33 fun-facts about Hogan’s Heroes

Was Hogan’s Heroes also one of your favorite series at the time? The popular TV comedy series chronicled the typically not-so-fun lives of World War II American POWs in the fictional German camp called Luft Stalag 13. We’ll show you some facts about the series and also what happened to the cast of Hogan’s Heroes.

1. Sgt. Hans Schultz (John Banner)

The role of Feldwebel Hans Schultz was played by actor John Banner. Schultz always recognized when the prisoners were planning something. His famous words were: “I see nothing! I hear nothing! I know nothing!” After Hogan’s Heroes, Banner played the role of Uncle Latzi in the series The Chicago Teddy Bears. Sadly, Banner died in January 1973.

2. Col. Wilhelm Klink (Werner Klemperer)

The role of the somewhat stupid and incompetent Colonel Wilhelm Klink was played by Werner Klemperer. The very gullible colonel always claimed that “no prisoner ever escaped from Stalag 13”. The joke was that the inmates always seemed to come and go as they pleased. Klemperer died in 2000 at the age of 80.

3. Col. Robert E. Hogan (Bob Crane)

Bob Crane played the role of Col. Robert E. Hogan, a United States Army Air Forces Colonel who was the highest-ranking POW officer. He knew how to lead a team. Later Bob Crane also cast a role in Love, American Style. After that he played other small roles until his last TV appearance in The Love Boat in 1978.

4. Cpl. Louis LeBeau (Robert Clary)

Clary played the role of Corporal Louis LeBeau. He was not only a non-commissioned officer in the Free French Air Force, but also a master chef. He was called “cockroach” by Klink and Schultz. Furthermore, he himself referred to all Nazis as “pigs”. In 2001, Clary wrote his memoirs “From the Holocaust to Hogan’s Heroes: The Autobiography of Robert Clary”.

5. Sgt. James (Ivan) ‘Kinch’ Kinchloe (Ivan Dixon)

James Kinchloe, played by Dixon, was Hogan’s second-in-command, although technically he outranked the other members of the crew. He was mainly responsible for communications such as radio and telephone. Dixon appeared in several series after Hogan’s Heroes such as Magnum, P.I. and The A-Team. In 2008, the actor passed away.

6. Sgt. Andrew Carter (Larry Hovis)

Andrew Carter, played by Hovis, was a technical sergeant in the United States Army Air Corps and a bomb maker. He was known for his chemical know-how with which he could create complicated explosive devices. In 2002, Hovis he appeared in his last role as a doctor in Lone Star State of Mind. He passed away in 2003.

7. Sgt. Richard Baker (Kenneth Washington)

Sergeant Richard Baker was portrayed by Kenneth Washington. He was another African-American radio expert who joined the cast after Dixon left the series at the end of the fifth season. He later appeared in several episodes of Police Story from 1974-1977 and had some guest appearances in shows and TV movies.

8. Cpl. Peter Newkirk (Richard Dawson)

Richard Dawson played an impostor, magician, forger and tailor, among many other roles. His various impersonations ranged from Adolf Hitler to Winston Churchill. He often dressed in women’s clothes to fool the Germans. After the series, he appeared in Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In for five seasons. He also starred in nine episodes of The New Dick Van Dyke Show.

9. Before Bob Crane decided on the role, he insisted that the veterans agree to the show.

Prior to his acting career, Bob Crane served in the Connecticut Army National Guard. He began his service in 1948 and was honorably discharged in 1950. Before Crane took on the role of Colonel Hogan, his veterans were asked to watch the series trailer and give their approval. He spent a lot of time in support of the American troops.

10. The series was actually supposed to be filmed in an American prison

Albert S. Ruddy actually wanted Hogan’s Heroes to be set in an American prison. After learning that NBC wanted Campo 44 to be set in an Italian prison, Ruddy changed the script to its final location. In the end, it only took Ruddy one day to move the series’ setting to World War II Germany.

11. Richard Dawson wanted to add a Liverpool accent to his role

Dawson auditioned for the role of Hogan, but could not pull off the American accent. Eventually he got the role of Cpl. Newkirk
and tried a Liverpudlian accent. However, Sender said that no one could understand him, so Dawson ended up taking a Cockney dialect. But there are even more facts about Dawson.

12. The four main German roles were played by Jewish actors

Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Leon Askin and Howard Caine played German roles, but in fact they were all Jews. Klemperer, Banner, and Askin actually fled the Nazis during World War II. Shocking fact: Robert Clary was taken to a concentration camp and twelve of his immediate relatives went to Auschwitz.

13. There existed only three models of the Mercedes of General Burkhalter

General Burkhalter rides in a very eye-catching Mercedes-Benz W31. A total of only 57 of the black and gray convertibles were produced. After the war, 54 of them were destroyed. One model was converted into a fire truck and the other was owned by the Spanish monarchy. The cars have an incredibly high value.

14. The tagline for Hogan’s Heroes was sarcastically suggested

The series’ tagline was, “If you liked World War II, you’ll love Hogan’s Heroes!” Writer and comedian Stan Freberg actually suggested this tagline sarcastically in a 1965 interview with Bob Crane. Crane denied the suggestion. But it ultimately became the actual tagline for the series. Would you have guessed?

15. There was “Hogan’s Heroes” album in which the cast sang songs from World War II

Did you know that an album was released in which Clary, Dawson, Carter and Kinchloe sang songs from World War II? Among them were some of the most popular songs from the 1940s. Song titles include “This Is The Army Mister Jones”, “Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square”, “The Last Time I Saw Paris” among others.

16. The title song even had lyrics

In the series they had an opening and closing song that had no lyrics. For the soundtrack of Hogan’s Heroes then Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon and Larry Hovis formed a quartet. Verse 1 begins, “Heroes, heroes, husky men of war, Sons of all the heroes, of the war before”.

17. There was almost an underground steam bath

Stalag 13 was a very large facility with long, winding tunnels. There was once even talk of giving the inmates access to an underground steam bath. In the end, the idea was too implausible. In one episode, “rusted pipes collapse the emergency tunnel just as Hogan has to get four underground leaders out of Germany, so he creates a spa.”

18. The terrible violin playing was not remotely true

Colonel Klink liked to play the violin in the series, and it always sounded really terrible. This became a running gag. But in truth, Klemperer was a classically trained violist and pianist. His father, Otto Klemperer, was one of the most important conductors of classical music in 20th century Germany.

19. Bob Crane and Klink’s secretary married

Many actors fall in love on the set. So did Bob Crane, who met his intended on the set of Hogan’s Heroes. He married Patricia Olson, whose stage name was Sigrid Valdis. She played Colonel Klink’s secretary Hilda in seasons two through six. It was Crane’s second wife. His first wife was his high school sweetheart Anne Terzian.

20. An interesting background from two characters

Would you have thought? Sergeant Schultz, funnily enough, was in the toy business before he served in the war. He was president of a successful toy company called “Schotsy Toy Company.” Colonel Klink served as an accountant before the war. It’s amazing what people did before they went to war.

21. Instead of tearing down the set, they blew it up

Hogan’s Heroes was filmed on Desilu Productions’ RKO Forty Acres backlot. After the series was filmed, the 1974 movie Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS used the lot and destroyed the set with an explosion. This saved the producers the cost of demolishing the set. Therefore, they thought it was half bad.

22. This was known about Klemperer’s character from the beginning

Werner Klemperer agreed to the role of Colonel Klink only after he was assured by the producers that Klink would never succeed with his plans. After receiving the assurance, he immediately signed the contract. The producers of the series really kept their word. Klink was indeed unsuccessful with any of his plans.

23. Frosty filming

The makers of the series made sure from the beginning that there would always be snow on the ground and frost on the windows. In this way, they wanted to avoid continuity problems. So the actors had to film with winter coats and scarves, even when it was totally warm outside. For the actors, of course, that wasn’t exactly comfortable.

24. An interesting fact about Cranes leather jacket

The leather jacket that Bob Crane wore on the set of the series was famous. Frank Sinatra wore the same jacket during the filming of From Ryan’s Express. In 2009, the leather jacket was auctioned by Christie’s. Included was Crane’s military Elbco shirt with a pair of clip-on military pins.

25. “The Rural Purge”

The last season of the series ran on television from 1971 to 1972. It was ended because at that time the broadcasters believed that these series were mainly watched by a rural audience. The phenomenon had become commonly known as “The Rural Purge.” Other series were also affected like The Beverly Hillbillies, Mister Ed, or Lassie.

26. The hidden wedding ring

Larry Hovis refused to take off his wedding ring throughout the television series. To hide his wedding ring, he wore gloves most of the time. It is very impressive that Hovis insisted on his wedding ring. And it is also very impressive that the series supported him in hiding his ring.

27. Often the night scenes were filmed daytime

The directors of the series used a “Day for Night” filter on their cameras. This made daytime shots look like nighttime shots. Any kind of scene could be shot at any time of day. In the past, however, the light sensitivity of film stock and video cameras improved so much that this type of shooting is no longer common today.

28. The Nazi stigma

In the pilot of Hogan’s Heroes, Leonid Kinskey played a Russian character. When Kinskes realized that the comedy series featured Nazi characters, he dropped out of the series. One might assume that he was informed about this fact in advance, but apparently it was not so. Kinske’s most famous role was as Sascha in the film Casablanca.

29. These two actors were in all 168 episodes

There were two actors who appeared in all 168 episodes: Bob Crane (Colonel Robert Hogan) and Werner Klemperer (Colonel Wilhelm Klink). Thus, the two were the only regular actors who appeared in every episode of the popular series. Not surprisingly, they were the biggest stars of the series, and thus the linchpin for most of the storylines.

30. Where to get the snow?

As mentioned earlier, the series was set in a winter climate. Since it was actually shot in warm California, this was quite problematic. In the first seasons, the snow on the roofs was made of salt. But from the fourth season on, simply white paint was used. That was certainly more pleasant than using salt everywhere.

31. Crane the drummer

Bob Crane played the drums for the theme song of Hogan’s Heroes. Crane started playing drums at age 11 and was a talented drummer. He carried his drumsticks around with him constantly, and for relaxation he drummed in his dressing room. Crane also showed his amazing talent in the Series.

32. “No Names Please”

There were two characters who were always addressed by their full names. Both were African American: Sergeant Richard Baker (Kenneth Washington) and Sergeant James ‘Kinch’ Kinchloe (Ivan Dixon). The other characters were always addressed by only one of their names. By the way, there is an episode from season 4 called “No Names Please”.

33. LeBeau and his profession

Before his time in prison, LeBeau was a chef. Before that came out, he made various claims about his previous work. He said he had been a chemist, a dance instructor, a clothing designer or even an art student. By doing this, he was trying to deceive the German soldiers.