The Crane Wife Died

(Not you, The Crane Wife)

Patricia Crane, the actress who played Colonel Klink's sexy blond secretary Hilda on "Hogan's Heroes" and married the show's star, Bob Crane, has died at the age of 72. You may know her by her stage name: Sigrid Valdis. That's right, she had a stage name for all her other famous roles:

Her film credits include "Our Man Flint," "Two Tickets to Paris," "Marriage on the Rocks," and "The Venetian Affair." In addition to "Hogan's Heroes," she appeared on other television series, including "The Wild Wild West" and "Kraft Mystery Theater."In 1998, she joined the cast of her son's syndicated weekly sketch comedy radio show, "Shaken, Not Stirred."

I'm sure Crane meant different things to different people, but I'll always remember her as the subject of the famous Hogan's Heroes tag line: Save the Secretary, Save the World. Her death's implications to the fate of the world aren't immediately clear.

[AP]