Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder

by Robert Crane, Christopher Fryer

Overview

On June 29, 1978, Bob Crane, known to Hogan's Heroes fans as Colonel Hogan, was discovered brutally murdered in his Scottsdale, Arizona, apartment. His eldest son, Robert Crane, was called to the crime scene. In this poignant memoir, Robert Crane discusses that terrible day and how he has lived with the unsolved murder of his father. But this storyline is just one thread in his tale of growing up in Los Angeles, his struggles to reconcile the good and sordid sides of his celebrity father, and his own fascinating life.

Crane began his career writing for Oui magazine and spent many years interviewing celebrities for Playboy—stars such as Chevy Chase, Bruce Dern, Joan Rivers, and even Koko the signing gorilla. As a result of a raucous encounter with the cast of Canada's SCTV, he found himself shelving his notepad and tape recorder to enter the employ of John Candy—first as an on-again, off-again publicist; then as a full-time assistant, confidant, screenwriter, and producer; and finally as one of Candy's pallbearers.

Through disappointment, loss, and heartbreak, Crane's humor and perseverance shine. Beyond the big stars and behind-the-scenes revelations, this riveting account of death, survival, and renewal in the shadow of the Hollywood sign makes a profound statement about the desire for love and permanence in a life where those things continually slip away. By turns shocking and uplifting, Crane is an unforgettable and deeply human story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813169798
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	02/24/2017
Series:	Screen Classics
Pages:	368
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.70(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert Crane is coauthor of My Life as a Mankiewicz: An Insider's Journey through Hollywood, Jack Nicholson: The Early Years, and Bruce Dern: A Memoir, and a contributor to Hal Ashby: Interviews. Christopher Fryer is coauthor of Jack Nicholson: The Early Years and Bruce Dern: A Memoir, and a contributor to Hal Ashby: Interviews.

Table of Contents

Author's Note xi

1 Reveille, 1978 1

2 Oh, Pioneers, 1955-1956 5

3 No Good-byes, 1978 12

4 One Happy Little Family, 1956-1964 15

5 CSL Crime Scene Ineptitude, 1978 34

6 Uncle Daddy, 1964-1965 41

7 Round Up the Usual Suspects, 1978 53

8 Zero to Ninety, 1965-1966 56

9 Seeing Orange, 1978 60

10 Living la Vita Hogan, 1967 63

11 Happy Father's Day, 1978 70

12 Divorce, Tarzana Style, 1968-1969 73

13 Loose Nukes, 1978 79

14 Love in a Time of War, 1969-1970 85

15 Don't Make Waves, 1970-1971 94

16 War Is Over, 1971-1972 102

17 Beacon in the Storm, 1972 107

18 Heeeere's Jackie!!! 1972-1975 109

19 The Family Photo Album, 1975 117

20 Take the Bunny and Run, 1976-1977 122

21 Scottsdale Redux, 1978 127

22 Heeeere's Bobby!!! 1979 137

23 There Ain't No Stinkin' Closure! 1979-1980 143

24 For Members Only, 1981-1982 150

25 Kari, 1982-1985 158

26 Bobby Ten Hats, 1986 171

27 Crane in the Hutch, 1986 179

28 Going to War, 1986-1988 189

29 Full-Fledged Chongo, 1989 197

30 Groundhog Day, Scottsdale, 1990 204

31 Bob's Candy Shoppe, 1990 206

32 John, John, Jack, and Johnny, 1990-1991 213

33 Murder Cases Never Close, 1991 221

34 Planes, Cars, and Roller Coasters, 1991 223

35 Just a Speck, 1992 232

36 Go and Stop, 1992 235

37 The Beat Goes On, 1992-1993 239

38 Hostage No More, 1993 241

39 Adios, Amigo, 1993-1994 252

40 Judgment at Scottsdale, 1994 267

41 Ninety to Zero, 1994-1995 273

42 Yet Another Cold Call, 1996 275

43 Same Shit, Different Century, 2000-2001 280

44 Out of Focus, 2001-2002 286

45 Nature Morte, 2003-2007 303

46 Taps, 2009 307

Acknowledgments 315

Appendix A Bob Crane Interviewed by John Carpenter for an X-Rated "Swingers" Magazine, 1969 317

Appendix B Robert Crane and John Carpenter Telephone Call Transcript, 1978 321

Appendix C Robert Crane's Letter to Sony Pictures Classics Legal Department Addressing Auto Focus Script, 2002 329

Appendix D Robert Crane's Piece for Auto Focus Website, 2002 331

Appendix E HWY III: Bob Crane's Ten Stupid Questions, 2003 333

Index 337

Editorial Reviews

[The story] of a son's quest to understand how his father's life could go so wrong after so much had gone so right.

LA Weekly

This is the tale of a Hollywood kid who wasn't tainted and came out the other side, a bit sad and beaten down but never out. 

Cinema Sentries

Robert Crane's investigation into the murder of his dad and his own life lived in the shadow of the show-business career of Hogan's Heroes' Bob Crane and the fallout from that murder yields a penetrating study in the fundamentally unhealthy, even corrosive impact of celebrityhood. It deserves to sit on book store shelves next to the latest biography of a fatuously famous star.

Kirk Honeycutt

Crane artfully weaves biography and autobiography together in a well-written memoir revolving around the murder of actor, Bob Crane. The narrative seamlessly moves back and forth between the lives of father and son (both connected and apart) as told by the son. It's an intimate, bittersweet look at what children of celebrities truly inherit: moments of privilege in exchange for losing the real parent to their Hollywood persona.

Kelan O' Connell

Crane: Sex, Celebrity and My Father's Unsolved Murder is an enthralling, courageous book; at times deeply poignant written with intelligence, humor and fiercely forthright candor [and is] a densely layered, unique combination of autobiography, biography and true crime mystery. A 'must read' for Bob Crane fans!

Midwest Book Review

Robert Crane and Christopher Fryer's, Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder, is a fascinating tale. First and foremost it's the bittersweet story of Crane's relationship with his popular father, including the period following actor Bob Crane's shocking murder. But Crane is much more than just a son's reminiscence. It's also an insightful account of America in the second half of the twentieth century, spanning the optimism, affluence and westward migration of the postwar era to the solipsism, disillusionment, and self-destruction endemic of the post-Watergate period.

Andrew Erish

Listen: Bob chats with Ed Robertson on "TV Confidential" (Part 2) Listen to part 2 online here

From the Publisher

03/01/2015
Actor Bob Crane's 1978 murder has been written about before (Robert Graysmith's The Murder of Bob Crane: Who Killed the Star of Hogan's Heroes?) and was the subject of a feature film in 2002 (Auto Focus, starring Willem Dafoe and Greg Kinnear), but here the story takes on a personal note—it's written by Crane's eldest son. Bob Crane was an early morning radio DJ in Los Angeles when he was offered the opportunity to play the affable Colonel Hogan in what was to become the wildly popular TV show Hogan's Heroes (1965–71). But there was another aspect to Crane—sex addiction—and his son pulls no punches in revealing his father's darker side. Robert grew up in the shadow of his famous father. He began writing for Oui magazine interviewing celebrities and became the personal assistant for actor John Candy. He weaves his own story into the murder and subsequent investigation over the years that focused on a friend of Crane's and Crane's soon-to-be ex-wife but remains unsolved. VERDICT Celebrity watchers and true-crime aficionados will enjoy this candid, unflinching look at what it's like to grow up the child of a celebrity.—Rosellen Brewer, Sno-Isle Libs., Marysville, WA

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