How did Bob Crane die, anyway?
How did comedian and actor Bob Crane really die? I’ve heard both murder and suicide. Which was it? —WAA03948 SDSTAFF Bricker replies: Even the most determined suicide would find it difficult to end his life by battering himself to death. Actor Bob Crane was beaten to death in 1978 with a blunt object, most likely a camera tripod. The weapon was not found at the crime scene (or anywhere else), so it’s fairly safe to take suicide off the table. Unfortunately, that’s about as far as we can go towards dispelling the mystery surrounding Crane’s death, which as far as the Scottsdale, Arizona, police department is concerned officially remains an unsolved homicide. Millions remembered Crane from the World War II sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, in which he played the clever leader of a plucky band of POWs in a Stalag commanded by the ineffectual Colonel Klink. The show ran for six seasons, from 1965 to 1971, and earned Crane two Emmy nominations. But those who knew of Crane only through his portrayal of
