Bob Crane Net Worth, Relationships, Age/Birthdate & Birthday Facts

Bob Crane Net Worth, Relationships, Age/Birthdate & Birthday

Bob Crane is an American actor and former radio personality best known for his starring role in the sitcom Hogan’s Heroes.

Introduction

Bob Crane emerged from a modest upbringing to become one of television’s most recognizable faces as Colonel Robert E. Hogan. Born July 13, 1928, his age/birthdate anchors his life story, and his birthday—July 13—marks the start of a journey through radio, television and dinner-theatre. At the time of his death his estimated net worth was approximately $150,000.  His relationships—including two marriages—reflect both the personal and professional dimensions of his life in the spotlight.

Quick Facts (Table Summary)

From Mid-Connecticut Drummer to Television Icon

Growing up in Waterbury, Connecticut, and later Stamford, Bob Crane began his entertainment journey early—playing drums at age 11 and performing in youth orchestras.  After high school he served in the Connecticut Army National Guard and then pivoted into radio—starting in smaller markets before landing at KNX in Los Angeles where his morning show became one of the most listened-to in town. 
His transition to television came in the early 1960s, culminating when he was cast as Colonel Hogan in the World-War-II-set sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. The show not only made him a household name but got him two Emmy nominations in 1966 and 1967. 

Defining moments in Bob Crane’s journey include:

• Launching his radio career and rising to top-rated status in Los Angeles

• Securing the lead role in Hogan’s Heroes, which ran a successful six-season span 

• Transitioning into dinner-theatre and touring productions as his television work began to taper

• His tragic death in Scottsdale pointing to the pressures of fame and personal life 

The Core Pillars of Bob Crane’s Wealth

While measured at just ~$150,000 at the time of his death according to CelebrityNetWorth, the value target reflects his later-career decline and the fact that many residual deals from that era were modest compared to modern standards. 

Relationships & Family Life

Bob Crane’s personal life combined Hollywood glamour with home-town roots. He married his high-school sweetheart, Anne Terzian, in 1949; together they had three children: Robert David, Deborah Anne and Karen Leslie Crane. As his television fame rose, his relationship with co-star Patricia Olson (stage name Sigrid Valdis) deepened. After divorce from Terzian in 1970, Crane married Olson later that same year; they welcomed a son, Robert Scott, and adopted a daughter, Ana Marie. 
The marriage to Olson entered a period of separation by 1977, and at the time of his death in June 1978, Crane was reportedly in the process of divorce proceedings. 

Key insights into Bob Crane’s relationships and personal life:

• His first marriage spanned the entire rise of his radio and early TV career, anchoring him personally while his professional world expanded.

• His second marriage to Olson began amid the peak of Hogan’s Heroes, and blended co-star dynamics with public visibility.

• Reports and later investigation into his private life revealed complexities—some tied to his social circle and lifestyle—which have become part of his legacy. 

Lifestyle, Assets & Interests

Beyond career success, Bob Crane led a lifestyle that reflects both passion and purpose, including:

• A serious musical interest: from drumming in youth orchestras to occasional studio work during his radio years. 

• Ownership of touring dinner-theatre rights (e.g., Beginner’s Luck) and performance tours across the U.S., particularly in the 1970s. 

• A fascination with emerging home-video / recording equipment and amateur recording—reportedly part of his private off-screen pursuit. 

• A home base during touring in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he lived during dinner-theatre runs and where his life ultimately ended. 

While there’s limited reliable public information about high-value real-estate holdings or luxury vehicles, the modest net-worth figure suggests that despite his fame, Crane’s financial footprint remained relatively restrained compared to latter-day television stars.

Net Worth Breakdown & Analysis

Crane’s wealth snapshot at the end of his life can be broken down as follows:

Analysis:

• The modest total underscores how even a well-known star from the 1960s era could have limited long-term earnings compared to modern actors, especially if their post-peak career struggled.

• While residuals from Hogan’s Heroes were expected, they may have been modest or delayed, thereby limiting immediate wealth accumulation.

• Touring dinner-theatre may have produced income but also operational costs (travel, production) that limited net-gain.

• The disparity between his high-profile status and low net worth highlights a cautionary tale about fame, earnings and legacy planning.

Public Image, Legacy & Influence

Bob Crane remains a figure of enduring fascination: beloved for his portrayal of the charismatic Colonel Hogan; and enigmatic for his post-peak years and tragic death. His public image is shaped by several intersecting factors:

• As a star of a popular sitcom that captured Cold-War-era humor and mainstream appeal, he is often cited in retrospectives of television’s golden age. 

• His transition from radio to television exemplifies the mid-20th-century media-personality climb—from local DJ to national entertainer.

• Because of his unresolved murder and revelations about his personal life, his legacy is also tinged with darker undertones—adding to his cultural mystique. 

• Among fans and in pop culture he remains symbolic of a bygone era of television—a bridge between radio stars and television leads, and thereafter to live-theatre performers.

In industry terms, while he did not leave a vast empire or media conglomerate behind, Crane’s influence occurs in the way his career arcs mirror shifts in entertainment—from radio to TV to stage—and how personal life, choices and fortune can shape long-term remembrance.

Conclusion

Bob Crane’s birthdate of July 13, 1928 frames the arc of a life that rose from Connecticut youth drumming in local bands, to Los Angeles radio success, to national television stardom in Hogan’s Heroes. His estimated net worth of around $150,000 paints a picture of financial success that was modest by comparably famous standards—yet the richness of his career, relationships and cultural presence runs deeper than the figure alone suggests. His relationships—with Anne Terzian, then Patricia Olson (Sigrid Valdis)—and his birthday of July 13 serve as lasting way-markers in his personal story. Though his life was cut tragically short, the legacy of Bob Crane endures—in reruns, biography and the peculiar mix of fame and fragility that defined his world.