Bob Crane:

Waterbury, Connecticut - Library bio for Bob Crane:

Bob Crane was born Robert Edward Crane, in Waterbury, Connecticut, July 13th 1928. In 1942, at the age of 14, Bob began drumming for the Connecticut Symphony Orchestra. He was dismissed a year later because he was not considered "serious enough." Shortly thereafter, Bob began a radio career which eventually took him west to Los Angeles, and landed him in the morning drive slot at CBS powerhouse KNX, where he became known as "The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves." His show was not only wildly successful, it was revolutionary. Bob filled the broadcast booth with wry wit and charisma, not to mention drums, chimpanzees, and movie stars. His show was the number-one-rated morning show in Los Angeles, and Hollywood's biggest stars were regular guests on his show; Marilyn Monroe, Ronald Regan, Jayne Mansfield, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Hope, and Frank Sinatra, to name only a handful.

It was during his reign as "King of the L.A. Airwaves" that Crane captured the attention of CBS television executives. He began making guest appearances on The Dick Van Dyke Show, among others. Soon he landed himself a regular role on The Donna Reed Show as Doctor David Kelsey. Then, in 1965 Crane was offered the starring role in a highly controversial television pilot about Allied prisoners in a German P.O.W. camp. The pilot made a splash and Hogan's Heroes went on to become one of the most successful sitcoms of all time. In 1966 and 1967, Bob was nominated for two Emmy awards.

In the years following Hogan's Heroes, Bob stayed busy with various film and television appearances, including two Disney films, Superdad and Gus. Bob also remained a regular guest on the talk show circuit, as well as a guest host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. In 1975 NBC launched The Bob Crane Show, and aired 13 episodes. For the next several years Bob acted and directed play's such as Beginner's Luck, and other productions.

Vital Statistics

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Robert Edward Crane
Born: July 13, 1928, Waterbury, Connecticut.                           R.I.P.: June 29th, 1978, Scottsdale, Arizona 

Parents: Alfred Crane and Rosemary Crane (madien: Senich)
Brother: Al Crane
Height: 5' 11"

Married: 1948 - 1970 to Ann Terzian
Children: Deborah Ann, Karen Leslie

Married: 1970 - 1978 to Patricia Olson (Sigrid Valdis)
Children: Robert Scott, Ana Marie (adopted)

Radio
WLEA, Hornell, NY 1950
WBIS, Bristol, CT 1950
WICC, Bridgeport, CT 1950-1956
KNX, CBS Radio, Los Angeles, CA 1956 - 1965
KMPC, Los Angeles, CA 1972 - 1973

The Zero Hour - (syndicated radio theater show - drama) - 1974 - Produced by Rod Serling  - Bob was the Star of five epsiodes.

Crisis (syndicated radio theater show - drama) 1977 "The Flaw" as a guest star.  Jim French Productions.

TV Credits
The Donna Reed Show TV Series 1963 - 1965 as "Dr. Dave Kelsey."
Hogan's Heroes TV Series 1965 - 1971 as "Colonel Robert Hogan."
The Bob Crane Show TV Series 1975 as "Bob Wilcox."

Guest Appearances
The Twilight Zone 1959 "Static" as "DJ."
General Electric Theater 1961 "The $200 Parley."
The Dick Van Dyke Show 1961 "Somebody Has to Play Cleopatra" as "Harry Rogers."
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour 1963 "The 31st of February" as "Charlie."
The Donna Reed Show 1963 "The Two Doctor Stones" as "Dr. Dave Belvins."
The Donna Reed Show 1963 "Friends and Neighbors" as "Dr. Dave Kelsey."
Channing 1963 "Hall Full of Strangers" as "Professor Arlen."
The Hollywood Palace 1965 as Bob Crane /"Col. Hogan."
Hollywood Talent Scouts 1965.
The Lucy Show 1966 "Lucy and Bob Crane" as himself.
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour 1967.
The Tonight Show 1967 Guest Host.
Love, American Style 1969 "Love and the Modern Wife" as "Howard Melville."
The Leslie Uggams Show 1969 as himself.
Love, American Style 1971 "Love and the Logical Explanation" as "Mark."
The Doris Day Show 1971 "And Here's. . .Doris" as "Dick Carter."
Night Gallery 1971 "House - with Ghost" as "Ellis Travers."
Make Mine Red, White and Blue 1972 (TV) Variety Show Special.
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In 1972 "Episode #119" Cameo appearance.
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In 1972 "Episode #126" Cameo appearance.
Tenafly 1974 "Man Running" as "Sid Pierce."
Police Woman 1974 "Requiem for Bored Wives" as "Dee Jay."
Mitzi and a Hundred Guys 1975 (TV) Variety Show Special.
Hard Core 1976 "Joe Forrester."
Ellery Queen 1976 "The Adventure of the Hard-Headed Huckster" as "Jerry Crabtree."
Spencer's Pilots 1976 "The Search."
Gibbsville 1976 "Trapped."
Quincy 1976 "Has Anybody Here Seen Quincy?" as "Dr. Jamison."
The Love Boat 1976 "Family Reunion" as "Teddy."
The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977 "A Haunting We Will Go" as "Danny Day."
Celebrity Cooks 1978 as himself.

Also: The Danny Kaye Show, The Red Skelton Show, The Joey Bishop Show, The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show, The Mike Douglas Show, Dinah, The Phil Donahue Show, The Hollywood Palace Christmas Show, The John Gary Show, and Golddiggers.

Game Show Guest Appearances
Who Do you Trust? 1962 host (subbed for host Johnny Carson during Carson's vacation. Was then asked to replace Johnny Carson, but declined saying, "I don't want to be Johnny Carson, I want to be Johnny Carson's first guest. I want to be the big guest of the night."
Password 1961
What's My Line? 1966
What's My Line? 1969
The Match Game mid-to-late 1960s
Tattletales (with Sigrid Valdis) 1975
The Gong Show 1977 ?  (Jaye P. Morgan,
actually got into a tiff with Bob on air.  She remarked how good "pot" is, and Bob said something to the effect that it wasn't for him. Jaye P. Morgan then accused Bob of being uptight and a prude, and Bob cut her off rather impatiently, saying, "I've tried it; it does nothing for me."  And then host Chuck Barris interrupted to get the show back on track.)
- Thanks to Mike Swofford for this Gong Show information.

Also: P.D.Q., Hollywood Squares, One Thousand Dollar Pyramid, Break the Bank, Liar's Club

Movie and Film Credits
The Return to Peyton Place 1961 as "Peter White"
Man-Trap 1961
The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz 1968 as "Bill Mason"
Arsenic and Old Lace (TV movie) 1969 as "Mortimer Brewster"
The Delphi Bureau 1972 as "Charlie Taggart"
Superdad 1974 as "Charlie McCready"
Gus 1976 as "Pepper"

Theater
Tunnel of Love, Valley Playhouse, CA
Who Was That Lady I Saw You With? Valley Playhouse, CA
Send Me No Flowers
Cactus Flower Tour 1969
Same Time Next Year
Beginners Luck Scottsdale, AZ June 1978

Awards and Nominations
Emmy Award Nomination, Best Actor in a Comedy Series, 1966
Emmy Award Nomination, Best Actor in a Comedy Series, 1965

*Children*

Robert Edward

Robert David *

Robert Scott

There is no real Bob Crane Jr.

* see: Howard Penny - CT, 1953