How Bob Crane Left His Mark in Radio
Original Airdates: June 26-28, 2020
TVC 499.1: Ed plays Part 2 of a three-part conversation with Carol Ford and Linda Groundwater, two of the co-authors (along with Dee Young) of Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography, a comprehensive, cradle-to-grave look at the life and career of the beloved Hogan’s Heroes star whose accomplishments in television and radio are often overshadowed by the brutal nature of his unsolved murder on June 29, 1978 and the tabloid-like coverage of his addiction to sex and porn once that became public knowledge after his death. This week, we look back on Crane’s radio career, from its unlikely start on WLEA in Hornell, Connecticut to his nine-year run (1956-1965) as host and star of the top-rated morning show on KNX Radio in Los Angeles. Crane not only made radio a spectator sport, but pioneered many elements of radio production that remain industry standard today.
Why Bob Crane’s Radio Show Was Really a Spectator Sport
Original Airdates: June 26-28, 2020
TVC 499.2: Ed, Carol Ford, and Linda Groundwater play a few audio clips from some of Bob Crane’s celebrity interviews on his top-rated morning show on KNX Radio in Los Angeles (1956-1965), including a memorable appearance by Jonathan Winters that marked one of the few times when Crane found himself bested on the air.
The Other Bob Crane Show
Original Airdates: June 26-28, 2020
TVC 499.3: Carol Ford and Linda Groundwater, two of the co-authors of Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography, discuss the convoluted history of The Bob Crane Show (NBC, 1975), the ill-fated sitcom that failed to last beyond its thirteen-episode order partly for reasons beyond Crane’s control (and partly because of his own undoing), and how Crane was just beginning to grow as an actor at the time of his murder on June 29, 1978.
Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography includes first-hand insight from more than two hundred people who knew Bob Crane personally and better than most: family members; his friends from Connecticut, including many who knew him as far back as grade school; his colleagues from TV, the theatre, the movies, and, above all, radio; and the addiction counselor whose help Crane sought in an effort to overcome his addiction, in the weeks before he was killed.
