The murder of Bob Crane has been unsolved for almost forty years, and it continues to cast a shadow over Hollywood and beyond. Almost 50 years ago, on June 29, 1978, the Hogan’s Heroes star was found bludgeoned to death. A medical examiner concluded that the ligature around his neck was likely used to strangle him.
While the autopsy found that Crane died from a blow to the head, renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter speculates that the events leading up to the actor’s cold murder are more sinister than the murder itself.
Bob Crane Cause Of Death
Patricia Olson, who co-starred with Bob Crane on Hogan’s Heroes, was one of Crane’s mistresses. In 1970, she became his second wife, and they went on to raise two kids together. Crane’s marriage and career both suffered as a result of his se*ual activities being reported in the tabloids. He took the few chances he had and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, where he was eventually found dead on the set of his own play.
Actor Bob Crane was #BornOnThisDay July 13,1928. Remembered for his role in TV’s Hogan’s Heroes (1965-’71). Passed in 1978 (age 49) Crane was #murdered, bludgeoned to death, the victim of a #homicide. The murder remains officially unsolved. #RIP #gonetoosoon #unsolvedmysteries pic.twitter.com/NXzfKIRKri
— Dr. Buzz aka J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner (@DrBuzz_Forensic) July 13, 2023
Crane’s body was discovered on June 29, 1978, by his co-star Victoria Ann Berry, who immediately dialed 911. His kid was scheduled to arrive that day for a visit. Crane’s injuries were too severe for police to identify him positively, so they tracked down the apartment’s lessee, Ed Beck, manager of the Windmill Dinner Theater.
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There was a serious lack of protocol at the murder site of Bob Crane. While the Maricopa County Medical Examiner climbed over Crane’s body and shaved his head to examine the wounds, Berry was given multiple opportunities to use the phone. Crane’s son Robert was also granted access to the ground-floor apartment.
“He was two weeks shy of 50,” recalled Robert. “He says, ‘I am making changes. I’m divorcing Patti.’ He wanted to lose people like John Carpenter, who had become a pain in the butt. He wanted a clean slate.”
Crane’s s*x life was documented with the help of John Carpenter, regional Sony sales manager, who lent him cameras and other equipment. Carpenter was supposedly infuriated when Crane’s work dried up, and the women who had previously landed on his lap stopped doing so. Robert is convinced that Carpenter is the one responsible for his father’s death.
“They had a breakup, of sorts,” said Robert of an angry altercation between the two men on the night Crane died. “Carpenter lost it. He was being rejected; he was being spurned like a lover. There are eyewitnesses that night at a club in Scottsdale that said they had an argument, John and my dad.”
Who Shot And Killed The Star Of Hogan’s Heroes?
Bob Crane may have known his assailant because there were no signs of forced entry. Blood matching Crane’s kind was found on the rental car door that John Carpenter had used. The night before, Carpenter was said to have gotten into an argument with Crane, making him a top candidate. But because there was no murder weapon or DNA evidence, he was not arrested.
Bob Crane Career
Crane began his radio career at several stations in New York, including WLEA in Hornell, WBIS in Bristol, WICC in Bridgeport, and WEEI in Boston. Following his popularity in the East, KNX in Los Angeles offered him the morning show in 1956, where he became known as “The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves.”
His presentation was full of clever humor, percussion, and occasionally A-list celebrities. Stars including Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope appeared on his show, which had the highest ratings of any morning program in Los Angeles.
However, Crane aimed higher and looked for acting roles. He was offered the job of replacing Johnny Carson on “Who Do You Trust?” but declined it. He also appeared on “The Twilight Zone,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” and “General Electric Theater.”
Crane convinced Carl Reiner, a guest on the KNX show, to have him appear on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” the next year, 1961. Here, Donna Reed discovered him and cast him as Dr. Dave Kelsey, her next-door neighbor on the show from 1963 to 1965. He has supporting roles in the dramatic films “Man-Trap” and “Return to Peyton Place.”
