In fact, actor Robert Clary, who played Corporal Louis LeBeau, spent three years in a German concentration camp during World War II, and even lost his parents as well as other family members during the horrifying experience. Chris Pizzello/Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP. He defended his role by claiming, "I am an actor. Klemperer remarked, "I had one qualification when I took the job: if they ever wrote a segment whereby Colonel Klink would come out the hero, I would leave the show. The show,Campo 44, made him rethink his own series strategy. Dixon was the first Black actor cast in the show, appearing as Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe, the communications expert responsible for transmitting the POWs messages to the Allied underground. His final role was once again voicing Klink, as many icons have, for an episode of The Simpsons in 1993. Banner, who was Jewish, emigrated to the United States by way of Austria-Hungary, and went on to serve as an actual Army Air Force sergeant during WWII. Clary was liberated from Buchenwald in 1945, Twelve other members of his immediate family were sent to Auschwitz; his tattooed identification number was A5714, located on his left forearm. ", "Cinema Retro Hosts Book Event for Authors Robert Crane and Christopher Fryer", "Werner Klemperer, Klink in 'Hogan's Heroes,' Dies at 80", "John Banner, the Sgt. [15], The theme music was composed by Jerry Fielding, who added lyrics to the theme for Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II an album featuring Dixon, Clary, Dawson, and Hovis singing World War II songs. After 31 months in captivity in several concentration camps, he was liberated from the Buchenwald death camp by American troops. Sergeant Schultz is important, serving Klink as his official food taster at parties to ensure the food hasnt been poisoned. The underground team that needs help in blowing up a mobile rocket-launcher battery includes a very lovely woman. He soon retired and moved to France with his second wife. Askin was also in a pre-war French internment camp and his parents were killed at Treblinka. One of his final roles was in 1971, costarring with Dean Jones in The Chicago Teddy Bears.
