Surely in the annals of sitcom lore, no one's story is more fascinating than that of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane. Paul Schrader's dark biopic Auto Focus (2002) brought to the fore front the legends of Crane's sexual obsessions and in particular his insistence on documenting his sexual exploits, initially with Polaroid snapshots and then with the advent of home movies and video technology - smutty films galore. They all starred Bob Crane and definitely were not a Bing Crosby Production. Knowing the undercurrent that was Crane's Id makes everything he did professionally kinda fascinating to watch. So there's something about these four foxy Go-Go dancers whooping it up to the already kinky These Boots Are Made For Walking, while Crane wails and sweats on the skins - that makes it all the more randy. It kinda feels like a real life version of that Elisha Cook Jr. scene in The Phantom Lady (1944).
From Wikipedia:
In 1950, Crane started his broadcasting career at WLEA in Hornell, New York. He quickly moved to WBIS in Bristol, Connecticut, followed by WICC in Bridgeport, Connecticut. This was a 500-watt operation where he remained until 1956, when the CBS radio network plucked Crane out to help stop his huge popularity from affecting their own station's ratings. Crane moved his family to California to host the morning show at KNX radio in Hollywood. He filled the broadcast with sly wit, drumming, and guests such as Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, and Bob Hope. It quickly became the number-one rated morning show in the LA area, with Crane known as "The King of the Los Angeles Airwaves."
Posted by: Deke | January 18, 2009 at 11:39 PM
I notice that (except for the bass) he's beating four skins here.
Posted by: Dale | January 19, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Here's a Bob Crane radio show from KNX:
http://rapidshare.com/files/265230466/crane1962.mp3
Posted by: Mark Nems | September 07, 2009 at 04:18 PM