Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American actor and television director.
Crenna starred in such motion pictures as Made in Paris (1966), Marooned (1969), Breakheart Pass (1975), The Evil (1978), The Flamingo Kid (1984), Summer Rental (1985) and Sabrina (1995). His first success came on radio in 1948 as high school student Walter Denton co-starring with Eve Arden and Gale Gordon in the series Our Miss Brooks. Crenna continued with the comedy in its 1952 move into television. He also starred as Luke McCoy in the television series The Real McCoys (1957–1963). In 1985, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for his portrayal of the title role in The Rape of Richard Beck (1985). He gained further notoriety for his role as Colonel Samuel Richard "Sam" Trautman in the first three Rambo films (1982–1988).
Early life
Crenna was born November 30, 1926, in Los Angeles, the only child of Edith Josephine (née Pollette), who was a hotel manager in Los Angeles, and Domenick Anthony Crenna, a pharmacist. His parents were both of Italian descent. Crenna attended Virgil Junior High School, followed by Belmont Senior High School in Los Angeles, from which he graduated in 1944. He served in the United States Army during World War II, entering the Army in February 1945 and serving until August 1946.
After his Army service, Crenna attended the University of Southern California (USC), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature, and he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity.
Acting career
thumb|right|Crenna and [[Kathleen Nolan in The Real McCoys, 1960]]
Radio years
Crenna got his acting start on radio. In 1937, he had gained his first role, that of "the kid who did everything wrong" on Boy Scout Jamboree, a show on which he continued to appear occasionally in numerous roles until 1948. In the following year, he started playing Walter "Bronco" Thompson on The Great Gildersleeve, a role he played until 1954. He also originated the role of geeky Walter Denton on the radio comedy Our Miss Brooks alongside Eve Arden and Gale Gordon in 1948, and followed that role when the series moved to television in 1952. in the lead role of the episode titled "The Ten Days of John Leslie". In 1955, he was the guest star on The Millionaire in the episode "The Ralph McKnight Story".
thumb|right|Crenna and [[Bernadette Peters in All's Fair, 1976]]
Crenna appeared in 1956 on the television series Father Knows Best in the episode "The Promising Young Man" as a young man named Woody. In 1957, he played a bank robber on Cheyenne (season 2, episode 19).
1960s–1970s
Credited as Dick Crenna, he directed eight episodes of The Andy Griffith Show during its 1963–1964 season, including "Opie the Birdman," "The Sermon for Today," and the Gomer Pyle-instigated "Citizen's Arrest." Crenna also directed "Henhouse," a 1977 episode of Lou Grant. Crenna was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star – Male for this same role in 1965. In 1966, Crenna played beside Steve McQueen as an ill-fated captain of an American gunboat in 1920s China in The Sand Pebbles. The Man Called Noon, and Breakheart Pass. He made a notable performance in Jean-Pierre Melville's final film Un Flic in 1972. In 1976, Crenna returned to weekly network television in the sitcom All's Fair, a political satire co-starring Bernadette Peters. Despite high expectations and good critical reviews, it lasted just a single season. The 1978 miniseries Centennial, based on James A. Michener's historical novel of the same name saw Crenna in the role of deranged religious fanatic Colonel Frank Skimmerhorn, who ordered the 1864 massacre of Colorado American Indians.
Crenna played John Rambo's ex-commanding officer Colonel Sam Trautman, in the first three Rambo films, a role for which he was hired after Kirk Douglas left the production a day into filming. Trautman became the veteran actor's most famous role; his performance received wide critical praise. He also spoofed the character in Hot Shots! Part Deux in 1993.
Crenna starred as NYPD lieutenant of detectives Frank Janek in a series of seven popular made-for-television films, beginning in 1988 and ending in 1994. The character of Janek had originally appeared in a series of novels by William Bayer.
In 2001, Crenna played US President Ronald Reagan in the Showtime film The Day Reagan Was Shot, a fictionalised account of the attempted assassination of Reagan in 1981.
Legacy
Crenna was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6714 Hollywood Boulevard.
Illness and death
Crenna died of heart failure at age 76 on January 17, 2003, in Los Angeles. At the time of his death, he also had pancreatic cancer.
Filmography
Film
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1950
| Let's Dance
| Bit Part
| rowspan="3" | Uncredited
|-
| 1951
| Starlift
| Movie Theater Usher
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1952
| Red Skies of Montana
| Noxon
|-
| The Pride of St. Louis
| Paul Dean
|
|-
| It Grows on Trees
| Ralph Bowen
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1956
| Over-Exposed
| Russell Bassett
|
|-
| Our Miss Brooks
| Walter Denton
|
|-
| 1965
| John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!
| John Goldfarb
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1966
| Made in Paris
| Herb Stone
|
|-
| The Sand Pebbles
| Captain Collins
|
|-
| 1967
| Wait Until Dark
| Mike Talman
|
|-
| 1968
| Star!
| Richard Aldrich
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1969
| Midas Run
| Mike Warden
|
|-
| Marooned
| Jim Pruett
|
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1971
| Doctors' Wives
| Dr. Peter Brennan
|
|-
| The Deserter
| Major Wade Brown
|
|-
| Red Sky at Morning
| Frank Arnold
|
|-
| Catlow
| Marshal Ben Cowan
|
|-
| 1972
| Un flic
| Simon
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1973
| The Man Called Noon
| Noon
|
|-
| Jonathan Livingston Seagull
| Father (voice)
|
|-
| 1975
| Breakheart Pass
| Governor Richard Fairchild
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1978
| Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell
| Mike Barry
|
|-
| The Evil
| C.J. Arnold
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1979
| Stone Cold Dead
| Sergeant Boyd
|
|-
| Wild Horse Hank
| Pace Bradford
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1980
| Death Ship
| Trevor Marshall
|
|-
| Joshua's World
| Dr. Joshua Torrance
|
|-
| 1981
| Body Heat
| Edmund Walker
|
|-
| 1982
| First Blood
| Colonel Samuel R. "Sam" Trautman
|
|-
| 1983
| Table for Five
| Mitchell
|
|-
| 1984
| The Flamingo Kid
| Phil Brody
| Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| Rambo: First Blood Part II
| Colonel Samuel R. "Sam" Trautman
|
|-
| Summer Rental
| Al Pellet
|
|-
| 1988
| Rambo III
| Colonel Samuel R. "Sam" Trautman
|
|-
| 1989
| Leviathan
| Dr. Glen "Doc" Thompson
|
|-
| 1993
| Hot Shots! Part Deux
| Colonel Denton Walters
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| A Pyromaniac's Love Story
| Tom Lumpke
| Uncredited
|-
| Jade
| Governor Lew Edwards
|
|-
| Sabrina
| Patrick Tyson
|
|-
| 1998
| Wrongfully Accused
| Lieutenant Fergus Falls
|-
|
| Legendary Lighthouses
| Narrator
|-
| 2008
| Rambo
| rowspan="2" | Colonel Samuel R. "Sam" Trautman
| rowspan="2" | Archival footage; uncredited
|-
| 2019
| Rambo: Last Blood
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1952
| I Love Lucy
| Arthur Morton
| episode: "The Young Fans"
|-
| 1952–1955
| Our Miss Brooks
| Walter Denton
| 94 episodes
|-
| 1955
| The Millionaire
| Ralph McKnight
| episode: "The Ralph McKnight Story"
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1956
| Frontier
| John Leslie
| episode: "The 10 Days of John Leslie"
|-
| Medic
| Donny
| episode: "Don't Count the Stars"
|-
| Father Knows Best
| Elwood Seastrom
| episode: "The Promising Young Man"
|-
| 1956–1958
| Matinee Theatre
| Sergeant James
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1957
| The Silent Service
| Lieutenant Commander L. L. "Jeff" Davis
| episode: "The U.S.S. Pampanito Story"
|-
| 1957
| Cheyenne
| "Curley" Galway
| episode: "Hard Bargain"
|-
| 1957–1963
| The Real McCoys
| Luke McCoy
| 225 episodes<br />nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series <small>(1959)</small>
|-
| 1960
| The Deputy
| Andy Willis
| episode: "A Time to Sow"
|-
| 1963
| Kraft Suspense Theatre
| Edward Smalley
| episode: "The Long, Lost Life of Edward Smalley"
|-
| 1964–1965
| Slattery's People
| James Slattery
| 36 episodes<br />nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama <small>(1965)</small><br />nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment <small>(1965)</small><br />nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series <small>(1966)</small>
|-
| 1971
| Thief
| Neal Wilkinson
| television film
|-
| 1971–1972
| Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
| Guest Performer
| 3 episodes
|-
| 1972
| Footsteps
| Paddy O'Connor
| rowspan="7" | television film
|-
| 1973
| Double Indemnity
| Walter Neff
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1974
| Nightmare
| Howard Faloon
|-
| Shootout in a One-Dog Town
| Zack Wells
|-
| Double Solitaire
|
|-
| Honky Tonk
| "Candy" Johnson
|-
| 1975
| A Girl Named Sooner
| R.J. "Mac" McHenry
|-
| 1976–1977
| All's Fair
| Richard C. Barrington
| 24 episodes
|-
| 1977
| The War Between the Tates
| Professor Brian Tate
| rowspan="4" | television film
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1978
| Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell
| Mike Barry
|-
| First, You Cry
| David Towers
|-
| A Fire in the Sky
| Jason Voight
|-
| 1978–1979
| Centennial
| Colonel Frank Skimmerhorn
| television miniseries
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1979
| Mayflower: The Pilgrims' Adventure
| William Brewster
| rowspan="5" | television film
|-
| Better Late Than Never
| The Director
|-
| 1980
| Fugitive Family
| Brian Roberts / Matthews
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1981
| The Ordeal of Bill Carney
| Mason Rose
|-
| Daniel Boone
| voice
|-
| Look at Us
| Host
|
|-
| 1982
| The Day the Bubble Burst
| Jesse Livermore
| television film
|-
| 1982–1983
| It Takes Two
| Dr. Sam Quinn
| 22 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1984
| Squaring the Circle
| The Narrator
| rowspan="3" | television film
|-
| London and Davis in New York
| John Greyson
|-
| Passions
| Richard Kennerly
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| The Rape of Richard Beck
| Richard Beck
| television film<br />Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie<br />nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
|-
| Doubletake
| Frank Janek
| television miniseries
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1986
| A Case of Deadly Force
| Lawrence O'Donnell Sr.
| television film
|-
| On Wings of Eagles
| H. Ross Perot
| television miniseries
|-
| The High Price of Passion
| Bill Douglas
| rowspan="12" | television film
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1987
| Police Story: The Freeway Killings
| Deputy Chief Bob Devers
|-
| Kids Like These
| Bob Goodman
|-
| Plaza Suite
| Roy Hubley
|-
| 1988
| Internal Affairs
| Frank Janek
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1989
| The Case of the Hillside Stranglers
| Sergeant Bob Grogan
|-
| Stuck with Each Other
| Bert Medwick
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1990
| Murder in Black and White
| Frank Janek
|-
| Montana
| Hoyce Guthrie
|-
| Last Flight Out
| Dan Hood
|-
| Murder Times Seven
| Frank Janek
|-
| 1991
| And the Sea Will Tell
| Vincent Bugliosi
|-
| 1991–1992
| Pros and Cons
| Mitch O'Hannon
| 12 episodes
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1992
| Intruders
| Dr. Neil Chase
| television miniseries
|-
| Terror on Track 9
| Detective Frank Janek
| rowspan="6" | television film
|-
| 1993
| A Place to Be Loved
| George Russ
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1994
| The Forget-Me-Not Murders
| Frank Janek
|-
| Jonathan Stone: Threat of Innocence
| Jonathan Stone
|-
| Janek: The Silent Betrayal
| Lieutenant Frank Janek
|-
| 1995
| In the Name of Love: A Texas Tragedy
| Lucas Constable Sr.
|-
| 1995–1998
| JAG
| Lieutenant Harmon Rabb Sr.
| 4 episodes
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1996
| Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah
| John Porter
| television film
|-
| Nova
| Narrator
| Episode: B-29: Frozen in Time
|-
| Texas Graces
| Virgil Grace
| rowspan="7" | television film
|-
| rowspan="4" | 1997
| 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
| Professor Aronnax
|-
| Deep Family Secrets
| Clay Chadway
|-
| Heart Full of Rain
| Arliss Dockett
|-
| Cold Case
| Host
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1999
| To Serve and Protect
| Howard Carr
|-
| The Man Who Makes Things Happen: David L. Wolper
| Narrator
|-
| Chicago Hope
| Dr. Martin Rockwell
| episode: "Teacher's Pet"
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Murder, She Wrote: A Story to Die For
| Warren Pierce
| rowspan="2" | television film
|-
| By Dawn's Early Light
| Ben Maxwell
|-
| 2000–2003
| Judging Amy
| Jared Duff
| 13 episodes
|-
| 2001
| The Day Reagan Was Shot
| Ronald Reagan
| rowspan="2" | television film
|-
| 2003
| Out of the Ashes
| Jake Smith
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2014
| Rambo: The Video Game
| Colonel Samuel "Sam" Trautman
| character likeness / uncredited
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Association
! Category
! Nominated work
! Result
|-
| 1959
| Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
| The Real McCoys
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1965
| Golden Globe Awards
| Best Actor – Television Series Drama
| rowspan="3" | Slattery's People
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment
|
|-
| 1966
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
|
|-
| 1984
| rowspan="2" | Golden Globe Awards
| Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
| The Flamingo Kid
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1985
| Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film
| rowspan="2" | The Rape of Richard Beck
|
|-
| Primetime Emmy Awards
| Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
|
|}
Military awards
{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|colspan=3|
|-
|
|
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
|-
| colspan="3"|American Campaign Medal
|-align=center
|Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal