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Up until 2014, the public at large didn't know about the extent of sexual crimes committed by comedian and TV star Bill Cosby. Since 2014, over 60 women have come forward with allegations of sexual assault, some of which stretch back to the 1960s. The many, many details of Cosby's assaults, cover-ups, and other crimes have been openly detailed in the news, and in the 2022 documentary series "We Need to Talk About Cosby." 

Cosby's crimes make discussions of the hit series "The Cosby Show" a little fraught. Because the stories of sexual assault hadn't been made public yet, Cosby was easily accepted by mainstream sitcom viewers as a kindly, father-like figure: a perfectly put-upon patriarch of a modern, wealthy Black family. "The Cosby Show" was instantly successful and widely beloved when it debuted in 1984, and it lasted eight seasons and 201 episodes. Everyone watched it. Critics praised the sitcom for presenting a Black experience...

Bob Crane was best known for his starring role in the TV sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. But although the show was remarkable for its time, as a comedy depicting Nazis as bumbling fools, it didn’t turn out to be the most surprising event in Crane’s story.

Bob Crane as Col. Robert E. Hogan (dressed as Col. Klink) in ‘Hogan’s Heroes’ | CBS via Getty Images

Just seven years after the show went off the air, Crane was brutally killed at home. The murder has never been solved, but investigators and fans of true crime have a good idea of what they believe happened.

Bob Crane’s unusual career

Crane’s career reflected an eclectic mix of talents. According to IMDb, he was a percussionist with the Connecticut Symphony Orchestra after high school, but that only lasted a year before he was cut because he wasn’t “serious enough.”

From there,...

Norman S. Powell, the veteran Hollywood producer, director and network executive known for his award-winning documentary “Brothers at War,” has died. He was 86.

Powell’s career in television and film spanned six decades and included work on “24,” “The Big Valley,” “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The Bob Crane Show.” He was the son of Hollywood Golden Age stars Joan Blondell and Dick Powell.

At the time of his death, Powell was writing a memoir and working on a sequel to his Iraq War-set documentary “Brothers at War” with partner Jake Rademacher and executive producers Gary Sinise and Phil Gurin.

After graduating from the Lawrenceville School and Cornell University, Powell started his career working on Westerns like “Wanted Dead or Alive” with Steve McQueen, “Gunsmoke” with James Arness and “The Rifleman” with Chuck Connors.

Powell earned Emmy nominations for producing Season 2 of “24” and “Washington: Behind Closed Doors,...