For decades in Hollywood, whenever a reliable, masculine presence was called for in a movie, casting directors sought out Richard Crenna, who died at 77 years of age. In the early stage of his career, Crenna appeared as young Luke in the charming, long-running comedy television series The Real McCoys. In 1967 in the thriller Wait Until Dark, he helped keep audiences on the edge of their seats as one of a band of home intruders terrorizing a blind Audrey Hepburn.
This veteran of over 70 movies made his mark on the world of Westerns as well. In addition to portraying the genial sheriff chasing down Yul Brynner’s cattle thief and outfoxing Leonard Nimoy’s hired gun in Catlow (1971), Crenna played the title role of the gunslinging provocateur in the film version of one of Louis L’Amour’s immensely popular Western novels, A Man Called Noon (1973). Perhaps most memorably, in the bruising Breakheart Pass (1975), along with the gritty and sinewy Charles Bronson, the versatile actor played a frontier politician caught up in the brutal realities of life amidst a clash of civilizations. Younger generations will remember Crenna for his stirring performances as Colonel Trautman in Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo Trilogy.