Barry Crane

Barry Crane
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Role:	Director
BSG Universe:	Galactica 1980
Date of Birth:	November 10, 1927
Date of Death:	July 5, 1985
Age at Death:	57
Nationality:	USA
[ Official Site]
IMDb profile

Barry Crane (born Barry Cohen; November 10, 1927 – July 5, 1985) was a prolific American television director and producer who directed two episodes of Galactica 1980: "Spaceball" and "The Night the Cylons Landed, Part II". By profession a television director and producer, Crane was also the contract bridge expert who won more titles than anyone else in the history of the game at the time of his death.

Television Career

Early Career and Transition to Directing

Born Barry Cohen in Detroit, Crane moved from the Detroit area to Hollywood in the mid-1950s for professional reasons and changed his name from Barry Cohen. Before his tenure on Mission: Impossible and Mannix, Crane worked as a production manager at series such as Burke's Law at Four Star Productions.

Crane served as associate producer for most of Mission: Impossibles run, and was promoted to producer in the show's final season. He earned a reputation as Mission: Impossibles "human computer" for his exceptional ability to quickly break down complex scripts into filming schedules. Producer Stanley Kallis, speaking to author Patrick J. White in 1991's The Complete Mission: Impossible Dossier, described him as "a walking computer" for this remarkable skill. Crane also produced The Magician and was a producer on Mannix.

Peak Directing Years

By the mid-1970s, Crane had transitioned primarily to directing, working on various television series. His directing credits included helming the final episode of Hawaii Five-O, "Woe to Wo Fat," in 1980. Crane's extensive directing credits included episodes of major television series such as The Incredible Hulk, CHiPs, Dallas, Wonder Woman, Trapper John, M.D., The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Police Woman, Police Story, and The Streets of San Francisco.

Crane's work on Galactica 1980 represented his contributions to the Battlestar Galactica franchise. He directed "Spaceball" and "The Night the Cylons Landed, Part II" during the series' 1980 run.

Bridge Career

Rise to Dominance

While maintaining his demanding television career, Crane simultaneously became the most dominant contract bridge player of his generation. According to the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), he was "widely recognized as the top matchpoint player of all time"—the tournament format commonly played in private clubs. Crane was "one of a small group of world champion bridge players whose presence enhanced many tournaments while they maintained active and highly respected careers outside of bridge."

Crane's bridge career spanned almost four decades, beginning in the late 1940s when he won his first regional tournament. In 1951, at age 23, his team finished second in the prestigious Vanderbilt Knockout Teams, and he became ACBL Life Master #325. He was the winner in 1952 of the McKenney Trophy, awarded to the player winning the most master points in a year.

In 1968, Crane overtook the late Oswald Jacoby as the career leader in master points, a position previously held only by Jacoby and Charles Goren.

As an amateur in a game dominated in recent years by professionals, Crane outdistanced everyone. His career total of master points reached 35,000 a month before his death. At the time of his death in 1985, he had accumulated 35,138 masterpoints, more than 11,000 ahead of any other players. His nearest challenger had fewer than 24,000 masterpoints.

Championships and Records

Crane was invariably a contender for the McKenney title, and he won that title on five other occasions: 1967, 1971, 1973, 1975 and 1978. He was second five times. Crane won the McKenney Trophy six times total, and was runner-up six times. He exerted so much influence on the race that after his death it was renamed the "Barry Crane Top 500."

His total number of titles was about 500, almost double that of his closest rivals. Playing with one of his favorite partners, Kerri Shuman of Los Angeles, Crane won the World Mixed Pair title in 1978 in New Orleans. At the 1978 World Championships, he and Kerri Shuman (now Sanborn) ran away with the World Mixed Pairs in a field loaded with international stars. This stunning victory, by more than five boards, further enhanced Crane's claim to the title of world's best matchpoint player. The World Bridge Federation officially lists Barry Crane and Kerri Shuman as winners of the Mixed Pairs championship in 1978.

He won 13 national titles, including 6 victories, a record, in the National Open Pairs. His aggressive bidding style was particularly suited to pair events, in which Crane and a partner would face different opponents every 15 minutes. In the Spring North American Championships in Montreal in 1985, his team finished second in competition for the Vanderbilt Trophy, a prestigious annual event that he never won.

Despite his bridge addiction, Crane had an abiding passion for his work. It never bothered him when he couldn't go to a tournament, because his job was his prime interest. He continued to play bridge with enthusiasm, traveling the country almost every weekend to compete in regional tournaments. He usually could arrange his TV production schedule so he could attend most tournaments for a few days. A habitual weekend commuter, he said he would travel anywhere within flying distance for a regional and anywhere within driving distance for a sectional.

Legacy and Recognition

In recognition of his dominance and influence on the game, the ACBL renamed the annual McKenney Trophy to the Barry Crane Trophy following his death. The trophy is awarded to the player who accumulates the most masterpoints in a single year. Crane was posthumously elected to the ACBL Hall of Fame in 1995 as a Grand Life Master.

The British bridge writer S.J. Simon described Crane as a "natural" player. "Barry Crane was a Natural. We shall not see his like again," Simon wrote, according to an ACBL biography quoted by NBC News.

The ACBL biography noted that "in many respects Crane was an A-1 ambassador and publicist for bridge all over North America. No one gave as many interviews to the media in as many different cities and towns."

Murder and Investigation

The Crime

Barry Crane was found bludgeoned in the garage of his luxury town home Friday in Studio City, a neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to a report from the Associated Press. His housekeeper discovered his body wrapped in bedding on the garage floor of his residence. He had been beaten repeatedly with a large ceramic statue, and a telephone cord was wrapped around his neck, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. Crane was 57 years old.

Lt. Ron LaRue of the police said there was no apparent motive for the killing and no arrests had been made at the time. Crane's Cadillac was stolen from the property and later recovered with forensic evidence. Police were able to recover forensic evidence from the vehicle, including fingerprints and cigarette butts.

The week of his murder, Crane had been playing daily in the annual Pasadena regional knockout teams bridge tournament. The Los Angeles Times reported at the time that his team won the tournament the day after his body was discovered. Crane had survivors including two children, Sharilyn Cohen of Birmingham, Michigan, and Ben Crane of Ithaca, New York; and a brother, Elliot Cohen of Michigan.

Cold Case Investigation

The case remained unsolved for 34 years despite initial investigative efforts. In 2006, and again in 2018, a detective from the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery Homicide Division requested that evidence from the crime scene be retested using modern forensic techniques.

After an attempt in July 2018, the Robbery Homicide Division received a forensic match to a suspect: Edwin Jerry Hiatt, who resided in North Carolina. A fingerprint specialist matched a print from Crane's stolen car to Hiatt. According to court documents cited by The News Herald, Hiatt's DNA matched cigarette butts recovered from the ashtray of Crane's stolen car. The FBI tracked Hiatt through social media and conducted surveillance, collecting discarded cigarettes and a foam cup for DNA testing, according to CNN affiliate WSOC TV.

Arrest and Prosecution

Detectives traveled to Rutherford College, North Carolina, and interviewed Hiatt on March 8, 2019. During the interview, Hiatt admitted to killing Barry Crane, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

On May 9, 2019, Edwin Jerry Hiatt was arrested by the FBI Fugitive Task Force in Burke County, North Carolina. He was working at a Mercedes-Benz repair shop at the time of his arrest. Hiatt was 18 years old at the time of Crane's murder in 1985.

As he was being escorted to jail, Hiatt told reporters he had no clear memory of the killing, stating "I don't remember the guy until they told me his name, and then I didn't remember his picture." When asked if he was involved in the murder, he responded, "Anything is possible back then because I was big into drugs."

Hiatt was initially charged with one count of murder with a special allegation of using a deadly and dangerous weapon (a heavy decorative object) during the commission of the crime. He pleaded not guilty in October 2019.

Guilty Plea and Sentencing

On October 7, 2021, Hiatt changed his plea and pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. The original murder charge was dismissed as part of the agreement.

Along with the voluntary manslaughter charge, Hiatt admitted an allegation that he used a deadly weapon in the attack. Superior Court Judge Eric Harmon immediately sentenced Hiatt, now 55 years old, to 12 years in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman, who prosecuted the case, called the killing "horrendous" and noted that "it took 36 years to bring Mr. Hiatt to justice." Hiatt's attorney, Joshua Smart, told the judge that his client is religious and a "different human being" now, stating "Mr. Hiatt is here and obviously willing to accept punishment and accept responsibility."

In a statement read in court by the deputy district attorney, Crane's daughter wrote that her father was an "exceptional man" who "suffered a horrific death," calling his killer "despicable."

References