Leon Askin (German pronunciation: [ˈleË É"n ˈaskin] (listen); born
Leon Aschkenasy, September 18, 1907 â€" June 3, 2005) was an Austrian
Jewish actor best known for portraying the character "General
Burkhalter" on the TV situation comedy Hogan's Heroes.Askin was born
into a Jewish family in Vienna, the son of Malvine (Susman) and Samuel
Aschkenazy. According to his autobiography his first experience of
show business occurred during World War I when he recited a poem
before Emperor Franz Joseph. In the 1920s, he studied acting with
Louise Dumont and Max Reinhardt. While working at Vienna's "ABC"
cabaret theater in the 1930s, he frequently directed the works of
dissident political writer Jura Soyfer.Askin fled Austria to the
United States in 1940, after having been beaten and abused by the Nazi
SA and SS. His parents were murdered in the Treblinka death camp. He
then 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.Askin gained wide
recognition and popularity for his recurring role as the stern General
Albert Burkhalter in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes appearing in 67
episodes (including the pilot) of the show’s run from 1965 to 1971.
Burkhalter was the gruff and portly commanding officer of Colonel
Klink, the bungling commandant of a German World War II
prisoner-of-war camp, manipulated by the American Colonel Hogan so the
prisoners would get away with their clandestine activities.
Leon Aschkenasy, September 18, 1907 â€" June 3, 2005) was an Austrian
Jewish actor best known for portraying the character "General
Burkhalter" on the TV situation comedy Hogan's Heroes.Askin was born
into a Jewish family in Vienna, the son of Malvine (Susman) and Samuel
Aschkenazy. According to his autobiography his first experience of
show business occurred during World War I when he recited a poem
before Emperor Franz Joseph. In the 1920s, he studied acting with
Louise Dumont and Max Reinhardt. While working at Vienna's "ABC"
cabaret theater in the 1930s, he frequently directed the works of
dissident political writer Jura Soyfer.Askin fled Austria to the
United States in 1940, after having been beaten and abused by the Nazi
SA and SS. His parents were murdered in the Treblinka death camp. He
then 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.Askin gained wide
recognition and popularity for his recurring role as the stern General
Albert Burkhalter in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes appearing in 67
episodes (including the pilot) of the show’s run from 1965 to 1971.
Burkhalter was the gruff and portly commanding officer of Colonel
Klink, the bungling commandant of a German World War II
prisoner-of-war camp, manipulated by the American Colonel Hogan so the
prisoners would get away with their clandestine activities.
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