Full name, Richard Donald Crenna; born November 30, 1927, in Los Angeles, CA;died of pancreatic cancer, January 17, 2003, in Los Angeles, CA. Actor, director, and producer. Character actor Crenna appeared in more than 70 films over the course of his 66-year career. His earliest performance was at the age of ten on the radio series Boy Scout Jamboree. After making his film debut in 1952 in Pride of St. Louis, Crenna starred in the television series Our Miss Brooks from 1952 to 1956 before landing his breakthroughrole as Luke McCoy on the series The Real McCoys in 1957. In additionto his acting duties, Crenna tried his hand at directing during the fifth and sixth seasons of The Real McCoys. After the popular show ended in 1963, Crenna appeared in the feature film John Goldfarb, Please Come Home in 1964 and starred in the television series Slattery's People from1964 to 1965. He also continued to direct, mostly television episodes of suchseries as The Andy Griffith Show, Wendy and Me, and No Timefor Sergeants. Crenna worked continuously through the 1970s and 1980s, both as an actor and a director. His television series appearances included All's Fair from 1976 to 1977 and It Takes Two from 1982 to 1983.Crenna also appeared in a number of television movies, such as Double Indemnity (1973); Fire in the Sky (1978); Fugitive Family (1980); The Rape of Richard Beck (1985), a performance that garnered him anEmmy Award; and A Case of Deadly Force (1986). Crenna played the roleof police detective Frank Janek in a series of television movies and miniseries, beginning in 1985 with Doubletake and ending in 1994 with TheForget-Me-Not Murders and A Silent Betrayal. His film appearancesin the 1970s and 1980s included A Man Called Noon (1973), Body Heat (1981), The Flamingo Kid (1984), and Summer Rental (1985).He was also known for his performance as Colonel Trautman in the popular Rambo movies that included First Blood in 1982, Rambo: First Blood Part II in 1985, and Rambo III in 1988. Crenna's first producer credit came with the comedy series Make Room for Granddaddy in 1970. He directed numerous television episodes and pilots and also made his television movie directorial debut in 1979 with Better Late Than Never. The hard-working Crenna did not let up in the 1990s, appearing in such feature films asHot Shots! Part Deux, in which he parodied his Colonel Trautman character, and Sabrina. In addition to television movie appearances, including A Place to Be Loved, Jonathan Stone: Threat of Innocence, and 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, Crenna hosted and narrated numerous television specials, such as The Bermuda Triangle: Secrets Revealed, Atlantis: The Lost Continent, and The Seedy Side of Plants. In 2000 Crenna began a recurring role on the television series Judging Amy,a role he continued until his death.
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