Bob Crane's Net Worth and Salary
Bob Crane was an American actor and disc jockey who had a net worth of $150 thousand at the time of his death. He was best known for starring on the television show "Hogan's Heroes," appearing in all 168 episodes. For "Hogan's Heroes," he was nominated for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 1966 and 1967.
In the 1970s, his career started to decline, but he starred as Bob Wilcox on "The Bob Crane Show" in 1975 and appeared in various films such as "Return to Peyton Place," "Man-Trap," "The New Interns," "The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz," "Superdad," and "Gus." His last role was in a 1978 episode of "The Love Boat." After his TV career, Crane became a regular in the dinner theater scene. Tragically, he was murdered on June 29, 1978, at the age of 49, a crime that revealed several of his prior controversial activities.
Early Life
Bob Crane was born on July 13, 1928, in Waterbury, Connecticut, as the younger of two sons to Alfred and Rose Crane. He grew up in Stamford, where he began playing drums at the age of 11 and organized local drum and bugle parades. In his teen years, he played in the orchestra and band at Stamford High School and with the youth program of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra. After graduating, Crane served in the Connecticut Army National Guard.
Career Beginnings in Radio
Crane began his career in 1950 as a radio broadcaster at WLEA in Hornell, New York. He later joined WBIS in Bristol, Connecticut, and then WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut. By 1956, CBS Radio had hired him to host the morning show at KNX in Los Angeles, California, where he gained fame for his on-air wit and drumming, swiftly topping morning ratings among adult listeners.
Television Career
Transitioning to television in the early '60s, Crane appeared in episodes of "The Twilight Zone", "General Electric Theater", "The Dick Van Dyke Show", "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", and "Channing." His first regular role came from 1963 to 1965, playing Dr. David Kelsey on "The Donna Reed Show."
Crane's fame escalated when he played US Army Air Forces Colonel Robert Hogan on CBS's "Hogan's Heroes," a World War II POW camp sitcom that co-starred actors Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Robert Clary, and Richard Dawson. The show was a major hit, running for six seasons until 1971 and earning Crane two Emmy nominations.
While on "Hogan's Heroes," Crane guest-starred on shows like "The Red Skelton Show" and "Love, American Style." Post "Hogan's Heroes," he appeared on "The Delphi Bureau," "Tenafly," "Police Woman," "Ellery Queen," "Spencer's Pilots," "Gibbsville," "Quincy, M.E.," and "The Love Boat." In 1975, Crane attempted to re-establish his sitcom career with "The Bob Crane Show," but it was canceled after 13 episodes due to poor ratings.
Salary
During his tenure at KNX, Bob Crane earned an unprecedented $75,000 per year, roughly equivalent to $800,000 annually in today's dollars. In the early 1960s, his dual salaries from both radio and "The Donna Reed Show" amounted to an equivalent of $1.6 million per year today. Although his exact salary from "Hogan's Heroes" is unknown, Crane's cumulative earnings made him a wealthy man, though this fortune dwindled after multiple divorces and a decline in his career by the 1970s.
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Film Career
Bob Crane's film career featured a handful of roles. His debut role was in the 1961 neo-noir "Man-Trap." He later starred in "The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz," alongside "Hogan's Heroes" co-stars Werner Klemperer, John Banner, and Leon Askin. Crane's final film roles came in the Disney comedies "Superdad" and "Gus," released in 1973 and 1976, respectively.
Dinner Theater
Following the end of "Hogan's Heroes," Crane purchased the rights to the comedy play "Beginner's Luck" and began directing and starring in it on the dinner theater circuit. He toured the play to various cities, such as St. Petersburg, Florida; La Mirada, California; and Scottsdale, Arizona.
Relationships
In 1949, Crane married his high school sweetheart Anne Terzian, and they had three children: Robert, Deborah, and Karen. The couple divorced in 1970 due to Crane's affair with "Hogan's Heroes" co-star Cynthia Lynn. Crane subsequently married Sigrid Valdis, who replaced Lynn on the show. They married on the show's set, with co-star Richard Dawson serving as the best man. Crane and Valdis had a son named Scotty and an adopted daughter named Ana. Although they separated in 1977, they remained married.
Murder and Investigation
On June 29, 1978, Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona. The lack of clues and absence of a homicide division in Scottsdale made the investigation difficult. However, detectives found Crane's extensive collection of personal videotapes documenting his sexual activities, leading them to John Henry Carpenter, a Sony Electronics regional sales manager and friend of Crane's. Blood matching Crane's type was found in Carpenter's car, but due to the lack of DNA testing at the time, the case was inconclusive, and charges were not pursued. Carpenter was arrested in 1992 but was ultimately acquitted in a 1994 trial, leaving Crane's murder officially unsolved.
Auto Focus
Bob Crane's life and murder were depicted in the 2002 film "Auto Focus," directed by Paul Schrader and based on the book by Robert Graysmith. The film starred Greg Kinnear as Crane and Willem Dafoe as Carpenter. Although it received generally positive reviews, Bob Crane's son Scotty criticized the film for its inaccurate portrayal of his father.
