Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and television director.  Crenna was born in Los Angeles, the only child of Edith J. (née Pollette), who was a hotel manager in Los Angeles, and Dominick Anthony Crenna, a pharmacist. His parents were both of Italian descent.  Crenna attended Virgil Junior High School, followed by Belmont High School in Los Angeles, from which he graduated in 1944. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II, entering the Army in February 1945 and serving until August 1946.