Richard Crenna

Born in Los Angeles on Nov. 30, 1926, Richard Crenna launched his acting career on the radio as the voice of a love-obsessed teenager on "Our Miss Brooks" (a role he reprised when the serial moved to television) before landing a spot on "The Real McCoys" (1957-63) and transitioning into more serious adult fare.

He turned in a diverse array of roles on the big screen in Wait Until Dark (1967), Marooned (1969) and Un Flic (1971) before earning an Emmy for his portrayal of a tough cop who becomes a rape victim in The Rape of Richard Beck (1985).

But the 1980s would deliver some of the most memorable character roles of Crenna's career: a wealthy man with a wayward wife in Body Heat (1981), a dishonest gambler in The Flamingo Kid (1984) and Rambo's superior in First Blood (1982). He died on Jan. 17, 2003, at the age of 76.

Filmography