Valdis.


TRIVIA:

• He discovered singer 'Marilyn McCoo' (qv) on the 1960s show _"Hollywood Talent Scouts" (1965)_ (qv).
• Father-in-law of Michelle Crane.
• Hobby was playing the drums. He was a life-long jazz buff who played with several amateur jazz groups over the years.
• His last recorded public appearance, just a few days before his death, was on _"Celebrity Cooks" (1975)_ (qv).
• 2002: Was the subject of a "noise opera" by the experimental band Facetious (released on CD under the title "Raw Biscuits: The Bob Crane Story").
• In January 1978, Crane taped an episode of _"Celebrity Cooks" (1975)_ (qv). The episode was scheduled to air on July 10, 1978, but was never telecast because of the actor's murder in June. Reportedly in the show, Crane made numerous jokes about death, which would have made the episode too eerily prophetic.
• Best remembered by the public for his starring role as Col. Robert Hogan in Hogan's Heroes (1965).
• Originally buried at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth, Los Angeles County. In 2003, many years after his death, he was moved to the prestigious Westwood Memorial Park on Glendon Avenue in Los Angeles. His marker is very elaborate and beautiful with writings and photographs of him and his widow 'Sigrid Valdis' (qv). It is located in the middle of the memorial park.