Robert Edward Crane[1] (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American actor, drummer, radio personality and disc jockey known for starring in the CBS sitcom Hogan's Heroes.

Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his Scottsdale, Arizona, apartment while on tour in June 1978 for a dinner theater production of Beginner's Luck.

Crane's previously uncontroversial public image suffered due to the suspicious nature of his death and posthumous revelations about his personal life.

[3] Bob Crane was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, the younger of two sons to Rose Mary (née Ksenich) and Alfred Thomas Crane—the original spelling of the family name was Crean.

He soon moved to Connecticut stations WLAD in Danbury, WBIS in Bristol and then WICC in Bridgeport, a 1,000-watt operation with a signal covering the northeastern portion of the New York metropolitan area.

In Los Angeles, Crane filled the broadcast with sly wit, drumming and such guests as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope.

[2] In 1965, Crane was offered the starring role in a CBS television sitcom set in a World War II POW camp.

Crane divorced Terzian in 1970, just before their 21st anniversary, and married Olson on the set of the show later that year, with series co-star Richard Dawson serving as best man.

[16] In 1968, Crane and Hogan co-stars Werner Klemperer, Leon Askin and John Banner appeared with Elke Sommer in a feature film, The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz, set in the divided city of Berlin during the Cold War.

[20] During the run of Hogan, Dawson introduced Crane to John Henry Carpenter, a regional sales manager for Sony Electronics who often helped famous clients with their video equipment.

[23] During their friendship, Carpenter became national sales manager at the consumer electronics company Akai and arranged his business trips to coincide with Crane's touring schedule, allowing the two to continue videotaping their sexual encounters.

[24] In June 1978, Crane was living in the Winfield Place Apartments in Scottsdale during a run of Beginner's Luck at the Windmill Dinner Theatre.

On the afternoon of June 29, his co-star Victoria Ann Berry entered his apartment after he failed to show up for a lunch meeting, and discovered his body.

Pallbearers included Hogan producer Edward Feldman, co-stars Robert Clary and Larry Hovis, and Crane's son Scotty.

They presented evidence that Carpenter and Crane were still on good terms, including witnesses from the restaurant where the two men had dined the evening before the murder.

They noted that the murder weapon had never been identified or found; the prosecution's camera tripod theory was sheer speculation, they said, based solely on Carpenter's occupation.

[35] Other potential suspects proposed by Carpenter's attorneys included angry husbands and boyfriends of the women, and an actor who had sworn vengeance after a violent argument with Crane in Texas several months earlier.

[39] After the trial, Crane's son Robert David speculated publicly that Patricia Olson might have had a role in instigating the crime.

[40] Maricopa County District Attorney Rick Romley responded, "We never characterized Patty as a suspect," adding, "I am convinced John Carpenter murdered Bob Crane.

[39] In November 2016, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office permitted Phoenix television reporter John Hook to submit the 1978 blood samples from Carpenter's rental car for retesting, using a more advanced DNA technique than the one used in 1990.

Hook's investigation turned up two blood vials, samples from Crane and Carpenter, located in evidence storage at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

The film is based on the book by The Murder of Bob Crane author Robert Graysmith and was described as "brilliant" by critic Roger Ebert.

It portrays Crane as a happily married, church-going family man who succumbs to Hollywood's celebrity lifestyle after becoming a television star.