List of Hogan's Heroes characters

The following is a list of characters from Hogan's Heroes, an American sitcom television series which starred Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and John Banner, and featured Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, and Larry Hovis. It ran for six seasons on CBS from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971.

Main

Colonel Hogan
Bob Crane as Colonel Hogan

Colonel Robert E. Hogan (portrayed by Bob Crane) – United States Army Air Corps Colonel Robert E. Hogan, senior ranking POW officer, is the leader of the group. Hogan commanded the 504th Bombardment Group prior to being shot down during a raid on Hamburg when Luftwaffe Colonel Albert Biedenbender (James Gregory) guessed Hogan's plan and developed a successful defense. Hogan graduated third in his military class, and seems to thrive on difficult if not impossible missions. He was described by Biedenbender as having "a flair for the overcomplex" because of the complicated details of the missions he plans.[1]

Due to Hogan's care in planning operations, the skill of his staff, and Hogan's success at manipulating Klink and Schultz, Hogan's team is usually successful. He is a ladies' man, engaging in different relationships with Klink's secretaries (Helga and Hilda) and most of the civilian women he comes in contact with. Throughout the show, Hogan is seen impersonating German officers, typically using aliases derived from his own name such as "Hoganmüller" or "Hoganschmidt".

Hogan's men are extremely loyal to their commander, and he to them. In "Two Nazis for the Price of One", Hogan and his men are ordered back to London after they discover their operation is known by a Gestapo general. When circumstances force Hogan to stay behind, the men all elect to remain with him, which visibly touches Hogan. Newkirk once disobeyed orders and explained the team's activities to an Allied general who was unaware of Hogan's real mission and chastised him for appearing to cooperate with the Nazis, with Newkirk telling the general he should "know how we all feel about Colonel Hogan" ("The General Swap"). When a British general praised Hogan's war efforts, Hogan was quick to state that he "has a good crew", crediting the men with the team's successes ("D-Day at Stalag 13").

Werner Klemperer as Col. Klink

Colonel Wilhelm Klink (portrayed by Werner Klemperer) – Kommandant Oberst (Colonel) Wilhelm Klink is an old-line Luftwaffe officer of aristocratic (Junker) Prussian descent. He is shown to be inept, gullible, cowardly, overconfident, paranoid, insecure, and often clueless. He is a veteran aviator of the First World War and can be seen wearing an Iron Cross First Class, along with the 1939 clasp for a second award (spange), Ground Assault Badge of the Luftwaffe, and the Pilot's Badge. The former implies that he also earned both an Iron Cross Second Class as well as the Honor Cross for service in World War I.

After failing his entrance exams for law or medical school,[2] he received an appointment to a military academy and graduated 95th in his class. Stuck at the rank of colonel for twenty years with an efficiency rating a few points above "miserable", he is the only member of his class still in the Luftwaffe who has not risen to the rank of general. Klink always wears a monocle on his left eye, usually carries a riding crop, and walks with a slight stoop. Klink is for the most part portrayed as a vain, cowardly and muddling, career officer rather than a stereotypical evil German or ardent Nazi. Klink is easily manipulated by Hogan through a combination of flattery, chicanery, and playing on Klink's fear of being sent to the Russian Front or being arrested by the Gestapo.

Klemperer reprised his role as Colonel Klink outside of the series twice: once on the 1960s Batman series in a cameo role and in a 1993 episode of The Simpsons.

Sergeant Schultz

John Banner as Schultz

Sergeant Hans Schultz (portrayed by John Banner) – Oberfeldwebel (During World War II the equivalent to Master Sergeant) Hans Schultz is Klink's portly, inept, clumsy, dim-witted, yet affable Sergeant of the Guard. He displays two stripes at the cuffs of his tunic sleeves indicating the rank of Hauptfeldwebel, which is the equivalent of a Company First Sergeant with the same pay grade as Oberfeldwebel; he wears a fictitious version of the Iron Cross (4th Grade).[3] Schultz also has three other decorations from World War I (including the Wound Badge).[3]

Schultz is seen throughout the show taking bribes from the prisoners that are usually in the form of chocolate bars or LeBeau's gourmet cooking, often in exchange for information. Schultz tries to avoid trouble at all costs and prefers to ignore the prisoners' suspicious activities. His catchphrase is "I know (see) nothing!"[4] Schultz's penchant for disregarding the prisoners' antics is so great, Hogan and his men can usually rely on Schultz to keep his mouth shut and often will openly discuss their latest plot in his presence. In the episode "D-Day at Stalag 13", he even witnesses one of the hidden doors to the underground tunnels closing, and the prisoners appear unconcerned at him seeing it. Frequently, they will even tell Schultz directly what they are up to and enlist his help or participation in their schemes from time to time, usually amid his protestations. Schultz often seems to be less sympathetic to the Germans ("Once in awhile I have to be on our side!") than to the Allies. On occasion, Schultz mentions how disgusted he is by the war and Hitler's regime and much preferred the days when Germany was ruled by the Kaiser. Like Colonel Klink, Schultz is a veteran of World War I and in civilian life was the owner of Germany's largest and most successful toy manufacturing company.[5] He has a wife and five children, whom he sees only on infrequent leaves. He is unfaithful, however, as he is seen dating women from the nearby town of Hammelburg who usually turn out to be either underground agents assisting Hogan and his men, or undercover Gestapo agents.[6] Schultz is a bad gambler and possibly alcoholic, but above all loves to eat, particularly LeBeau's exquisite cooking. Schultz carries a Krag-Jørgensen rifle, which he never keeps loaded and tends to misplace or even hand to the POWs when he's distracted.

Corporal LeBeau
Robert Clary as LeBeau and Cynthia Lynn as Fräulein Helga

Corporal Louis LeBeau (portrayed by Robert Clary) – Free French Air Force Corporal Louis LeBeau is a Master Chef and occasionally a tailor, he is also one of the first POWs at Stalag 13. He is passionate about his cooking and patriotism for France, and he often spites Germans and Nazis when they commit war crimes. LeBeau makes uniforms for the prisoners smuggled through their tunnels, and helps with disguising Hogan's men in Nazi apparel. LeBeau has trained the camp guard dogs without the knowledge of the guards, and is often seen using the tunnel entrance located in the kennel. Though highly claustrophobic, he is used during missions to hide in small spaces such as the safe in Colonel Klink's office, boxes, crates, or a dumbwaiter. LeBeau also uses his talent as a singer to help the "Heroes" in several episodes.

In one first-season episode, LeBeau refers to being married. Except for that one instance, he appears as a stereotypical Frenchman, attracted to many of the women with whom he comes in contact during the series. LeBeau frequently uses his culinary skills to impress Klink's guests or get him out of trouble with his superiors. Hogan also uses LeBeau's culinary prowess to gain access to Klink's guests at dinners or banquets, or to bargain for extra privileges. LeBeau is frequently seen bribing Schultz with food for information. Both Schultz and Klink frequently refer to LeBeau as "the cockroach", due to his small stature.

Actor Robert Clary is a French Jew who had been held in the Nazi concentration camps Ottmuth and Buchenwald, and still has his serial number tattooed on his arm.

Corporal Newkirk
Richard Dawson as Newkirk alongside guest star Ulla Strömstedt

Corporal Peter Newkirk (portrayed by Richard Dawson) – Royal Air Force Corporal Peter Newkirk is the group's conman. As a skilled tailor, Newkirk is in charge of making or altering uniforms, civilian clothes, and other disguises as needed for missions or for prisoners to move out of Germany. He also uses his skills as a pick-pocket, lock picker and safe cracker on many occasions, particularly to open Klink's office safe. As a card sharp, Newkirk gambles with Schultz to learn about top secret information, and is often teamed with Carter in operations.

Newkirk does numerous impersonations such as vaudeville personalities; he can impersonate German officers and is able to do a voice imitation of Adolf Hitler; he is shown imitating Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister.[7] As a bit of a Casanova, Newkirk is often seen trying to initiate romance with the women who appear in the series.

Sergeant Kinchloe
Ivan Dixon as Kinchloe, talking to Hogan

Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe (portrayed by Ivan Dixon) – United States Army Air Corps Staff Sergeant James "Kinch" Kinchloe is primarily responsible for radio, telephone, and other forms of electronic communications. Although outranked by TSgt. Carter, Kinch acts as second in command in Hogan's crew and is Chief of Operations. It was a large step for a 1960s television show to have an African-American actor identified in such a manner.[8]

A talented mimic, Kinchloe easily imitates German officers speaking over the radio or telephone. Kinch is from Detroit, where he had worked for the telephone company and before the war fought in the Golden Gloves boxing matches as a middleweight. Kinchloe has remarkable ability when participating in undercover activities, but because of his skin color his roles outside of the camp are limited.

Ivan Dixon left the series after the end of the fifth season; no mention was ever made on-screen explaining Kinchloe's departure from Stalag 13.[9][10]

Sergeant Baker

Sergeant Richard Baker (portrayed by Kenneth Washington) – Following Dixon's departure from the show after season five, the series producers chose to create a new character rather than recast the part of Kinchloe. Sergeant Richard Baker, like Kinchloe, was an African-American radio expert who ran the underground communications center.[9] However, with Kinchloe's departure, Newkirk is elevated to the Chief of Operations/Chief of Staff role (despite being subordinate to both Sergeant Baker and TSgt. Carter by rank) during the sixth season. As with Kinchloe, Baker is able to contribute vital support to the missions assigned to him by Col. Hogan.

Sergeant Carter
Larry Hovis as Sgt Carter

Technical Sergeant Andrew Carter (portrayed by Larry Hovis) – United States Army Air Corps Technical Sergeant Andrew J. Carter is a chemist and an explosives expert in charge of ordnance and bomb-making. Prior to the war, Carter was a Boy Scout who had run a drug store in Muncie, Indiana. In the pilot episode, "The Informer", Carter has the rank of first lieutenant, and is an escapee from another POW camp who swaps places with the "outside man", Olsen, while temporarily being brought into Stalag 13.[11] In the series, Carter shows a great talent in chemistry and explosives; he has a passion for making and producing formulas, chemicals, and explosive devices when needed. While bright and enthusiastic at his specialties, he is often clumsy and forgetful. Carter is often called upon to impersonate German officers, most convincingly, Adolf Hitler, to whom he bears more than a passing resemblance.[12]

Carter sometimes references his fiancée Mary Jane, whom he expects to marry after the war. Unlike the rest of the men, he is shown to be shy around women, and Newkirk and LeBeau often joke about his naïveté. Although Carter is the ranking non-commissioned officer, he is never shown to exercise any real authority over the other prisoners. He is part Native American, as revealed when he receives a letter from one of his Sioux relatives. (In reality, Hovis was born on a Yakama reservation in Washington.)

Recurring
Sigrid Valdis as Fräulein Hilda with Crane as Hogan
  • Fräulein Helga (portrayed by Cynthia Lynn from 1965 to 1966) and Fräulein Hilda (portrayed by Sigrid Valdis from 1966 to 1971) – Helga and Hilda served as Colonel Klink's secretary. Both were portrayed as neutral or pro-Allied in that they assisted Hogan and his men when not working for Klink, and had flirtatious personal relationships with Colonel Hogan. Both assist Hogan by providing general information or access to official papers and equipment. They also often provide verification for Hogan's statements when he tries to manipulate Klink, such as agreeing that Klink looks tired or sick. In addition, visiting dignitaries often attempt to flirt with Helga and Hilda, including invitations (or summonses) to dinner, which often aids Hogan and his men to create distractions, steal documents, or secretly make personal contact. In the pilot episode,[11] Helga works as a manicurist in the prisoners' underground barber shop, but this is the only scene that shows her cooperation as that extensive. Sigrid Valdis appeared as a different character in one episode before obtaining the role of Hilda. She and Bob Crane were married on the show's set in 1970. Most of the cast and crew were present, and Richard Dawson serving as Crane's best man.
  • General Albert Hans Burkhalter (portrayed by Leon Askin) – General Albert Burkhalter is Klink's gruff and rotund Wehrmacht Heer superior officer. His rank is equivalent to a lieutenant (three-star) general in the American forces. Burkhalter frequently tires of Klink's obsequious manner and nervous babbling ("Shut up Klink!") and regularly threatens to send him to the Russian Front or have him shot. Burkhalter is mystified by Stalag 13's perfect record, unable to make sense of it in contrast with Klink's apparent incompetence. However, Burkhalter, is sometimes shown to be a somewhat incompetent general himself. He is deathly afraid of his wife, and after Hogan manages to get photos of the General with other women in order to blackmail him, Burkhalter frantically agrees to do whatever is necessary to save his reputation. Like Klink, Burkhalter comes to depend on Hogan's explanations to get him out of trouble with the High Command when Hogan's schemes result in German failures.
  • Major Wolfgang Hochstetter (portrayed by Howard Caine) – Major (Sturmbannführer) Wolfgang Hochstetter of the Gestapo often takes it upon himself to investigate Klink and Stalag 13, or receives orders to do so. Because he is Gestapo, Klink is clearly fearful of him, while Burkhalter, who openly despises Hochstetter, is not. Though Hochstetter is highly suspicious of Hogan and has come to regard him as "the most dangerous man in all Germany", his arogance tends to get the better of him as he fails to see how he himself is manipulated by Hogan; Just like Klink and Burkhalter, whenever a Hogan scheme results in another German disaster, Hochstetter always accepts Hogan's advice about what to tell his superiors in Berlin in order to save his own neck. Before becoming settled into the Hochstetter role, Caine played two other similar German officers, Gestapo Kriminaldirektor (Colonel) Feldkamp[13] and Major Keitel.[14]
Bernard Fox as Colonel Crittendon, alongside Klemperer as Klink
  • Colonel Rodney Crittendon (portrayed by Bernard Fox) – Colonel Rodney Crittendon is a Royal Air Force group captain. (American forces have no "group captain" rank, so Crittendon was referred to as "colonel" to eliminate confusion for the show's US audience.) He is a British officer who comes into contact with Hogan and his men several times throughout the series. His date of rank is earlier than Hogan's, and as senior officer he occasionally attempts to assume command. His medals include the Distinguished Service Order, Order of the British Empire, Military Cross and Bar, and the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. He believes that a POW's only duty is to escape; to be involved in anything else, such as spying or sabotage, is strictly against regulations. Crittendon is shown to be amateurish and oblivious to Hogan's operation, much to Hogan's annoyance. When Crittendon first transferred from Stalag 18, Hogan posed him a hypothetical question, asking what he would do if he were aware the POWs were engaged in spying and sabotage; Crittendon replied that he would report them to the German authorities. Crittendon constantly tries to develop and attempt escapes, however they ultimately fail due to poor planning. In a dual role, Bernard Fox played British traitor Sir Charles Chitterly (possibly a parody of William Joyce known as Lord Haw-Haw), who stops at Stalag 13 with his wife Lady Leslie Chitterly (Anne Rogers), while on their way to visit Adolf Hitler, whom they consider a friend. Lookalike Crittendon is parachuted into camp, and replaces Sir Charles.[15][16]
  • Marya (Nita Talbot) – Marya is a Russian spy who occasionally works with Hogan. She often appears as the trusted paramour of a high-ranking German officer or scientist. Her mission is to either discredit them or set them up for arrest, as she notes that "...We cannot trust Hitler to shoot all his own generals".[17] She meets Hogan and LeBeau in Paris during the second season, where she learns of their Stalag 13 activities.[18][19] Her schemes often come into conflict with Hogan's plans, but she always proves to be either faithful to the Allied cause or have a compatible cause of her own. Marya constantly flirts with Hogan, to his discomfort, and also flirts with LeBeau. Infatuated, LeBeau trusts her and believes her to be an innocent, decent woman who won't sell out to the Nazis, though Hogan is always wary of her and suspicious of her motives.
  • Tiger (portrayed by Arlene Martel) – Tiger is a French Underground contact who has several encounters with Hogan. Hogan notes that Tiger has saved his life at least once; He describes her as 'the' leader of the French Underground. Hogan frees Tiger from the Gestapo twice: once on the way to Berlin by train, and once from Gestapo headquarters in Paris.[18][19]
  • Captain Fritz or Felix Gruber (portrayed by Dick Wilson) – Captain Gruber is Klink's adjutant in "Don't Forget to Write",[20] and becomes the new ruthless Kommandant of Stalag 13 after Klink mistakenly volunteers for the Russian Front. Because Gruber is hard-nosed and not easy to manipulate, the prisoners desperately want to get Klink back. Hogan orders three prisoners to escape and hide. When Gruber is unable to recapture them, Burkhalter orders Klink to find them, which he does with Hogan's aid. Burkhalter decides it would be a mistake to send Klink to the Russian Front and restores him to the Kommandant's position. Gruber appears in one scene each of two other episodes (with Hogan assuming his identity to visit the home of a general in the first of those episodes). In addition to Gruber, several other junior officers and capable NCO's are occasionally assigned to Klink's command, but Hogan always finds a way to get rid of them.
  • Corporal Karl Langenscheidt (portrayed by Jon Cedar) – Corporal Karl Langenscheidt is one of Schultz's guards who is only seen or spoken of occasionally (mostly in the first-season episodes). He often arrives with poor timing, such as informing Klink that an important guest has arrived unannounced, much to Klink's displeasure. In "Art for Hogan's Sake", Langenscheidt gets involved in Hogan's scheme to forge the famous, priceless Édouard Manet painting, "The Fife Player", and switch it for the real one General Burkhalter had "requisitioned" from the Louvre in Paris to give to Hermann Göring as a birthday present.[21]
  • Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer (née Burkhalter) (portrayed by Kathleen Freeman, played once by Alice Ghostley[22]) – Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer is General Burkhalter's gruff, homely and possibly widowed sister. She is usually in a one-sided relationship with Klink, who does not return her affection. Her previous husband, Otto, is missing in action on the Russian Front, this leads General Burkhalter to arrange meetings between her and Klink in order to marry her off. Later in the series ("Kommandant Gertrude"),[23] Frau Linkmeyer arrives at the camp with her new (and reluctant) fiancé, Major Wolfgang Karp (Lee Bergere), whom she intends to have replace Klink as Kommandant, but Hogan manages to foil her plans and their engagement.
Hogan tries to convince Italian Major Bonacelli (Hans Conried) to help him.
  • Major Bonacelli (portrayed by Hans Conried in the first appearance, Vito Scotti in the second appearance) – Major Bonacelli is a visiting commander of an Italian prisoner-of-war camp who is at Stalag 13 to learn Klink's techniques. In "The Pizza Parlor", he is not supportive of the Fascist war effort and attempts to desert to Switzerland. Instead, Hogan convinces him to act as an Allied spy at the Italian POW camp.[25] In "The Return of Major Bonacelli", Hogan talks Bonacelli into photographing the new advanced German anti-aircraft gun before defecting to England (while he is pursued by Hochstetter and the Gestapo).[26]
  • Oscar Schnitzer (portrayed by Walter Janowitz) is an elderly veterinarian and dog trainer who keeps Stalag 13 supplied with guard dogs. He is a member of the German underground, and secretly in league with Hogan and his men. Oscar's truck is also occasionally used for smuggling people in and out of camp, as the guards are afraid of the dogs.
  • Olsen (portrayed by Stewart Moss or William Christopher) is the Heroes' "outside man"; when someone is brought into the camp, Olsen goes out to ensure that the number of prisoners remains the same. In the pilot episode "The Informer," Carter asks Hogan what Olsen does while he's out of the camp, and Hogan says, "We never ask him." In the episode "Some of Their Planes Are Missing," Olsen takes Hogan's place in a bed, pretending to be asleep, so that the Germans wouldn't know that Hogan was out of the camp.

References
  1. "Hogan Gives a Birthday Party". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 1. 16 September 1966.
  2. "Kommandant of the Year". Hogan's Heroes. Season 1. Episode 3. 1 October 1965.
  3. "The Rise and Fall of Sergeant Schultz". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 6. October 21, 1966.
  4. https://www.triviamemo.com/article/on-the-tv-show-hogan-s-heroes-what-is-sergeant-schultz-s-catchphrase/
  5. "War Takes a Holiday". Hogan's Heroes. Season 3. Episode 21. 27 January 1968.
  6. "Sergeant Schultz Meets Mata Hari". Hogan's Heroes. Season 3. Episode 4. September 30, 1967.
  7. "The General Swap". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 17. January 6, 1967.
  8. Hayward, Anthony (16 May 2008). "Ivan Dixon: Kinchloe in 'Hogan's Heroes'". The Independent. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. Royce, Brenda Scott (October 15, 1998). Hogan's Heroes: Behind the Scenes at Stalag 13. Renaissance Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-1580630313. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
  10. Gardner, Eric (March 21, 2012). "WGA Fights Over Movie Rights to 'Hogan's Heroes'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
  11. "The Informer". Hogan's Heroes. Season 1. Episode 1. September 17, 1965.
  12. "Will the Real Adolf Please Stand Up?". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 12. December 2, 1966.
  13. "Happy Birthday Adolf". Hogan's Heroes. Season 1. Episode 17. January 7, 1966.
  14. "The Battle of Stalag 13". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 5. October 14, 1966.
  15. "Lady Chitterly's Lover: Part 1". Hogan's Heroes. Season 6. Episode 4. October 11, 1970.
  16. "Lady Chitterly's Lover: Part 2". Hogan's Heroes. Season 6. Episode 5. October 18, 1970.
  17. Shandley, Robert (September 15, 2011). Hogan's Heroes. Wayne State University Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0814336007. Retrieved 2014-03-01.
  18. "A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 1". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 10. November 18, 1966.
  19. "A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 2". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 11. November 18, 1966.
  20. "Don't Forget to Write". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 13. December 9, 1966.
  21. "Art for Hogan's Sake". Hogan's Heroes. Season 2. Episode 16. December 30, 1966.
  22. "Watch the Trains Go By". Hogan's Heroes. Season 4. Episode 19. February 1, 1969.
  23. "Kommandant Gertrude". Hogan's Heroes. Season 6. Episode 21. February 28, 1971.
  24. "That's No Lady, That's My Spy". Hogan's Heroes. Season 6. Episode 17. January 24, 1971.
  25. "The Pizza Parlor". Hogan's Heroes. Season 1. Episode 22. February 11, 1966.
  26. "The Return of Major Bonacelli". Hogan's Heroes. Season 4. Episode 25. March 15, 1969.
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