Robert Edward Crane (July 13, 1928 â June 29, 1978) was an American actor, drummer, radio personality, and disc jockey known for starring in the CBS situation comedy Hogan’s Heroes.
Crane was a drummer from age 11, and he began his entertainment career as a radio personality, first in New York City and then in Connecticut. He then moved to Los Angeles, where he hosted the number-one rated morning radio show. In the early 1960s, Crane moved into acting, eventually landing the lead role of Colonel Robert Hogan in Hogan’s Heroes. The series aired from 1965 to 1971, and Crane received two Emmy Award nominations.
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. The homicide remains officially unsolved. His previously uncontroversial public image suffered due to the suspicious nature of his death, and posthumous revelations about his personal life.
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