Bob Crane
I enjoy life. That doesn't mean I don't care.
Frankly, I'm a drummer; and when I wanted to let off steam, I would just go and beat the hell out of my drums.
I like to do an occasional guest spot, but it seems that everybody wants me to go the host route. ABC, NBC, CBS and most of the independents have talked to me about it - Carson himself once asked me if I was interested and added he wouldn't be there forever. But I wouldn't do it for all the money in the world.
Look at 'Bonanza.' If you rely on a gimmick or one big star, you've got a problem.
I don't go for the wild stuff like bell-bottoms.
I don't dig jogging. I've tried, I really have, but I don't get any enjoyment out of jogging.
I'm not slim and trim like Johnny Carson.
Some people never do become a success and then start looking for a crutch.
It's not unusual for my room to be stacked with newspapers gathered during a trip.
You make more money in dinner theaters than on Broadway.
Someone like Van Johnson can spend 52 weeks a year on the road because he doesn't have a family.
All in the Family' changed everything.
Audiences won't buy an Ozzie Nelson walking and talking around about Rickie's new bicycle.
They asked me to test for 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies,' but I didn't want any part of that scene. After all, I get enough of that family thing at home.
Well, I take my drums everywhere I go so I can play them for relaxation.
I had this fantasy. I would be at the Paramount Theater in New York and Louis Prima's drummer falls sick. The theater manager asks, 'Is there a drummer in the house?' I run up on stage and bang instant fame!
People have a weird idea of what happens with a successful series. After it's over they think we just retire to green pastures. Well, it ain't so.
You know what they say: You go on the road and you're out of the business. Out of sight, out of mind. I can't afford that sort of thing.
Maybe, realistically, in a career you have only one hit series. Maybe 'Hogan's' was mine.
Unless you do an Archie and Edith Bunker, there's not much left In TV for husband-wife conversation.
Believe it or not, Jack Lemmon was my inspiration. I saw him in 'Mr. Roberts' at the Stratford theater. I was just 21 or 22 at the time and I thought some day I would like to be an actor.
I always had acting in the back of my mind.
I don't want to sound conceited, but people were intrigued with me and thought I was crazy and the word got around about this wacky disc jockey who could do 10 commercials in 10 minutes - what I did was make fun of the commercials.
Hard comedy goes for the jocular. Hard comedy is basic.
Hard comedy goes for the fences. It's also what you might call take-a-risk comedy because if you don't hit a home run, you might strike out. It's either a belly laugh or it's no go and no show.
I like Johnny Carson because he doesn't hold anything back when he's going for a laugh. Johnny will do anything, say anything, to get his laugh.
The day of the 'Partridge Family' type of show and the 'Brady Bunch' is long gone. The old 'Ozzie and Harriet' days are over.
I really always wanted to be an actor, I guess, but I did enjoy being a disc jockey here in Los Angeles.
When I was on KNX I did a lot of television and motion pictures and as you know I did the 'Donna Reed Show' for two years while I was still a DJ on KNX. In fact when I started 'Hogan's Heroes,' I was still doing my daily show on KNX.
The public thinks there is a lot of money in 'residuals,' but it really isn't that good.
I never would take a role of radio announcer, disc jockey or musician.
I own half a million dollars worth of-houses in California. That's a lot for an unemployed actor.
I work best under pressure. At home I look at a script for about 10 minutes then I get distracted bymy records, or my tape, or my videotape machine, or Scotty.
Working at Disney makes you aware of the family image of the studio. There are no naughty words used on the set like there were on the all-male cast of 'Hogan's Heroes.'
When I blow a line at Disney I say, 'Oh fudge,' instead of what is really on mind.
Look, I love to sit in with small groups and play the drums. What's wrong with that?
If you'll notice, we don't have any real out and out jokes on 'Hogan.' Basically the program is drama.
I remember Jerry Lewis said once that when small, he was the nutty kid in his neighborhood and I was the same way.
I know that when I've passed the Jim Nabors set at our studio, I call out 'Hi Gomer,' and I can't honestly think of his real name.
People used to think I was out of my mind.
Wit is a comic's defense weapon.
If someone's winning an argument wih me, I throw a funny line at him and run.
For a girl to be an actress, she must be like a man, competitive, hard, un-feminine.
I can't sit still. It drives me up the wall.
People look upon a person in TV as someone they can see for nothing. This is carried over in casting pictures. They're afraid; they will not cast a TV lead to be a lead in a movie.
The way I look at it, you've got to quit your TV series before they'll consider you in movies.
I feel the really big stars are in movies, not TV.
I turned down more offers to be Jack Paar or Johnny Carson or Steve Allen before the people on the 'Donna Reed Show' gave me a chance to earn while I learned.
People keep saying that I'm lucky to be naturally funny, that I don't have to work at it. They are wrong. I work very hard.
I learn by admiring others, listening and correcting what wouldn't be right for me.