Biography
After receiving his start in radio while in his preteens, Crenna first gained widespread notoriety on the early television classic "Our Miss Brooks" (CBS, 1952-56), as the klutzy, nasally-voiced Walter Denton. He made small early appearances in several films, in addition to his work on the ongoing series, followed by a lengthy run on yet another successful sitcom "The Real McCoys" (ABC/CBS, 1957-1963). Crenna later redefined his career with …
Latest Tv Credits
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Career Milestones
| Began career as a guest actor and sometime regular on such radio series as "Boy Scout Jamboree" (at age 10), "A Date With Judy", "Burns and Allen", "The Hardy Family", "The Great Gildersleeve", "Our Miss Brooks" | ||
| Began directing TV with the fifth and sixth seasons of "The Real McCoys" | ||
| Co-starred as Richard Barrington opposite Bernadette Peters on the CBS sitcom, "All's Fair" | ||
| Co-starred opposite James Earl Jones on the short-lived detective comedy spinoff from "Gabriel's Fire", "Pros and Cons" | ||
| Debuted as a producer on the sitcom, "Make Room for Granddaddy", starring Danny Thomas in a reprise of the role he played on "Make Room for Daddy" (1953-57) and "The Danny Thomas Show" (1957-64) | ||
| Directed episodes of "The Andy Griffith Show," "No Time for Sergeants" and "Wendy and Me" | ||
| Directed episodes of the TV sitcoms, "Wendy and Me" (1964-65), "No Time for Sergeants" (1964-65) and "The Andy Griffith Show", as well as the comedy pilot, "Cap'n Ahab" (1965) in the mid-1960s | ||
| Directed such TV pilots as "The Cheerleaders" (1976), "Marie" (1979), "The Hoyt Axton Show" (1981), and "Allison Sidney Harrison" (1983), and episodes of such series as "Grandpa Goes to Washington", "Rosetti and Ryan", "The Rockford Files," "Turnabout" and "Lou Grant" | ||
| Hosted the syndicated news magazine show, "Look at Us" | ||
| Played idealistic state representative James Slattery on the CBS drama series, "Slattery's People" | ||
| Played tough police detective Lt. Frank Janek in a series of TV-movies and miniseries: "Doubletake" (1985), "Internal Affairs" (1988), "Murder in Black and White" (1990), "Murder Times Seven" (1990), "Terror on Track 9" (1992), "The Forget-Me-Not Murders" (1994) and "A Silent Betrayal" (1994) | ||
| Starred as Luke McCoy on the popular sitcom, "The Real McCoys" | ||
| Starred opposite Patty Duke as Dr. Sam Quinn on the ABC sitcom, "It Takes Two" | ||
1952 | Screen acting debut, "Pride of St. Louis" | |
1952 | TV series acting debut, as problem student Walter Denton on "Our Miss Brooks" (he later played in the 1956 film based on the series) | |
1964 | Played the title role in his first feature film in eight years, "John Goldfarb, Please Come Home", co-starring Shirley Maclaine | |
1966 | Appeared opposite Steve McQueen in "The Sand Pebbles" | |
1966 | Founded Pendick Enterprises | |
1967 | Appeared as a burglar terrorizing blind Audrey Hepburn in the thriller "Wait Until Dark" | |
1967 | Co-starred in the romantic comedy "Made in Paris" | |
1968 | Starred opposite Julie Andrews in the musical biopic "Star!" | |
1969 | Starred as part of the team of stranded astronauts in the space adventure "Marooned" | |
1969 | Starred in the crime caper comedy "A Run on Gold" | |
1970 | Starred in the medical drama "Doctors' Wives" opposite Dyan Cannon, Gene Hackman and Carroll O'Connor | |
1971 | Appeared with Yul Brenner and Leonard Nimoy in the Louis L'Amour Western "Catlow" | |
1973 | Played the Fred MacMurray role in ABC telepic remake of "Double Indemnity" | |
1973 | Provided a voice for the film adapatation of Richard Bach's popular novel "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" | |
1973 | Starred in the Western "A Man Called Noon" | |
1975 | Appeared with Charles Bronson and Jill Ireland in the Western "Breakheart Pass" | |
1977 | Starred the the supernatural horror film "The Evil" | |
1978 | Headlined NBC's meteor disaster thriller "A Fire in the Sky" | |
1979 | Appeared in the she-Western "Wild Horse Hank" | |
1979 | Appeared in the thriller "Death Ship" | |
1979 | Starred in the action film "Stone Cold Dead" | |
1979 | TV movie directing debut, "Better Late Than Never" | |
1981 | Appeared as Kathleen Turner's doomed husband in writer-director LAwrence Kasdan's "Body Heat" | |
1981 | Provided the voice of the title character for the animated children's adventure special, "Daniel Boone" | |
1982 | Co-starred opposite Sylvester Stallone's Rambo character as Col. Trautman in "First Blood" | |
1983 | Co-starred with Jon Voight in the drama "Table for Five" | |
1984 | Had an acclaimed turn as the slick gin rummy country club champ Phil Brody opposite Matt Dillon in "The Flamingo Kid" | |
1985 | Appeared with John Candy in the comedy "Summer Rental" | |
1985 | Portrayed a sexually assaulted police officer in the ABC telepic "The Rape of Richard Beck"; later earned an Emmy as best actor in a TV movie | |
1985 | Reprised Trautman for "Rambo: First Blood Part II" | |
1986 | Narrated the feature documentary, "50 Years of Action!", Made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Directors Guild of America | |
1986 | Played H. Ross Perot in NBC's mini-series adaptation of Ken Follet's best-seller "On Wings of Eagles," documenting Perot's funding of a mission to rescue two of his employees trapped in Iran in 1979 | |
1987 | Appeared in ABC's TV adaptation of Neil Simon's "Plaza Suite" opposite Carol Burnett | |
1988 | Began lucrative side career as a host and narrator for television specials, including "Mort Sahl: The Loyal Opposition" (1989), "Circus of the Stars" (1990), "The Bermuda Triangle" (1994), A&E's "Las Vegas" (1996), "Cold Case" (1997), "The I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Special" (2001) | |
1988 | Last outing as Trautman for "Rambo III" | |
1989 | Appeared in the horror thriller "Leviathan" | |
1989 | Starred as Det. Bob Grogan in NBC's detective drama "The Case of the Hillside Strangler" | |
1993 | Parodied his "Rambo" role Col. Trautman in "Hot Shots! Part Deux" opposite Charlie Sheen | |
1995 | Appeared in director Sydney Pollack's remake of "Sabrina" | |
1995 | Appeared in the thriller "Jade" | |
1996 | Starred in CBS's telepic "Race Against Time: The Search for Sarah" opposite Patty Duke" | |
1997 | Played Professor Aronnax in CBS's TV adaptation of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" | |
1997 | Starred in the CBS TV drama "Deep Family Secrets" | |
1997 | Starred in the CBS telepic "Heart Full of Rain" | |
1997 | Underwent thyroid surgery | |
1998 | Played the pursuing federal marshall in "Wrongfully Accused," a "Fugitive" parody starring Leslie Neilsen | |
2000 | Had recurring role as Tyne Daly's love interest on the CBS drama "Judging Amy" | |
2001 | Cast as Ronald Reagan in the Showtime drama "The Day Reagan Was Shot" | |
2001 | Played a gruff cowboy grandfather in Showtime's "By Dawn's Early Light" | |
Awards
1959 | Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Continuing Character) In a in The Real McCoys |
1964 | Golden Globe Award for Actor in a Television Series in Slattery's People |
1965 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievements In Entertainment in Slattery's People |
1966 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Continued Performance By an Actor In a in Slattery's People |
1984 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture in The Flamingo Kid |
1985 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television in The Rape of Richard Beck |
1985 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor In a Limited Series or a Special in The Rape of Richard Beck |