Bob Crane's son examines dad's life and murder, 3/27

Bob Crane and the Valley are inexorably linked. In 1978, the likable "Hogan's Heroes" wise guy was found bludgeoned to death in an apartment on Chaparral Road in Scottsdale. He was in town performing at the Windmill Dinner Theatre.

The case was never solved. Police suspected that a friend, John Carpenter, killed him, but they lacked DNA evidence. The case earned additional notoriety when Crane's appetite for pornography came to light.

Writer Robert Crane, the actor's oldest child, has written (with Christopher Fryer) a book detailing his life with his father and the shocking murder. "Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder" paints a picture of the star as a generous father whose life was changed by fame. He also looks at his own life and his dad's impact on it.

Crane, who will visit Phoenix on March 27 to discuss the book, offers his takes on ...

How the book came to be:

This is our third book together. We've written books on Jack Nicholson and Bruce Dern, and we had just finished the Dern book. With each book, we got better, we dug deeper, we pushed for answers. Chris and I were talking about doing another project together, and it was that old thing of writing about what you know.

The feelings of writing about his dad:

The emotions have always been there. It's never gone away. I really dislike the word "closure." It's a media word to tie up things into a little package. There is no closure. You live with this forever, but you have to decide whether you're going to get on with your life or not. I hate these stories on the nightly news where the wife receives the U.S. flag neatly folded placed on her lap (and the announcer says) now there's closure. No, there's not. She still just lost her husband.

His family's reaction to the crime:

We're the kind of family that never talks about things like that. We've never had a sit-down where we actually discussed what happened. That's never happened, and that never will. We're like this humble, un-Hollywood family from Stanford, Connecticut. You don't talk about stuff like this.

The media's portrayal of his father's proclivities:

It's rough, because my sisters and I know the other side of him: that he was a big kid and he loved to have fun. We had years of great times with him. When you're seated across from Joy (Behar) and Bill (O'Reilly) and all they know is what they've read or what their people researched that was out there in the Enquirer and those kind of publications. ... That doesn't take them through 20 years of growing up with him.

His family's take on his book:

No one's seen it. My stepdad, Chuck, who is throughout the book, is reading it, but my mom and one of my sisters will probably not read it. I think my other sister may read it. It's just not us. You know when you're watching the Olympics and the family from South Dakota is there to root on little Tammy in her category? We are not that family.

Being named Robert Crane:

My wife is shocked at the rude behavior, especially in Los Angeles. Wouldn't you think that if a person is named Robert Crane, there might be a possibility he is connected to the late actor? And yet I've had a waiter at a restaurant do a whole five-minute routine on "Bob Crane! Didn't you get bludgeoned to death?" Our jaws dropped, and one of our friends informed him, "That's his son." He went crawling off into the night. Are people really that idiotic?

His feelings toward Arizona:

Actually, I love Arizona. It's a beautiful state. One of my best friends lives here, and we visit him and his family. I love the mountains, Phoenix and Scottsdale. I'm going to be in Tucson (at Barnes & Noble on March 29) for the first time in my life. I do love it; it just happens my dad was working here at the time of his murder.

Robert Crane signs 'Crane: Sex, Celebrity, and My Father's Unsolved Murder'

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 27.

Where: Changing Hands Phoenix, 300 W. Camelback Road.

Admission: Free.

Details: 602-274-0067, changinghands.com.

Reach the reporter at randy.cordova@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8849. Twitter.com/randy_cordova.