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Show ENTERTAINMENT The mmk Rim Qy Wtett! Not-So-Hap- py Life of Bob Crane MUSHROOM GARDEN FOR THE GOURMET By PEER J. OPPENHEIMER mm TWENTY years ago, gave up the job he loved for the girl he loved. Bob He went on to become one of radio's most successful disc jockeys, then achieved tv success as the star of "Hogan's Heroes." Now, at 40, his marriage has collapsed. He's unhappy with his successes. Worse, he seems pessimistic about the future. In a word, the wisecracking star is going through an unhappy chapter of his life. As a schoolboy in Waterbury, Conn., Crane had only one ambition to be a drummer. And as with most of his ambitions, he achieved it, starting at 14 in a burlesque house and becoming a band drummer by 20. He fell in love then and quit the music world "I took a good look at the kind of life I was leading and decided that traveling all over the country was no life for a married man." Crane took on new ambitions radio and a solid family life. Poorly educated, he virtually had to learn English in courses, but his wisecracking talent soon was earning him $50,000 a year. His family grew a son, now 18. and two daughters, 8 and 9 years old. Radio soon palled on Crane, and he turned to acting at first minor roles, then featured ones (as a wisecracking character) in "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "The Donna Reed .Show." Then came "Hogan's Heroes" and more wisecracking but with a difference. During the filming of an early show, John Ford, the movie director who helped make John Wayne famous, appeared on the set in time to see Crane stumble over a chair. Ford roared with laughter "Just like Duke," he said, referring to Wayne by his nickname. "He couldn't get out of the way of his own feet, either." The remark snapped something in Crane's mind. When he delivered a line after that, it was with the laconic authority that Wayne has made famous. It helped make famous, too, Hogan the American prisoner of war who always has a comeback in the ready. It seemed as if everything happy-go-luck- Jf -c .- ' y, aft TOME . s398 You'll be the hostess with the mostess when you serve mushrooms. Any meal is a gourmet's delight! 14 x 10" kit comes complete with instructions and is amazingly simple: nothing to plant, no seeds to sew, just water the tray and watch them grow! First crop ready in 30 days. Thousands of spores give repeat crops for over six weeks. Educational! fresh-picke- Crane set out to da, he did. Then things started going sour. A magazine published an account of his marriage of 20 years, using it to show that a happy marriage could survive show business. "I kept telling the reporter, 'Don't rock the boat just don't rock the boat!' But he did, and look where I am now !" As far as his marriage is concerned, he is headed for divorce. As far as his acting career goes, Crane is clearly disenchanted. He feels Hogan is a stereotype of all the roles he has played before. "I was always the exhibitionist, the nutty drummer in the back of the band. Things really haven't changed much. I want to do movies, good ones. Oh, I've done a few in my lay-operiods, but I'm not them." of proud But even in his personal doldrums, Crane can't resist the wisecrack "Right now it's the Dustin Hoffmans and Dick Benjamins who are in demand for movie adaptations of books like 'Goodbye, Columbus' and 'Portnoy's Complaint.' It's fashionable to be young and Jewish. I'm hitting middle-ag- e and a Catholic. I don't even come from The Bronx!" There's still something irrepressible in Bob Crane the trait that has won him more fans than his wisecracks have. It breaks through the temporary gloom, and you feel that he'll set his sights on seme new goal and achieve it. But right now, he seems to be saying that those were happy days when he toured the country doing what he loved best beating the drums and wisecracking. home-grow- d n $3.98 Kit ff -- Youngsters can learn to add, subtract, with this spaceage marvel! Just set the divide, multiply dials and press button answer lights up on TV like screen. Teaches basic arithmetic, helps instill interest in math. 8306-Komp- mm uter ... $4.98 MAIL 10 DAY 19W GrMnland Studiot GreenLancI STudios 1391 Greenland Bldg., Miami, Fla. 33054 Rush me item listed below. I understand if I am not completely satisfied with any item I can return it within 10 days tor a full and complete refund. Enclosed is check or m.o. for Mushroom Kits 3 $3.98 85 post. e.) $4.98 (Add 45 post. Komputert Family Weekly, August SI, 1969 15 Name Mn Clty (Add &3C6 a COUPON TODAY! NO-RIS- K ) |