LOS ANGELES -- Richard Crenna, 76, who gained fame on TV's "Our Miss Brooks" and "The Real McCoys" before making a successful transition from comedy to drama on television and in movies, including "The Sand Pebbles" and "Body Heat," died of pancreatic cancer Jan. 17 in a hospital here.
Mr. Crenna had made a career playing Walter and what he later called "all the idiot adenoidal kids" on radio, including Oogie Pringle on "A Date With Judy," Beasey on "The Hardy Family" and Waldo on "Burns and Allen." He also played Bronco, a slightly older variation of his standard character, on "The Great Gildersleeve."
By the time he left Walter Denton behind in the 1956 after appearing in the "Our Miss Brooks" feature film, Mr. Crenna, the perpetual juvenile, was pushing 30.
In 1957, he graduated to an adult role as the married Luke on "The Real McCoys." The popular comedy series starring Walter Brennan about a West Virginia clan that moves to Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley ran for six seasons.
Mr. Crenna made the break from comedy to drama in 1964 as the star of "Slattery's People," a weekly series in which he played an idealistic, reform-minded state legislator. Its cancellation before the end of its second season allowed him to accept a high-profile role as the humorless and unexpectedly courageous gunboat captain in director Robert Wise's 1966 epic drama "The Sand Pebbles," starring Steve McQueen.
This was followed by roles as a slick criminal who terrorizes a blind Audrey Hepburn in "Wait Until Dark" and as one of three astronauts trapped in an orbiting lab whose rockets won't fire in "Marooned."
In the 1980s, Mr. Crenna played critically acclaimed supporting roles in the film noir hit "Body Heat" (as Kathleen Turner's strong-yet-doomed husband) and the coming-of-age film "The Flamingo Kid" (as the slick and dishonest gin-rummy champ at a posh beach club who takes star Matt Dillon under his wing.)
In 1985, Mr. Crenna received an Emmy as outstanding actor in a limited series or special for "The Rape of Richard Beck," in which he played a sexist, macho cop whose attitudes about rape undergo a dramatic change after he is sexually attacked.
He played another tough cop-New York detective, Lt. Frank Janek, in the 1985 TV-movie "Doubletake" and in six sequels.
Opposite Sylvester Stallone, Mr. Crenna portrayed Army Col. Trautman, Rambo's former Vietnam War commander, in three of the most profitable big screen action movies of the 1980s: "First Blood," "Rambo: First Blood Part II," and "Rambo III."
Mr. Crenna made three short-lived returns to television sitcoms: "All's Fair" with Bernadette Peters (1976-1977), "It Takes Two," co-starring Patty Duke (1982-1983) and "Pros and Cons" opposite James Earl Jones (1991-1992).
Mr. Crenna, a Los Angeles native, began taking drama classes in junior high school after noticing that "all the prettiest girls were in dramatic class, and also the goof-offs. That was for me."
One day, he recalled, "A teacher came on the playground to say they were auditioning for a radio show, 'Boy Scout Jamboree,' " at the nearby KFI radio studio. Nine of his classmates, including future comic Mort Sahl, were hired to become "The Beaver Patrol." Playing the kid "who did everything wrong," Mr. Crenna was paid a quarter a week.
"Dear John," starring Irene Rich, was his first continuous dramatic network show. He played a bellboy. After school as a teenager and later while attending the University of Southern California, he worked on as many as eight shows a week -- everything from "Gunsmoke" and "Red Ryder" to "One Man's Family" and "I Love a Mystery." He began playing his signature Walter Denton role on "Our Miss Brooks" in 1948 and when the show transferred to television four years later, Arden insisted Crenna continue as Walter.
At the time of his death, Mr. Crenna was a member of the board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild.
While continuing to work as an actor, he carved out a successful side career as a television director. He began by directing commercials for "The Real McCoys," then started directing episodes. He continued directing series pilots and sitcoms and dramatic series, including "Lou Grant," into the 1980s.
He was also a producer, forming his own company to co-produce "Slattery's People" and other shows, including the 1970 sitcom, "Make Room for Granddaddy," starring Danny Thomas.
Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Penni; three children; and three granddaughters.
Actor Richard Crenna, who gained fame as Walter Denton on TV's "Our Miss Brooks," died in Los Angeles.
