Leon Askin
| Leon Askin | |
|---|---|
as "Gen. Burkhalter" on Hogan's Heroes
|
|
| Born |
Leon Aschkenasy September 18, 1907 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | June 3, 2005 (aged 97) Vienna, Austria |
| Years active | 1930s–2005 |
| Spouse(s) | Mimi (divorced), Annelies Ehrlich (divorced), Anita Askin-Wicher |
Leon Askin (German pronunciation: [ˈleːɔn ˈaskin]; September 18, 1907 – June 3, 2005) was an Austrian actor best known for portraying the character "General Burkhalter" on the TV situation comedy Hogan's Heroes.
Askin was born Leon Aschkenasy into a Jewish family in Vienna, the son of Malvine (Susman) and Samuel Aschkenazy.
Askin immigrated to the United States in 1940 and, served in World War II as a Staff Sergeant in the US Army Air Forces. After the war, he went to Hollywood to begin a career in films, invariably portraying foreign characters who speak English with a strong accent. Askin appeared as the Russian composer Anton Rubinstein in a Disneyland anthology episode of the life of Peter Tchaikovsky. Fans of the television series Adventures of Superman recall his portrayals of an eastern European diamond smuggler (Joseph Ferdinand) in the 1953 black-and-white episode "Superman in Exile", and as a South American prime minister in a color episode. He appeared in 20th Century Fox's biblical epic The Robe in 1953 as a Syrian guide named Abidor. In 1960, he appeared in the film Pension Schöller, and the following year was prominently featured in Billy Wilder's film One, Two, Three, co-starring with James Cagney. He gained wide recognition and popularity by appearing as the stern General Albert Burkhalter in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes in the late 1960s.
...
Wikipedia