Who Are Those Guys? ~ Richard Crenna

 

Richard Donald Crenna was born in Los Angeles, California on November 30, 1926. the son of Edith J. Pollette Crenna, who was a hotel manager in Los Angeles, and Dominick Anthony Crenna, a pharmacist, both of whom were of Italian ancestry. Crenna attended Virgil Junior High School, followed by Belmont High School in Los Angeles, after which he enrolled in the University of Southern California.

Crenna got his acting start on radio, appearing in My Favorite Husband, Boy Scout Jamboree, A Date With Judy, The Great Gildersleeve, and Our Miss Brooks. He remained with the cast of the latter show when it moved to television.

He guest starred on I Love Lucy with Janet Waldo and on NBC’s 1955-1956 Frontier anthology series in the lead role of the episode entitled “The Ten Days of John Leslie”.

He was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid. Crenna played “Walter Denton” in the CBS radio and CBS-TV network series Our Miss Brooks, and “Luke McCoy” in ABC’s TV comedy series, The Real McCoys, which moved to CBS-TV in September 1962. Crenna was in one of the few TV political dramatic series Slattery’s People on CBS. Crenna played “Colonel Trautman” in the first three Rambo movies. He also played “Frank Skimmerhorn” in the critically acclaimed mini-series Centennial

Crenna appeared in three Euro-westerns and was signed to do two more that were never made. 

Richard Crenna died from pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, California on January 17, 2003.

CRENNA, Richard  (aka Dick Crenna, Richard McKenna) (Richard Donald Crenna) [11/30/1926, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. – 1/17/2003, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. (pancreatic cancer)] – producer, director, film, radio, TV actor, singer, married to Joan Elizabeth Grisham [1927-    ] (1950-1955) father of social worker Seana Crenna [1955-    ], married to Hannah ‘Penni’ Sweeney (1957-2003) father of actor Richard Anthony Crenna [1959-    ], Executive in Charge of Production Maria Crenna [1966-    ].

Five Against Kansas – 1969 (sergeant) [film was never made]

Seven Against Kansas – 1969 [film was never made]

Catlow – 1971 (Deputy Marshal Ben Cowan)

The Deserter – 1971 (Major Wade Brown)

The Man Called Noon – 1973 (Rubal Noon/Jonas Mandin)