Richard Crenna Biography
Richard Donald Crenna (November 30, 1926 – January 17, 2003) was an American motion picture, television, and radio actor and occasional television director. He starred in such motion pictures as The Sand Pebbles, Wait Until Dark, Body Heat, the first three Rambo movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and The Flamingo Kid. Crenna played "Walter Denton" in the CBS radio and CBS-TV network series Our Miss Brooks, and "Luke McCoy" in ABC's TV comedy series, The Real McCoys, (1957–63), which moved to CBS-TV in September 1962.
Crenna was in one of the few TV political dramatic series Slattery's People on CBS. Crenna played "Colonel Trautman" in the first three Rambo movies. He also played "Frank Skimmerhorn" in the critically acclaimed mini-series Centennial.
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Richard Crenna Movies
Richard Crenna TV Shows
Richard Crenna Quotes
Underestimating the Resolve of Freedom Fighters
Colonel Trautman:
You expect sympathy? You started this damn war, now you'll have to deal with it.
Zaysen:
And we will. It is just a matter of time before we achieve a complete victory.
Trautman:
Yeah, well, there won't be a victory. Every day, your war machines lose ground to a bunch of poorly-armed, poorly-equipped freedom fighters. The fact is that you underestimated your competition. If you'd studied your history, you'd know that these people have never given up to anyone. They'd rather die than be slaves to an invading army. You can't defeat a people like that. We tried; we already had our Vietnam! Now you're gonna have yours.
Zaysen:
So, you wish to test me? Good.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Reunion Between Old Allies
John Rambo:
So where you coming from?
Colonel Samuel Trautman:
Washington. Good to see you again!
Rambo:
Yeah, you too.
Trautman:
Do you want to tell me about it?
Rambo:
About what?
Trautman:
About yesterday, I've seen you stick fighting in a warehouse in Bangkok.
Rambo:
You saw that?
Trautman:
Yeah. And today I find you, working in a monastery.
Rambo:
They let me live here and I help out, fixing things.
Trautman:
And the stick fighting?
Rambo:
I just do that for their lack of money.
Trautman:
Yeah...I saw you give it to the monks.
Rambo: [referring to Trautman's company]
You see a lot. Colonel, who are they?
Trautman:
They're part of the reason I'm here. This is Robert Griggs, he's a field officer of our local embassy.
Robert Griggs:
John Rambo? Pleasure. Well, you're sure not easy to find!
Rambo:
Why are you keepin track?
Griggs:
Well, like the Colonel says, good men are hard to find! John, I'd like you to take a look at some of these photos. I don't know how much you know about Afghanistan. Most people can't even find it on a map! But over two million civilians, mostly peasants farmers and their families, have been systematically slaughtered by invading Russian armies. Every new weapon, including chemical warfare, has been used to eliminate these people. And they've been very successful, at many levels. I assume that you're out of touch with the current states of the war. But after nine years of fighting, the Afghan Forces are now getting their Stinger missiles, and are now beginning to hold their own against the Air-Strikes. Except for one region. Apparently, the Soviet Commander there is exceptionally brutal, as those photos indicate. And he's managed to string along all aid from the outside. So we want to investigate the problem firsthand.
Rambo:
And what that's got to do with me?
Trautman:
They've asked me to go in.
Rambo:
You're not gonna do it?
Trautman:
Yes. And I want you to come with me, John.
Rambo:
I put in my time.
Griggs:
What does that mean?
Rambo: [to Griggs; walks off]
It means my war is over.
Griggs: [to Trautman]
I thought you said he was this great soldier. Well, Colonel...looks like we've got a long walk down those stairs.
Trautman:
Don't be tough on him, he's just following orders.
Trautman:
This mission's important, John.
Rambo:
Do you really think we can make a difference?
Trautman:
If I didn't, I wouldn't be going.
Rambo:
It didn't before.
Trautman:
That was another time. Come with me, John.
Rambo:
I don't know what you think about this place, but I like it. I like bein here, I like workin here. I like belong into something.
Trautman:
You do belong into something. Not this. When you're gonna come full circle?
Rambo:
What are you talkin about?
Trautman:
You said that your war is over. I think the one out there is, but not the one inside you. I know the reasons you're here, John. But it doesn't work that way. You may try, but you can't get away from what you really are.
Rambo:
And what is it I am?
Trautman:
A full-blooded combat soldier.
Rambo:
Not any more. I don't want it.
Trautman:
That's too bad, cause you're stuck with it. Let me tell you a story, John. There was a sculptor and he found a stone, a special stone. He dragged it home and he worked on it for months, until he finally finished. When he was ready, he showed it to his friends, and they said he had created a great statue. The sculptor said he hadn't created anything. The statue was always there. He just cleared away the small pieces. We didn't make you this fighting machine. We just chipped away the rough edges. Your own is gonna be tearing away with yourself, until you come to terms with what you are! Until you come full circle.
Rambo:
I guess I'm not ready yet.
Trautman:
Well, I got to move. Promise me you'll look for me when you're back in the States.
Rambo: [as Trautman starts to walk off]
I promise. Colonel! I'm sorry. But it's gotta end for me sometime.
Trautman: [beat, nods]
I understand.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
