Les Crane

Infobox Person
name = Les Crane


caption =
birth_name = Lesley Crane
birth_date = birth date|1933|12|3
birth_place = Long Beach, New York, USA
death_date = death date and age|2008|7|13|1933|12|3
death_place = Greenbrae, California, USA
other_names =
known_for = Talk-show host
occupation =
nationality =

Les CraneDecember 3, 1933 – July 13, 2008) was a radio announcer and television talk show host, a pioneer in interactive broadcasting who also scored an unexpected spoken word hit with his 1971 recording of the poem "Desiderata", winning a "Best Spoken Word" Grammy for his efforts.

Born in Long Beach, New York,Weber, Bruce. [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/arts/television/15crane.html Les Crane, Talk-Show Host, Dies at 74] . "The New York Times". July 15 2008.] Crane graduated from Tulane University, where he was an English major. (Freedman, 1964). He then spent four years in the United States Air Force. He began his radio career in 1958 at KONO in San Antonio and later worked at WPEN in Philadelphia. In 1961, he became a popular and controversial host for the radio powerhouse KGO (AM) in San Francisco. With KGO's strong evening signal reaching as far north as Seattle, Washington, he attracted a regional audience far outside the San Francisco area. A pioneer in the development of the radio talk show, Crane delighted and irritated callers and listeners with his forthright style and unwillingness to suffer fools quietly, often hanging up on callers in contravention of the polite ethos of the times.

A late-night program airing weekdays from 11 PM to 2 AM, "Crane at the hungry i" (1962-1963) found Crane interacting with owner and impressario Enrico Banducci and interviewing aspiring newcomers like Barbra Streisand and Professor Irwin Corey. Crane's style was rapid-fire and contentious, arguing with Banducci or Corey about politics or how the club was run. The call-in number, EXbrook 7-2860, was frequently repeated on air, along with the fact that Crane was only 27 years old.

Les Crane and John Barrett, the general manager of KRLA [radio station] , were the original people "responsible for creating the Top 40 (list of the most requested pop songs)," said Casey Kasem in a 1990 interview. [http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/16/deaths.ap/index.html] However, other sources say that the top 40 countdown is far older than that, and credit Todd Storz, one of the founders of the Top 40 format.

In late August 1963, Crane moved to New York City to host a 1 a.m. talk show on WABC-TV, the American Broadcasting Company flagship station. The program debuted in mid-September and was originally titled "Night Life." While some critics found it innovative, it never gained much of an audience. In August 1964, it was re-named "The Les Crane Show". The first American TV appearance of The Rolling Stones was on Crane's program in June 1964. In November 1964, the program was moved to the 11:30 p.m. slot and broadcast in five major cities, making Crane the first host to go up against Johnny Carson, who two years earlier had replaced Jack Paar as host of "The Tonight Show".

Crane's confrontational interview technique, along with a "shotgun" microphone he aimed at audiences, earned him the name "the bad boy of late-night television". (Gardner, 1964) Actually, critical opinion was divided. Some critics, like the New York Times' media critic Paul Gardner, thought he was an incisive interviewer who asked tough questions without being insulting. But other critics found him vapid or unfocused. One of the critics who didn't like his show also found Crane's trademark, the shotgun microphone, distracting. " [E] ach time he points this mike into the audience, it looks as though he's about to shoot a spectator." (Laurent, 1964) The one thing nearly every critic agreed with was that Crane was very photogenic -- or as one critic described him, he was "a tall, handsome and personable lad..." (Smith, 1964) In fact, expectations for Crane had been quite high, but like many others, Crane would not be able to make a dent in Johnny Carson's ratings, and his new show lasted just 14 weeks. Although his ratings proved disappointing, Crane was able to get some outstanding guests. Bob Dylan, who rarely appeared on television, was one of them. Crane also interviewed important people such as Richard Burton, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, George Wallace, and Robert F. Kennedy.

Because of his good looks, it was not surprising that he tried his hand at acting, but his acting career was brief, with an appearance in the film "An American Dream" (1966), based on the Norman Mailer novel, and a few guest roles on television shows. Crane was mentioned in the lyrics of a 1966 Phil Ochs song "Love Me, I'm A Liberal". Some sources say that Crane gave the the rock group The Mamas and the Papas their name, but this is disputed in other sources, which say John Phillips came up with the name. (see Bronson, 2003)

Crane was one of the first interviewers to have an openly gay person, Randy Wicker, on his television show, in January 1964, marking an important moment in gay rights history. But when Crane tried to invite members of a lesbian advocacy group, the Daughters of Bilitis to be guests on his show in June 1964, ABC ordered him to cancel the show, and he did. ("Homosexual Women," 1964) Crane was also known as an advocate for civil rights, and was praised by the black press for his respectful interviews with such black newsmakers as Muhammad Ali. (Young, 1968)

In 1968, he was back on the west coast, hosting a talk show on KLAC in Los Angeles. Critics noted that in the style of the 1960s, he now dressed in a turtle-neck and mocassins, sprinkling his speech with words like "groovy." ("Communicasters," 1968). But he was still doing interviews with major newsmakers, and discussing topics like civil disobedience, the hippies, and the popularity of meditation. (Sweeney, 1968) He also did some local TV talk. Crane left KLAC when the station switched to a country music format.

In late 1971, the 45 RPM recording of Les Crane's reading of "Desiderata" reached #8 on the "Billboard" charts. It had a great influence on mainstream society and became a counterculture anthem of sorts, and in particular introducing many to the culture of prose poetry and spoken word recording. The recording was considered inspirational and positive during a somewhat negative time.

Though Crane thought the poem was in the public domain when it was recorded, the rights in fact belonged to the family of author Max Ehrmann and royalties were distributed accordingly.

A parody of "Desiderata" by "National Lampoon" on their comedy album, "Radio Dinner" (1972) went on to fame via the Dr. Demento and Howard Stern radio shows. Called "Deteriorata" and voiced by Norman Rose, the parody declared to listeners that "you are a fluke of the universe. You have no right to be here. And whether you can hear it or not, the universe is laughing behind your back". Melissa Manchester, then a little-known session singer, performed the gospel-tinged background vocals.

When asked about the recording during an interview by the "Los Angeles Times" in 1987, Crane replied, "I can't listen to it now without gagging." He admitted to being much fonder of the "National Lampoon" version.

In the 1980s, Crane transitioned to the software industry and became chairman of The Software Toolworks, creators of the three-dimensional color chess series, "Chessmaster", and the best-selling educational series, "Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing". Toolworks was also responsible for such classics as "The Original Adventure" and the PC version of "Pong". The Software Toolworks was sold and renamed Mindscape in the early 1990s.

Crane's personal life included five marriages. His third wife (some sources say it was his fourth) was "Gilligan's Island" actress Tina Louise, whom he married in 1966 and divorced in 1974 [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001481/bio] ; they had one daughter, Caprice Crane, b 1974 who became a screenwriter/producer/author.

Crane died on July 13, 2008, in Greenbrae, California, north of San Francisco. He had been living in Belvedere with his wife, Ginger, at the time of his death.

External links

*imdb name|0186386
* [http://www.richieunterberger.com/crane.html Liner notes and other information from "Desiderata" at richieunterberger.com]

References

Bronson, Fred. "The Mamas and the Papas." Billboard Book of Number One Hits (p. 198) New York: Billboard Books, 2003.

"Communicasters: Les Crane." Los Angeles Times, 24 March 1968, p. B13. Gardner, Paul. "Television: Les Crane's New Program." New York Times, 4 August 1964, p. 59.

"Homosexual Women Hear Psychologists." New York Times, 21 June 1964, p. 54.

Laurent, Lawrence. "Les Crane's Show Lacks Controversy." Washington Post, 24 November 1964, p. C6.

Lowry, Cynthia. "Insomnia Cure: Les Crane?" Chicago Tribune, 8 November 1964, p. S7.

Smith, Cecil. "Crane Flying High Nightly." Los Angeles Times, 5 August 1964, p. C14.

Sweeney, Louise. "Television's Talk, Talk, Talkathons on the Late Late Shows." Christian Science Monitor, 8 march 1968, p. 4.

Young, A.S. "Muhammad on TV." Chicago Defender, 23 July 1968, p. 24.

Persondata
NAME = Crane, Les
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Stein, Lesley (birth name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION = American talk-show host
DATE OF BIRTH = December 3, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH = Long Beach, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH = July 13, 2008
PLACE OF DEATH = Greenbrae, California, United States