A beloved TV star was beaten to death, and evidence pointed toward a suspect.
So, why couldn't police solve Bob Crane's murder?
Keep watching for the reasons.
Before Mel Brooks and Taika Waititi were writing films ridiculing Nazis, "Hogan's Heroes" was
one of the first and most popular programs that took the once feared Nazi regime and
turned it into something to be mocked.
According to Entertainment Weekly, when the show first aired in the fall of 1965, it was
a departure from the contemporary sitcoms out at that time.
Not only did it tackle real-life figures just two decades after the end of World War II
and the defeat of the Third Reich, but the comedy saw its characters outwit their bumbling
antagonists instead of simply reciting bad jokes to a laugh track.
For the show's star, Bob Crane, "Hogan's Heroes" was the break he needed to go from a side
character on well-known sitcoms to carrying one on his own.
When he was first approached about the show, Crane thought the subject matter meant the
series would be a drama set in a Nazi prison camp.
Still, once he understood the tone, Crane took to the role of Colonel Robert Hogan immediately
and made the character a household name.
"Colonel, I will stand for no nonsense, I want some information from you."
"Gosh, you mean there's something the Gestapo doesn't know?"
But like so many other sitcom actors, the program that made him a superstar was the
apex of Crane's career, and it was followed by a steady decline.
For Crane, this career downturn was worsened by his own personal demons, all of which culminated
in his tragic murder in 1978.
Whether money and fame changed Bob Crane's personality or the actor was always obsessed
with sex, money and fame were simply gas on a fire, investigators believe that the actor's
sex addiction played an important role in his eventual murder.
On the set of "Hogan's Heroes," other actors had only positive words for the show's star.
But during the show's original run, despite being married to his high school sweetheart
and parenting three children with his wife, Crane began an affair with two different actresses.
One of the women, Patti Olson, better known by her stage name Sigrid Valdis [SIHG-rihd
VAL-dihs], eventually became his second wife.
However, even a new wife did not stop Crane from having numerous affairs.
According to Reader's Digest, Crane had hundreds of sexual partners during his marriages, but
even those adventures weren't enough for the TV star.
With the help of a video equipment salesperson named John Henry Carpenter, Crane began recording
his sexual escapades.
The actor also took numerous photos of these affairs and compiled them into books.
On the set of his 1973 film "Superdad," Crane even showed some of the photographs he took
to people while filming.
Soon, his private life became the subject of tabloids such as the "National Enquirer."
Robert Crane, son of Bob Crane and his first wife, later defended his father's sex life
telling Entertainment Weekly that all the women he videotaped or had pictures of were
consenting adults.
Sadly, though, Crane's sexual adventures still ended in tragedy.
On June 29, 1978, Bob Crane was found murdered in his apartment in Scottsdale, Arizona.
According to Crane's son Robert, his father told him in their final conversation together
that he wanted to divorce his second wife and get people like Carpenter out of his life.
During the investigation into Crane's murder, all the evidence pointed toward Carpenter.
His rental car was stained with blood that was the same type as Crane's.
However, the lack of a murder weapon hindered the investigation.
It was not until 1992 that John Henry Carpenter was tried for Bob Crane's murder after previously
unseen crime scene photos revealed brain tissue was found in the rental car.
Still, DNA testing came back inconclusive, and a witness said that Carpenter and Crane
were on friendly terms the night before the murder.
Carpenter was acquitted in 1994 and died four years later, leaving the murder unsolved.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Scottsdale detective Barry Vassall suggested that the
outcome could have been different had investigators gotten the, quote, "slam dunk" of an accurate
DNA test.
Sadly, the age of the case and the inconclusive test results meant no conviction came, and
Bob Crane's murder remains officially unsolved decades later.
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available.
Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact
SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).