[NEW SERIES] HAL BATES WITH BOB CRANE AND BARBI BENTON AT THE PLAYBOY CLUB

[Left to Right] Hal Bates, Bob Crane, Barbi Benton, Larry Lipson (Daily News restaurant critic), unknown. Photographer: Carl Iri.

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Robert Edward "Bob" Crane (July 13, 1928 – June 29, 1978) was an American actor, drummer, radio host, and disc jockey.

Crane began his career as a disc jockey in New York and Connecticut before moving to Los Angeles where he hosted the number-one rated morning show. In the early 1960s, he moved into acting. Crane is best known for his performance as Colonel Robert E. Hogan in the CBS sitcom Hogan's Heroes. The series aired from 1965 to 1971, and Crane received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work on the series.

After Hogan's Heroes ended, Crane's career declined. He became frustrated with the few roles he was being offered and began doing dinner theater. In 1975, he returned to television in the NBC series The Bob Crane Show. The series received poor ratings and was cancelled after 13 weeks. Afterwards, Crane returned to performing in dinner theaters and also appeared in occasional guest spots on television.

While on tour for his play Beginner's Luck in June 1978, Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his Scottsdale apartment, a murder that remains officially unsolved.

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Barbi Benton (born Barbara Lynn Klein; January 28, 1950) is an American model, actress, and singer.

She was featured on the cover of Playboy several times (initially credited as Barbi Klein) and in nude photo layouts in the March 1970, December 1973, January 1975, and December 1985 issues, although she was never one of the magazine's "Playmates of the Month".

Benton is known for her years as a regular on the country variety series Hee Haw, appearing in comic sketches with other cast members. She left the program after four seasons to concentrate on a more Hollywood-oriented career. She also starred in the short-lived 1977 ABC-TV comedy series Sugar Time!, about an aspiring female rock group.

Benton was also a recording artist with some success. Her record "Brass Buckles" (1975) was a top-five hit on Billboard  '​s country singles chart. Benton has recorded eight albums, the last of which she personally produced in 1979. She also composed the songs, sang them, and played piano. One of her better-known songs was "Ain't That Just the Way" (1976) - a number one hit in Sweden for 5 weeks, which was also a major hit for Lutricia McNeal in 1996, and was recorded by the Dutch singer Patricia Paay under the title Poor Jeremy in 1977.