Arlene Martel's birthday was yesterday (April 14), and she passed away a couple of years ago, on August 12, 2014. Arlene, who played Tiger regularly on Hogan's Heroes, was a tremendous supporter of Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography and telling Bob Crane's true story.
I had the honor of meeting Arlene in March 2007 at the ICON Convention in Stony Brook, New York. She was a beautiful soul, inside and out. Happy Birthday and rest in peace, Arlene. You are missed.
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| Arlene Martel, right, with Carol Ford, author of Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography, at the ICON Convention, Stony Brook, NY (2007). |
Below is an excerpt from our interview with Arlene, which was conducted on September 8, 2006, and published in Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography:
“I never heard Bob Crane say anything that was shoddy, shabby, or rude. I never saw him throw a little hissy fit, or start doing a diva kind of act. I never saw him fling his ego around that way. He seemed very patient. Like, ‘Okay,’—like a shrug. You’d see him kind of shrugging, like, ‘Well, we gotta wait till they set up the lights some more,’ or whatever. I never saw him throw any kind of tantrum. He didn’t use the show, I think, as an opportunity to demonstrate his power in any way. If you had walked on the set, you wouldn’t think that he was the star necessarily. It was ensemble acting. I think everyone liked that idea. It seemed that there was good will among everyone. Everyone sort of rooted for everyone else. That’s why I always celebrated when they said, ‘You’re gonna work on Hogan’s this week.’ That was a big celebration to me. That it was so pleasant on the set. And so warm and friendly and family. And I loved the character I played, too. I loved playing Tiger because it was so opposite of other roles I played, like Mr. Spock’s wife [on Star Trek].”
© 2015 Carol M. Ford
In 2015, Shine on Hollywood Magazine published a special tribute issue to Arlene. It is an open access publication that does not require a subscription to view.