NEW BIOGRAPHY ABOUT ‘HOGAN’S HEROES’ STAR BOB CRANE TO GIVE TRUE PERSPECTIVE ON ACTOR’S LIFE
WILBRAHAM, Mass., Feb. 18, 2015—Bob Crane, best known for his work on the popular 1960s World War II sitcom Hogan’s Heroes and whose 1978 murder remains unsolved, is the subject of a new biography that will give the public a completely different perspective on his life.
Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography will be released on September 17, 2015, and according to author Carol Ford, refutes inaccurate judgments about Crane and provides an in-depth look at his life and major career accomplishments, many of which were unprecedented.
“Other works have dwelled primarily on the negative aspects of Bob Crane’s life and his murder, to the exclusion of nearly all else,” Ford said. “People simply don’t realize how many important contributions he made to the entertainment industry and to society.”
Ford and her co-researchers Dee Young and Linda Groundwater spent more than a decade interviewing approximately 200 prominent individuals from Crane’s life—family members; friends as far back as grade school; coworkers in radio, television, theatre, and film; and the counselor/pastor who was helping Crane overcome his addiction shortly before his death—hoping to provide a more accurate account of his entire life. Ford believes she and her colleagues have done just that.
“Bob was a kind-hearted, talented man who genuinely wanted to do good,” Ford added. “He was not perfect, but nobody is. His complete life story is dynamic and deserves to be told.”
Born on July 13, 1928, in Waterbury, CT, Crane achieved international success as Colonel Hogan on Hogan’s Heroes. Prior to that, Crane spent 15 consecutive years in radio. His radio program consistently ranked at the top of audience market shares on each coast.
Crane’s murder on June 29, 1978, in Scottsdale, AZ, shocked the public and garnered massive media coverage. Despite the glare, the crime has never been solved. What did come to light during the investigation was Crane’s lifestyle, which included sex and amateur pornography with numerous consensual women. Shortly before his death, however, he had admitted to a pastor/addiction counselor that he realized he was a sexual addict and wanted to be healed.
The book will be published by AuthorMike Ink Publishing and will be available through all major book retailers worldwide. The book’s release also coincides with the 50th anniversary of Hogan’s Heroes, which premiered on September 17, 1965. A portion of the book’s profits will be donated to various charities in Bob Crane’s memory.
For more information, visit www.vote4bobcrane.org/book.html
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LATE RADIO PERSONALITY, ‘HOGAN’S HEROES’ STAR BOB CRANE NOMINATED FOR INDUCTION INTO NATIONAL RADIO HALL OF FAME
January 13, 2012 – Bridgeport, CT—Radio personality Bob Crane, who also portrayed Colonel Robert E. Hogan in the television series Hogan’s Heroes, has been nominated posthumously for induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame for his extensive work in broadcasting.
Crane’s nomination is endorsed by WICC-600 AM radio in Bridgeport, CT, the Connecticut Broadcasting History organization and several of his radio colleagues.
Nominations for the National Radio Hall of Fame are accepted through March 1 of each year, and individuals are judged and selected based on their overall achievements and contributions to radio and broadcasting. The ballot of this year’s official nominees will be announced in June or July 2012, and voting will be open to the public during the late summer on the National Radio Hall of Fame Web site. Those selected for induction will be announced in November 2012.
Bob Crane’s work in radio spanned three decades, and he was one of the first radio personalities to be granted permission by the Broadcast Engineers Union to play his own records. This is one of several changes Crane helped inspire, cementing his reputation as an innovator in the radio industry.
“Bob Crane performed his radio show with split-second timing and the use of various gimmicks and sound effects, many pre-recorded on acetate,” says Carol Ford, campaign manager for Crane’s induction into the Hall of Fame. “For his show to work, he needed to select and play certain records himself, something that had previously only been done by station engineers.”
During his show, Crane played drums, used gimmicks and performed more than 1,000 different voices, all his own creations and often mixed in with songs and paid advertising. Crane’s program consistently ranked at the top of audience market shares on each coast.
Born in Waterbury, CT, in 1928 and raised in Stamford, CT, Crane graduated from high school in 1946. He began his broadcasting career at WLEA in Hornell, NY, in 1950. In 1951, he returned to Connecticut and worked for WBIS in Bristol for three months before moving to WLIZ/WICC in Bridgeport. Crane was also program director for WLEA, WBIS and WICC. In 1956, he relocated to Los Angeles to work for KNX-CBS Radio, where he conducted interviews with approximately 3,000 celebrities, including Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Dick Van Dyke, Bill Cosby and Ronald Reagan. Crane left KNX in 1965 to pursue a career in acting but remained close to radio throughout his life, broadcasting for the U.S. Armed Forces Radio Network in the late 1960s and KMPC in Los Angeles in the 1970s.
On June 29, 1978, Crane was murdered in Scottsdale, AZ, and the crime has never been officially solved. The investigation revealed Crane had had a proclivity to sex with numerous consenting women. Shortly before his death, however, Crane admitted to Reverend Edward Beck, a pastor and addiction counselor, to having a sexual addiction and wanting to break free of it.
“Bob Crane recognized his addiction and had committed to changing for the sake of being a better father to his children, whom he adored,” says Rev. Beck, who had been helping Crane locate a psychiatrist specializing in sexual addiction in Southern California in the days prior to his death. “It’s a tragedy that Bob Crane’s legacy comes down to his murder and addiction, rather than what I believe is his real legacy—a very caring man who was a tremendously talented entertainer.”
A strong supporter of Crane, WICC proudly honors their former morning radioman.
“Bob Crane had a rich history in radio broadcasting,” says WICC Station Operations Manager Curt Hansen. “WICC is proud to have employed Mr. Crane during his early years in radio and openly recognizes his outstanding career achievements well before his addiction became active.”
Ford further contends that Crane’s addiction and murder should not define him, and that his work should speak for itself.
“Bob Crane has been called a radio genius by his colleagues,” she says. “It’s time he receives the proper recognition he deserves.”
In 1988, the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago inducted the first members into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Since then, those who shaped and transformed the radio and broadcasting industry have been honored annually.
For more information and updates, and to hear segments of Crane’s radio program, visit http://www.vote4bobcrane.org
To learn more about the National Radio Hall of Fame, visit http://www.radiohof.org/
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