Richard Crenna, the character actor who achieved worldwide fame playing opposite Sylvester Stallone in the Rambo movies, has died. He was 76.
"He was one of the brightest, nicest, funniest and most talented actors I've ever worked with," said Stallone. "He was everyone's friend."
Crenna, whose career spanned six decades, started off in radio, playing a teenager on the radio series Our Miss Brooks. The show later moved to television and so did Crenna.
Crenna appeared in a number of films, including Star!, Body Heat and The Flamingo Kid. While shooting The Sand Pebbles, which starred Steve McQueen and took a year to film in Hong Kong and Taiwan, he brought his wife and children with him. He also appeared in a number of television movies, winning an Emmy for his appearance in The Rape of Richard Beck.
However, it was his role as Colonel Trautman - opposite Stallone - that really brought Crenna widespread recognition. He played the Colonel in the three Rambo movies; First Blood (1982), Rambo: First Blood II (1985) and Rambo III (1988). He also parodied his role in Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993).
Following his appearances in the Rambo films, Crenna returned to television acting. In recent years he was a regular in the drama Judging Amy. However, his role in that series was put on hold following the news that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer.