Leon Askin, 97, Actor Known for ‘Hogan’s Heroes’

Leon Askin, the actor who played Gen. Albert Burkhalter in the 1960s television comedy “Hogan’s Heroes,” died Friday at a Vienna hospital. He was 97.Askin was best known for his role as the Nazi general who constantly threatened to send the prisoner-of-war camp’s inept commander, Col. Wilhelm Klink, to the Russian front because of his stupidity.“Beverly Hills schoolchildren would call after me, ‘Klink, Klink!'” Askin wrote on his Web site. “People driving through Beverly Hills who saw these children raising their arms in the Hitler salute couldn’t continue out of sheer shock and amazement and brought traffic to a standstill.”Born Leo Aschkenasy in Vienna on Sept.18, 1907, Askin worked as a cabaret artist in the 1930s before fleeing first to France and then to America to escape persecution by the Nazis. His parents were not as lucky and ended up perishing in a concentration camp.He had roles in dozens of films, including Billy Wilder’s “One, Two, Three” and the Austrian director Fritz Lang’s “Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse.” In the course of his career, he appeared opposite Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, and Peter Ustinov.He also had roles in many lesser films, such as “Going Ape!” (1981) and “Airplane II: The Sequel” (1982). He also did voice work for cartoons, for instance in the series “Scooby and Scrappy-Doo” (1979), and was a frequent guest star in many television series.Askin took up residence in Vienna in 1994, returning to his roots in cabaret. He also took roles in Vienna’s Festwochen and the city’s second opera, the Volksoper. He appeared often on German television. His last role was in the comedy “Ene mene muh – und tot bist du” (2001). He was decorated with Vienna’s Gold Medal of Honor, one of the most distinguished prizes the city offers.

Leon Askin, 97, Actor Known for ‘Hogan’s Heroes’

Leon Askin, 97, Actor Known for ‘Hogan’s Heroes’

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