Robert Edward Crane was born on 13 July 1928, in Waterbury, Connecticut USA, to Rosemary and Alfred Crane, of Irish and Russian descent. He was an actor, drummer, radio host and disc jockey, best known for starring as Colonel Robert E. Hogan in the television sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes”. He was murdered in 1978.
So just how wealthy was Bob Crane? According to sources, Crane had collected a net worth of over $250,000, acquired through his involvement in radio and television.
Bob Crane Net Worth $250,000
Crane’s family moved to Stamford, Connecticut during his childhood years, where he attended Stamford High School, matriculating in 1946. In 1948 he joined the US National Guard, being discharged two years later.
While still in high school, Crane had become a skilled drummer, however, during the early ’50s, he switched his focus to radio, landing his first radio job at WLEA in Hornell, New York, soon becoming the program director. Several months later, he returned to Connecticut and briefly served as morning personality and program director at WBIS in Bristol. He then began working at WLIZ in Bridgeport, soon being sent to its newly bought station, WICC, also in Bridgeport, where he hosted his morning show, in addition to being the station’s program director. Crane became a popular radio personality. All contributed to his net worth.
In the mid-’50s he was hired by CBS Radio to host the morning show at its Los Angeles station KNX, so he moved to Hollywood and began hosting “The Bob Crane Show”. His radio program became a huge success, topping the morning ratings, and bringing in guests such as Frank Sinatra, Marvin Gaye, Marilyn Monroe and Bob Hope as well. Due to his own personality and humor, Crane became known as ‘king of the Los Angeles Airwaves’, and was also named ‘Man of a Thousand Voices’, due to his brilliant voice impersonations. In addition to being a major celebrity interviewer and a skilled voice impersonator, he also frequently performed on drums in his show. His wealth grew much larger.
In the early ’60s, at the height of his successful radio career, Crane began making television guest appearances in shows like “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Twilight Zone”, and went on to appear in the films “Return to Peyton Place” and “Man-Trap”. Opportunities continued to come his way and he landed a role in the popular “The Donna Reed Show”, playing Dr. Dave Kelsey for two years, establishing a reputation in the acting world and increasing his net worth.
In 1965 he was cast in a new CBS sitcom called “Hogan’s Heroes”, a comedy about a group of POWs in a Nazi prison camp, to play the lead part as Colonel Robert Hogan. The show became a great hit, finishing in the US TV top 10, earning Crane two Emmy Awards and cementing his reputation in Hollywood. He remained on the show for six seasons, until its cancellation in 1971. Aside from reinforcing his status in showbiz, the show significantly improved Cranes fortune.
After “Hogan’s Heroes” ended, Crane went on to land numerous other roles by the end of the decade, such as in the films “Superdad” and “Gus”, and in TV series like “Tenafly”, “Police Woman”, “Ellery Queen” and “The Love Boat”. He also starred in the short-lived NBC sitcom “The Bob Crane Show”, further expanding his wealth. He gained extensive theater experience too, starring in stage productions such as “Send Me No Flowers”, “Cactus Flower”, “Tunnel of Love” and “Beginner’s Luck”.
In 1978 Crane was murdered in a Scottsdale hotel room, a crime which remains a mystery.
In his personal life, Crane was married twice, firstly from 1949 to 1970 to Anne Terzian, with whom he had three children. In 1970 he married actress Patricia Olson, professionally known by her stage name Sigrid Valdis, who co-starred with him in “Hogan’s Heroes”. They had two children together. Although the couple separated in 1977, they reportedly reconciled shortly before his death.
Crane was involved in philanthropy, having supported organizations such as the Cerebral Palsy Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Fund Drive and the Arthritis and Rheumatism Foundation.
