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{{Short description|American comedy television series (1965–1971)}}
{{About|the TV show|other uses|Hogan's Heroes (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2024}}
{{Infobox television
{{Infobox television
|show_name = Hogan's Heroes
| image = Hogan's Heroes logo.png
| image_size = 225
|image = [[File:Hogan's Heroes Title Card.png|225px]]
|list_episodes = List of Hogan's Heroes episodes
| list_episodes = List of Hogan's Heroes episodes
| runtime = 25 minutes
|format = [[Military]] [[sitcom]]
| genre = [[Sitcom]]
|runtime = 25 minutes
|creator = [[Bernard Fein]]<br>[[Albert S. Ruddy]]
| creator = {{plainlist|
* [[Bernard Fein]]
* [[Albert S. Ruddy]]
|starring = [[Bob Crane]]<br>[[Werner Klemperer]]<br>[[John Banner]]<br>[[Robert Clary]]<br>[[Richard Dawson]]<br>[[Larry Hovis]]<br>[[Ivan Dixon]]<br>[[Kenneth Washington]]
|country = United States
|company = [[Albert S. Ruddy|Alfran Productions]]<br>[[Bob Crane|Bob Crane Enterprises]] (1970–1971)<br>[[Bing Crosby|Bing Crosby Productions]]<br>[[CBS Productions]]
|distributor = CBS Films (before 1971)<br>[[Viacom Enterprises]] (1971–95)<br>[[Paramount Domestic Television]] (1995–2006)<br>[[CBS Paramount Domestic Television]] (2006–07)<br>[[CBS Television Distribution]] (2007-present)
|network = [[CBS]]
|status = cancelled
|picture_format = [[4:3]] [[SDTV]]<br>[[16:9]] [[HDTV]]
|first_aired = {{start date|1965|9|17}}
|last_aired = {{end date|1971|3|28}}
|num_seasons = 6
|num_episodes = 168 (Pilot episode-B/W; 167-color)
}}
}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
'''''Hogan's Heroes''''' is an American television [[sitcom]] set in a [[Nazi Germany|German]] [[Prisoner-of-war camp|prisoner of war (POW) camp]] during [[World War II]], that ran for 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to July 4, 1971, on the [[CBS]] network. [[Bob Crane]] starred as [[#Colonel Hogan|Colonel Robert E. Hogan]], coordinating an international crew of Allied prisoners running a [[Special forces|Special Operations]] group from the camp. [[Werner Klemperer]] played [[#Colonel Klink|Colonel Wilhelm Klink]], the incompetent commandant of the camp, and [[John Banner]] was the inept sergeant-of-the-guard, [[#Sergeant Schultz|Hans Schultz]].
* [[Bob Crane]]
* [[Werner Klemperer]]
* [[John Banner]]
* [[Robert Clary]]
* [[Richard Dawson]]
* [[Ivan Dixon]]
* [[Larry Hovis]]
* [[Kenneth Washington]]
}}
| producer = [[Edward H. Feldman]]<ref>{{cite book| title=Hogan's Heroes: Behind the Scenes at Stalag 13| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SUKAgAAQBAJ&q=feldman| first=Brenda Scott| last=Royce| pages=24–25| publisher=Macmillan| date=October 15, 1998| edition=reprint| isbn=978-1580630313| access-date=November 14, 2020}}</ref>
| composer = [[Jerry Fielding]]
| num_seasons = 6
| num_episodes = 168
| country = United States
| company = {{plainlist|
*[[Albert S. Ruddy|Alfran Productions]]
*[[Bob Crane|Bob Crane Enterprises]]<br>(season 6)
*[[Rysher Entertainment|Bing Crosby Productions]]
*[[CBS Productions]]
}}
| network = [[CBS]]
| first_aired = {{start date|1965|9|17}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1971|3|28}}
}}
'''''Hogan's Heroes''''' is an American television [[sitcom]] created by [[Bernard Fein]] and [[Albert S. Ruddy]] which is set in a [[Prisoner-of-war camp|prisoner-of-war (POW) camp]] in [[Nazi Germany]] during [[World War II]], and centers around a group of Allied prisoners who use the POW camp as an operations base for sabotage and espionage purposes directed against Nazi Germany. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the [[CBS]] network, and has been broadcast in reruns ever since.


[[Bob Crane]] starred as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, coordinating an international crew of [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] prisoners covertly running a [[Special forces|special operations]] group from the camp. [[Werner Klemperer]] played Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the gullible commandant of the camp, and [[John Banner]] played the blundering but lovable sergeant-of-the-guard Hans Schultz.
The series was popular during its six-season run. In a way, it was a mixing of the [[prisoner of war]] (POW) movies like ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'' and ''[[The Password is Courage]]'' (with POWs, escapes, tunnels, German guards) and the [[James Bond]] phenomenon (with spies, espionage, sabotage, beautiful women) that was so very popular in the 1960s.


==Overview==
In 2013, creators [[Bernard Fein]] through his estate and [[Albert S. Ruddy]] acquired the sequel and other separate rights to ''Hogan's Heroes'' from [[Mark Cuban]] through arbitration and a movie based on the show has been planned.<ref>Fleming, Jr., Mike. [http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/hogans-heroes-rights-won-back-by-creators-al-ruddy-and-bernard-fein-theyre-plotting-new-movie/ "'Hogan's Heroes' Rights Won Back By Creators Al Ruddy And Bernard Fein; They're Plotting New Movie"] ''Deadline Hollywood''</ref> Currently reruns of the series can be watched on American television through the Me-TV network.
''Hogan's Heroes'' centers on [[U.S. Army Air Forces]] Colonel Robert Hogan and his staff of experts who are [[prisoners of war]] (POW) during [[World War II]]. The plot occurs during the permanent winter season in the fictionalized [[Stalag XIII-C|Stalag 13]] just outside [[Hammelburg]] in [[Nazi Germany]], though details in the show are inconsistent with the real-life camp and city's location in [[Franconia]].


When the group was formed under Hogan's command, he (and they) received the following orders: "You will assist escaping prisoners, cooperate with all friendly forces, and use every means to harass and injure the enemy." Hogan recites those orders verbatim, from memory in the Season 3 episode "The Collector General". Pursuant to those orders, the group secretly uses the camp to conduct Allied [[espionage]] and [[sabotage]] and to help escaped Allied POWs from other prison camps via a secret network of [[escape tunnel|tunnels]] that operate under the ineptitude of [[commandant]] Colonel Klink and his sergeant-of-the-guard, [[Sergeant#Germany|Sergeant]] Schultz.
==Storyline==


The prisoners cooperate with [[Resistance during World War II|resistance]] groups (collectively called "the Underground"), defectors, spies, counterspies, and disloyal German officers to accomplish this. The prisoners sometimes bribe or blackmail otherwise-loyal German officers so as to effectively manipulate their actions. Under Hogan's leadership, the prisoners also devise schemes such as having Sergeant Carter visit the camp disguised as [[Adolf Hitler]] as a distraction, or rescuing a [[French Underground Resistance|French Underground]] agent from [[Gestapo]] headquarters in [[Paris]].
===Setting===
The setting is a fictional version of [[Luftwaffe]] [[Stalag]]&nbsp;13 (Camp&nbsp;13 in early episodes), a [[prisoner-of-war camp]] for captured Allied airmen located north of the town of [[Hammelburg]] in the [[Bad Kissingen (district)|Bad Kissingen]] woods. It was on the Hammelburg Road (now known as [[European route E45|E45]]), on the way to Hofburgstraße and eventually [[Düsseldorf]]. One episode places the camp {{convert|106|km|mi}} from [[Heidelberg]] in flying miles; it is {{convert|199|km|0|abbr=on}} by car. The camp had 103 [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (POWs) during the first season, but becomes larger by the end of the series.


To the bafflement of his German colleagues who know him as an incompetent sycophant, Klink technically has a perfect operational record as camp commandant as no prisoners have successfully escaped during his tenure. Hogan and his men assist in maintaining this record so they can continue with their covert operations without active interference from the German military.
Stalag&nbsp;13 bore no resemblance to its real-life counterparts, [[Oflag&nbsp;XIII-B]] and [[Stalag&nbsp;XIII-C]], which were prison camps for Allied ground troops near the town of [[Hammelburg]] in [[Bavaria]], [[Germany]]. It had rather more similarities to the real-life [[Stalag Luft&nbsp;III]] (near what is now [[Żagań]], [[Poland]]), which was the scene of a famous mass POW escape involving an elaborate tunnel system. Also the [[Luftwaffe]] was in charge of all Allied airmen POWs and held them in its own Luft Stalags (hence the Stalag Luft designation).


Considering Klink's record, and the fact that the Allies would never bomb a POW camp, Stalag 13 appears to be a very secure location. As a result, the Germans often use the camp for high-level meetings, to hide important persons and develop secret projects. Klink frequently has many other important visitors and is temporarily put in charge of special prisoners.
===Premise/Plot===
[[File:Hogans heroes.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Hogan tries to influence visiting Italian Major Bonacelli ([[Hans Conried]]) into helping him.]]
The farcical premise of the show is that the [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (POWs) are actually using the camp as a base of operations for Allied [[espionage]] and [[sabotage]] against [[Nazi Germany]] as well as to help Allied POWs from other camps and defectors to get out of Germany (including supplying them with civilian clothes and fake identification). The prisoners work in cooperation with an assortment of [[Resistance during World War II|resistance]] groups (collectively called "the Underground"), defectors, spies, counterspies, disloyal officers and others. The mastermind behind the whole operation is the senior ranking prisoner American [[#Colonel Robert Hogan|Colonel Robert Hogan]]. His staff of experts in covert operations is composed of two Americans, one Brit and one Frenchman. They are able to pull off some of the wackiest and farfetched schemes such as having a prisoner visit the camp as a phony [[Adolf Hitler]]<ref name = "Will the Real Adolf Please Stand Up">{{cite episode| title = Will the Real Adolf Please Stand Up| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 2, 1966| season = 2| number = 12}}</ref> or rescuing a French Underground agent from [[Gestapo]] headquarters in [[Paris]], France.<ref name = "A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 1">{{cite episode| title = A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 1| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = November 18, 1966| season = 2| number = 10}}</ref><ref name = "A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 2">{{cite episode| title = A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 2| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = November 18, 1966| season = 2| number = 11}}</ref>


This brings the prisoners into contact with many important VIPs, scientists, spies, high-ranking officers, and some of Germany's most sophisticated and secret weapons projects such as the [[Wunderwaffe]] and the [[German nuclear weapons program]], of which the prisoners take advantage in their efforts to hinder the German war effort.
Colonel Hogan and his band are aided by the incompetence of the camp [[Commandant (rank)|commandant]], [[#Colonel Klink|Colonel Klink]], and the [[Sergeant#Germany|Sergeant of the Guard]] [[#Sergeant Schultz|Schultz]] who wants more than anything not to get into trouble. Hogan routinely manipulates Klink and gets Schultz to look the other way while his men conduct these covert operations. Klink and Schultz are constantly at risk of transfer to the cold and bloody [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Russian Front]], and Hogan helps to keep the duo in place if for no other reason for fear of them being replaced by more competent soldiers. In general, Germans in uniform and authority are portrayed as inept, dimwitted and/or easily manipulated. Many of the German civilians are portrayed as at least indifferent towards the German war effort or even willing to help the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].


===More Information===
===Setting===
The setting is the fictional ''[[Stalag|Luft Stalag]]''&nbsp;13, a [[prisoner-of-war camp]] for captured [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] airmen. Like the historical [[Stalag XIII-C]],<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.uncommon-travel-germany.com/stalag_13.html| title=Stalag 13 History: What Really Happened There?| website=Uncommon Travel Germany| access-date=November 14, 2020}}</ref> it is located just outside a town called [[Hammelburg]], although its location in the show is fictional, and does not correspond to the location of the actual Hammelburg. There are frequent references throughout the series to [[Düsseldorf]] being the nearest large city, and Düsseldorf is much farther northwest. In the season 1 episode, "German Bridge Is Falling Down", Hogan points to a map, and he is clearly pointing to NW Germany. (If anything, even farther north than Düsseldorf.)
Klink has a perfect record of no escapes as camp commandant (not including two guards who may have deserted). Hogan actually assists in maintaining this record and makes sure any prisoners who need to be spirited away are transferred to someone else's authority before their escape is enacted or replacements are provided to maintain the illusion that no one has ever escaped from Stalag 13. Because of this perfect record and the fact that the Allies would never bomb a prison camp, Stalag 13 is used by the Germans for high level secret meetings or to hide important persons or projects the Germans want to keep safe from Allied aerial bombings. Klink also has many other important visitors and is temporarily put in charge of special prisoners. This brings the prisoners in contact with many important VIPs, scientists, high-ranking officers, spies and some of Germany's most sophisticated and secretive weapons projects ([[Wunderwaffe]]), which naturally the prisoners take advantage of in their effort to stop the German war machine.


The show is a combination of several writing styles that were popular in the 1960s: the "wartime" show, the "spy" show, and "camp comedy".
The main five [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] prisoners (Hogan and his staff) bunk in "Barracke 2" (a goof here was that whenever the door was open, another building labeled "Barracke 3" could be seen, even though the barracks were supposed to be directly in front of the "Kommandantur", which was, unlike actual prison camps, situated inside the prisoner's compound - "Kommandantur" = headquarters, Barracke = barracks). The prisoners are able leave and return almost at will via a secret network of [[escape tunnel|tunnels]] and have tunnels to nearly every barracks and building in the camp, so much so that Hogan, in a third-season episode, has difficulty finding a spot in the camp without a tunnel under it.<ref name = "Everybody Loves a Snowman">{{cite episode| title = Everybody Loves a Snowman| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 9, 1967| season = 3| number = 14}}</ref> The stove in Klink's private quarters, a tree stump right outside the camp (known as the emergency tunnel) and a doghouse in the [[guard dog]] compound serve as [[trapdoor]]s. A bunk in their barracks serves as an elaborate trapdoor and the main entrance to the tunnels. The tunnels include access to the camp's "Cooler" which was a name used by Allied prisoners for [[solitary confinement]] and where prisoners are routinely sent for punishment and to hold special prisoners Klink is temporarily put in charge of. Just inside the "emergency tunnel" is a submarine style [[periscope]] which the prisoners use to check for guards outside of the tree stump trapdoor. There is also a [[periscope]] in their barracks with one end in a water barrel outside the barracks and the other end disguised as a the sink faucet inside the barracks. It allows them to see what is going on outside.


The camp has 103 Allied [[prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] (POWs) during the first season, but becomes larger by the end of the series. Few inmates have significant roles in the storylines other than the featured cast members.
The prisoners' infiltration of the camp is so extensive it includes control of the camp telephone switchboard which allows them to listen in on all conversations and to make phony phone calls. They have [[radio]] contact with [[Allied]] command, which is based in London and code named "Papa Bear". Hogan's code name is "Goldilocks", although in later seasons Stalag 13 utilized different code names. Their radio antenna is hidden as the camp flagpole on top of Klink's headquarters and the prisoners are able to make phony radio broadcasts including some by a prisoner impersonating [[Adolf Hitler]]. A real microphone, hidden in Klink's office in the picture of Hitler making a speech exactly where the microphone is in the picture, allows the prisoners to hear what is being said in the office (the speaker is disguised as the coffee pot in their barracks). The [[guard dogs]] are friendly to the prisoners thanks to the town veterinarian Oscar Schnitzer (played by Walter Janowitz) who is on their side. He routinely replaces the dogs on the premise that they could become too friendly with the prisoners, but he also uses his truck to smuggle people and items in and out of the camp with the German guards too afraid of the dogs to open the truck. Prisoners work in the camp's motor pool and "borrow" vehicles, including Klink's staff car, as needed to carry out their schemes. Sections of the [[barbed wire]] fence are in a frame which the prisoners can easily lift when the need to get out of the camp. On special occasions Allied airplanes land near the camp or make [[airdrops]] when the need arises. Allied submarines pick up escapees and defectors Hogan and his men are trying to get out of Germany.


In [[Stalag 13 (film set)|Stalag 13]], there are always patches of snow. Beyond recreating an extreme or adverse setting, this was to prevent problems with continuity and to allow the episodes to be shown in any order. Episodes with obvious non-winter settings, such as "D-Day at Stalag 13," either did not film any scene on the outdoor set or were careful not to show any "snow."
==Cast==


===Allies===
==Characters==
{{Main|List of Hogan's Heroes characters}}
[[File:Hogan's Heroes main cast 1965.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|First season cast (l–r): [[Cynthia Lynn]], [[Bob Crane]], [[Werner Klemperer]], [[John Banner]], [[Ivan Dixon]], [[Robert Clary]], and [[Richard Dawson]]. Absent: [[Larry Hovis]]]]


* [[Bob Crane]] as U.S. Colonel Robert E. Hogan, the senior ranking POW officer and the leader of the men in the POW camp. He uses his wit and ingenuity to commit sabotage and obtain military information. Crane was offered the role after appearing as "guy next door" types in television shows like ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' and as a regular in ''[[The Donna Reed Show]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cinemaretro.com/index.php?/archives/8625-CINEMA-RETRO-HOSTS-BOOK-EVENT-FOR-AUTHORS-ROBERT-CRANE-AND-CHRISTOPHER-FRYER.html |title=Cinema Retro Hosts Book Event for Authors Robert Crane and Christopher Fryer |website=Cinemaretro |date=May 8, 2015 |access-date=October 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite interview |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkocHRV6fCY |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/gkocHRV6fCY| archive-date=December 11, 2021 |url-status=live|title=Bob Crane Interview| date=August 4, 1972| publisher=[[WMVP|WCFL-AM]]| via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
====Colonel Hogan====
* [[Werner Klemperer]] as German Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the commandant of the POW camp. He is completely unaware of Hogan's operation and is proud the camp has a perfect no-escape record under his command. In real life, Klemperer was from a Jewish family (his father was the orchestral conductor [[Otto Klemperer]]) and found the role to be a "double-edged sword"; his agent initially failed to tell him the role of Klink was intended to be comedic. Klemperer remarked, "I had one qualification when I took the job: if they ever wrote a segment whereby Colonel Klink would come out the hero, I would leave the show."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/08/arts/werner-klemperer-klink-in-hogan-s-heroes-dies-at-80.html |title=Werner Klemperer, Klink in 'Hogan's Heroes,' Dies at 80 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |last=Weinraub |first=Bernard |date=December 8, 2000 |access-date=October 13, 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Bob Crane Colonel Hogan 1969.JPG|thumb|180px|Colonel Hogan]]
* [[John Banner]] as German Sergeant Hans Schultz, the camp's first sergeant. He is a clumsy and inept, but extremely affable man who often gives out information to the prisoners for bribes, or simply by talking too much, without realizing he is giving away information. Hogan and his men frequently plot or perform their subversive activities in plain sight of Schultz, knowing he would never report them for fear of being punished or sent to fight at the Russian front for allowing such activity on his watch. He would often exit the scene with his catch phrase "I know (see, hear) nothing!" Banner was born to Jewish parents and was in fact a sergeant during World War II, but in the U.S. Army.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-Villain John Banner Turns 'Good Guy' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1005397/john_banner_interview/? |newspaper=[[Fresno Bee]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |first=Charles| last=Witbeck |page=15-TV |date=April 16, 1967}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/02/02/archives/john-banner-the-sgt-schultz-of-hogans-heroes-dies-at-63-on-stage-in.html |title=John Banner, the Sgt. Schultz Of 'Hogan's Heroes,' Dies at 63 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=February 2, 1973 |access-date=October 13, 2018}}</ref>
[[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] Robert E. Hogan ([[Bob Crane]]), senior ranking POW officer, is the leader of the group. He was born in [[Bridgeport, Connecticut|Bridgeport]], [[Connecticut]], but considers [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], his home, though it is mentioned in "Hogan Gives a Birthday Party" that he is from [[Indianapolis]].<ref name = "Hogan Gives a Birthday Party">{{cite episode| title = Hogan Gives a Birthday Party| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = September 16, 1966| season = 2| number = 1}}</ref> He commanded the 504th Bomb Group, which (after Hogan was shot down) was transferred back to the States to work with the [[Manhattan Project]]. He was shot down while on a raid on [[Hamburg]] in an operation masterminded by [[Luftwaffe]] Colonel Biedenbender ([[James Gregory (actor)|James Gregory]]), who studied Hogan's tactics in order to defeat him and was promoted to general for doing so (though Hogan gets even by framing Biedenbender for bombing a German refinery, thereby ruining his military career).<ref name="Hogan Gives a Birthday Party"/> In contrast to Colonel Klink, Hogan graduated third in his military class.
* [[Robert Clary]] as French Corporal Louis LeBeau, a gourmet chef, and patriotic Frenchman, frequently referred to as "the cockroach" by both Klink and Schultz. Clary was Jewish in real life and was deported to a [[Nazi concentration camps|Nazi concentration camp]], but survived by using his talent in singing and dancing in shows. Clary said in an interview with the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', "Singing, entertaining, and being in kind of good health at my age, that's why I survived. I was very immature and young and not really fully realizing what situation I was involved with&nbsp;... I don't know if I would have survived if I really knew that."<ref>{{cite news |title=Robert Clary a survivor in life and entertainment |first=Susan |last=King |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 24, 2013 |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-xpm-2013-mar-24-la-et-mn-classic-hollywood-robert-clary20130325-story.html}}</ref>
* [[Richard Dawson]] as RAF<ref>{{cite web | url=https://iavmuseum.org/hogans-heroes/ | title=Hogan's Heroes – IAVM }}</ref> Corporal Peter Newkirk, the group's [[Scam|con man]], magician, [[pickpocketing|pickpocket]], [[card sharp]], [[forger]], [[bookie]], tailor, [[lock picking|lock picker]], and [[safe cracker]]. He is a skilled tailor and is in charge of making uniforms for POWs impersonating German soldiers. Dawson's role as a military member in the film ''[[King Rat (film)|King Rat]]'' was reportedly the reason he landed a spot on ''Hogan's Heroes''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-06-04/hogans-heroes-star-dies/4049816 |title=Hogan's Heroes star Richard Dawson dies |publisher=[[ABC News (Australia)]] |date=June 3, 2012 |access-date=November 14, 2018| quote=His role as a military prisoner in the 1965 film ''King Rat'' led to TV's ''Hogan's Heroes'', about a band of allied POWs in a German camp who were constantly fooling their captors.}}</ref>
* [[Ivan Dixon]] as U.S. Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe (seasons 1–5), the man responsible for contacting the underground by radio. Casting Dixon, or any African-American actor, as a positively shown supporting character was a major step for a television show in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ivan-dixon-kinchloe-in-hogans-heroes-829237.html| title=Ivan Dixon: Kinchloe in 'Hogan's Heroes'| work=[[The Independent]]| location=London| last=Hayward| first=Anthony| date=May 16, 2008| access-date=October 16, 2018}}</ref> Dixon left the show prior to the final season and was replaced by Kenneth Washington as Sgt. Richard Baker, another African-American character but with a less prominent role.


[[File:LarryHovis.jpg|thumb|Larry Hovis as Sgt. Carter]]
As General Biedenbender stated Hogan has a flair for the overcomplex<ref name="Hogan Gives a Birthday Party"/> and he seems to thrive on difficult if not impossible missions, which is often shown in the series. Many of the covert operations shown are highly complex, but due to Hogan's care in planning and the skill of his staff, they are usually successful (at least in the end). A U.S. Navy submarine commander in a first-season episode states "You know, Hogan, if you weren't one of their prisoners, I think you'd be one of ours", due to his less-than-conventional methods of accomplishing his goals. After Hogan tricks Leslie Smythe-Beddoes ([[Ruta Lee]]) into letting him make a scandalous broadcast over German radio, Der Führer ([[Adolf Hitler]]), who was listening to the broadcast, telephones her boss Colonel Sitzer ([[Alan Oppenheimer]]) and tells him "If this man [Hogan] ever tries to escape, let him".<ref name = "Who Stole My Copy of Mein Kampf">{{cite episode| title = Who Stole My Copy of Mein Kampf| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 11, 1969| season = 4| number = 16}}</ref> And to say the least, he is a master of manipulation and routinely plays Klink and Schultz like a violin. However, once and a while Klink shows he isn't entirely dimwitted and at least initially gets the better of Hogan.


* [[Larry Hovis]] as U.S. Technical Sergeant Andrew J. Carter, a bombardier who is an expert in chemistry, explosives, and demolitions. He makes explosive devices as needed. Hovis appeared in the pilot episode as a different character, but became a regular cast member when the show was picked up.
Ever the ladies' man, Hogan has a kissing relationship with Klink's secretaries (Hilda and Helga) and is romantic with most of the civilian women he comes in contact throughout the series. When impersonating German officers, Hogan will often refer to himself as "Hoganmuller", "Hoganmeister", "Hoganheimer", "Hoganburg" or similar always using his surname for part of the German name.
* [[Kenneth Washington]] as U.S. Sergeant Richard Baker (season 6). He assumed the duties of Sergeant Kinchloe after Ivan Dixon left the series. Upon the death of Robert Clary on November 16, 2022, Washington became the last surviving cast member of ''Hogan's Heroes''.<ref name="h">{{Cite book |last=Royce |first=Brenda |date=October 15, 1998 |title=Hogan's Heroes: The Unofficial Companion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7SUKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA116 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |page=116 |isbn=1580630316 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>


==Episodes==
The character was named by series creator [[Bernard Fein]] after his friend, the American soap opera and character actor [[Robert J. Hogan]], who appeared in two episodes of ''Hogan's Heroes''.<ref name = "Reservations Are Required">{{cite episode| title = Reservations Are Required| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = Dec 24, 1965| season = 1| number = 15}}</ref><ref name = "Crittendon's Commandos">{{cite episode| title = Crittendon's Commandos| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = March 20, 1970| season = 5| number = 25}}</ref>
{{Main|List of Hogan's Heroes episodes}}
{{:List of Hogan's Heroes episodes}}


==Broadcast history==
====Staff Sergeant Kinchloe====
*Friday at 8:30–9:00&nbsp;p.m. on CBS: September 17, 1965 – April 7, 1967; September 26, 1969 – March 27, 1970
[[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Staff sergeant#United States|Staff Sergeant]] James (a.k.a. Ivan) "Kinch" Kinchloe ([[Ivan Dixon]]) is primarily responsible for [[radio]], [[telephone]], and other forms of electronic communications. Although outranked by [[#Technical Sergeant Carter|TSgt. Carter]], Kinch acts as second in command in Hogan's crew. This was a large step for a 1960s television show to have an [[African-American]] actor identified in such a manner. In the fifth episode of the first season,<ref name = "The Flight of the Valkyrie">{{cite episode| title = The Flight of the Valkyrie| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 15, 1965| season = 1| number = 5}}</ref> when it looks like Colonel Crittendon ([[Bernard Fox (actor)|Bernard Fox]]) is going to be the new senior Prisoner of War officer, Hogan introduces his men and cites Kinchloe as Chief of Operations. A talented mimic, Kinchloe easily imitates German officers speaking over the radio or telephone. When Hogan needs a strictly audio impression of [[Adolf Hitler]], the men generally agreed that Kinchloe is the better choice for the job over [[#Technical Sergeant Carter|Technical Sergeant Carter]].<ref name = "D-Day at Stalag 13">{{cite episode| title = D-Day at Stalag 13| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = September 23, 1967| season = 3| number = 3}}</ref>
*Saturday at 9:00–9:30&nbsp;p.m. on CBS: September 9, 1967 – March 22, 1969
*Sunday at 7:30–8:00&nbsp;p.m. on CBS: September 20, 1970 – April 4, 1971


==Production==
Kinch is from [[Detroit]] where he had worked for the telephone company and before the war fought in the [[Golden Gloves]] boxing matches. In "The Softer They Fall", General Burkhalter ([[Leon Askin]]) makes reference to the [[Jesse Owens]] victories during the [[1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Olympics]] and [[Adolf Hitler]] not being happy that a [[African American|black American]] won medals over German athletes. Kinchloe knocks out the heavyweight champ of Stalag 13, Battling Bruno (Chuck Hicks), while Burkhalter is in the camp. Kinchloe winds up fighting Bruno again, drawing out the fight in a delaying action while Hogan and the others accomplish their usual sabotage. Upon completion of the mission, Hogan yells to Kinch to end the fight, and Kinch knocks Bruno out with one punch whereupon Hogan throws in the towel and surrenders the fight to prevent the obvious disaster of a black POW defeating the "master race's finest boxer." At the end of the episode, Kinch says to Klink that he'd like to tell Bruno he is still the champion of Stalag 13 "as soon as he wakes up."<ref name = "The Softer They Fall">{{cite episode| title = The Softer They Fall| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 23, 1970| season = 5| number = 18}}</ref>
===Locations===
''Hogan's Heroes'' was filmed in two locations. Indoor sets were housed at [[Desilu Studios]], later renamed as Paramount Studios for Season Four and then Cinema General Studios for Seasons Five and Six. Outdoor scenes were filmed on the [[RKO Forty Acres|40 Acres]] backlot. 40 Acres was in [[Culver City, California|Culver City]], in the [[Los Angeles metropolitan area]].<ref name="Royce"/> The studios for indoor scenes were both located in Hollywood. Producers had to create the effect that there was always a snowy winter, unusual in warm [[Southern California]] but normal in the German winter. The actors had to wear warm clothes and frequently pretend to be cold.


Although it was never snowing on the [[film set]] and the weather was apparently sunny, there was snow on the ground and building roofs, and frost on the windows. The set designers created the illusion of snow two ways: the snow during the first several seasons was made out of [[salt]]. By the fourth season, the show’s producers found a more permanent solution and lower cost, using white paint to give the illusion of snow. By the sixth and final season, with a smaller budget, most of the snow shown on the set was made out of paint.
As a black man in the middle of wartime Germany, Kinchloe's ability to participate in some undercover activities outside of the camp is limited. In one operation that takes the protagonists outside of Germany, Kinchloe plays the role of a doorman at a nightclub in Paris in order to get close to the owner Carol Dukes, known by her stage name Kumasa ([[Barbara McNair]]), who had been a high school classmate of his (a character most likely modeled upon [[Josephine Baker]]).<ref name = "Is General Hammerschlag Burning">{{cite episode| title = Is General Hammerschlag Burning| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = November 18, 1967| season = 3| number = 11}}</ref> In "The Prince from the Phone Company", he impersonates an African prince (also played by Ivan Dixon) where he reluctantly has to shave off his trademark moustache. He has a romantic involvement with the prince's wife, Princess Yawanda (Isabel Cooley), a black woman from Cleveland, presumably an OSS agent who finds the easiest way to keep tabs on the prince is to continue to play the role of his wife.<ref name = "The Prince from the Phone Company">{{cite episode| title = The Prince from the Phone Company| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = March 18, 1966| season = 1| number = 26}}</ref>


After the series ended in 1971, the [[Stalag 13 (film set)|set]] remained standing until it was destroyed in 1974 while the final scene of ''[[Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS]]'' was filmed.<ref>{{cite book |title=Monsters in the Mirror: Representations of Nazism in Post-war Popular Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L2baV57lS1QC&pg=PA105 |editor1-first=Sara |editor1-last=Buttsworth |editor2=Maartje Abbenhuis |page=105 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |access-date=May 9, 2014 |isbn=978-0313382161 |year=2010 }}</ref>
====Sergeant Baker====
Following Dixon's departure from the show after season five, the producers replaced his character in the sixth season with another Black actor, [[Kenneth Washington]], as [[United States Army Air Forces]] [[Sergeant]] Richard Baker. The tasks assigned to Sergeant Baker are almost identical to those of Staff Sergeant Kinchloe, but with limited voice impersonations of Germans. However, with Kinchloe's departure, Newkirk is elevated to the Chief of Operations/Chief of Staff role (despite being subordinate to both Sgt. Baker and TSgt. Carter by rank) during the sixth season. As with Kinchloe, Baker's race prevent him from having a lot of sabotage duties outside of Stalag 13, but he is able to contribute vital support to the missions that are assigned to him by Col. Hogan. The details of Kinch's departure were never explained on the show.


=== Theme music ===
Washington is one of three surviving cast members of Hogan's Heroes (the others being [[Robert Clary]] and [[Cynthia Lynn]]).
The theme music was composed by [[Jerry Fielding]], who added lyrics to the theme for ''Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II'' – an album featuring Dixon, Clary, Dawson, and Hovis singing World War II songs. The song also appeared on the album ''Bob Crane, His Drums and Orchestra, Play the Funny Side of TV''.<ref name="Royce"/> Bob Crane, an expert drummer, played the drums when the theme was recorded.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hadley |first=Mitchell |title=The real Bob Crane: An interview with Carol M. Ford, author of Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography |url=https://www.itsabouttv.com/2016/03/the-real-bob-crane-interview-with-carol.html |access-date=February 3, 2024 |language=en}}</ref> If you listen closely, you will find that the opening drum riff played by Crane in the main title is the same as the riff used in the 1962 movie [[The Longest Day (film)|The Longest Day]].


====Technical Sergeant Carter====
=== Casting ===
[[File:Robert Clary 1953.JPG|thumb|upright|Robert Clary spent three years during World War II in a [[concentration camp]] and still had his ID tattoo on his arm.]]
[[United States Army Air Corps]] [[Technical Sergeant]] Andrew J. Carter ([[Larry Hovis]]) is in charge of ordnance and [[bomb]]-making. He shows a great talent in [[chemistry]] and can produce formulas, chemicals, intricate and explosive devices as needed, although in the first-season episode "The Scientist",<ref name = "The Scientist">{{cite episode| title = The Scientist| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 3, 1965| season = 1| number = 12}}</ref> he claims to know very little chemistry (this inconsistency was probably meant to heighten the tension in the plot). He loves to talk about making and using explosives and while bright and enthusiastic at his specialties, Carter is otherwise rather dimwitted and is a bit of a bumbler (such as blowing himself up while mixing chemicals together or easily forgetting what he is supposed to do or say). In one episode, after the blowing up of a train, he could not remember the way back to Stalag 13. Carter is also called upon to impersonate German officers and, most convincingly, [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref name = "Real Adolf Please Stand Up?">{{cite episode| title = Will the Real Adolf Please Stand Up?| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 2, 1966| season = 2| number = 12}}</ref> Carter, as Hitler, responds to a group of German officers saying "Heil Hitler" with "Heil Me." In several episodes, Carter's Hitler fooled Sgt. Schultz, Col. Klink, and even Gen. Burkhalter.
The actors who played the four major German roles—[[Werner Klemperer]] (Klink),<ref name=weintraub>{{cite news |last=Weintraub |first=Bernard |title=Werner Klemperer, Klink in 'Hogan's Heroes,' Dies at 80 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/08/arts/werner-klemperer-klink-in-hogan-s-heroes-dies-at-80.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 8, 2000 |access-date=March 28, 2014}}</ref> [[John Banner]] (Schultz), [[Leon Askin]] (General Burkhalter), and [[Howard Caine]] (Major Hochstetter)—were all [[Jews|Jewish]]. In fact, Klemperer, Banner, and Askin had all fled the Nazis before or during World War II (Caine, whose birth name was Cohen, was an American); Klemperer, the son of conductor [[Otto Klemperer]], fled Hitler's Germany with his family in 1933,<ref name=weintraub /> Banner emigrated from Switzerland to the United States when Germany annexed his native Austria in 1938,<ref name="Bee">{{cite news|author=Witbeck|first=Charles|date=April 16, 1967|title=Ex-Villain John Banner Turns 'Good Guy'|page=96|newspaper=[[Fresno Bee]]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/1005397/john_banner_interview/?|access-date=September 12, 2014|via=[[Newspapers.com]]}} {{Open access}}</ref> and Askin emigrated from a pre-war French [[internment camp]] in 1940 and his parents were initially transported to [[Theresienstadt Ghetto|Theresienstadt]], then [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]], and killed at [[Lublin]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Leon Askin - Biography |url=http://www.askin.at/e_k01.htm |access-date=November 29, 2023 |website=www.askin.at}}</ref>


Robert Clary, a French Jew who played LeBeau, spent three years in a [[concentration camp]] (with an identity tattoo from the camp on his arm, "A-5714"); his parents and other family members were killed there. Other Jewish actors, including [[Harold Gould]] and [[Harold J. Stone]], made multiple appearances playing German generals. Also, the Jewish actress [[Louise Troy]] appeared in several episodes.
Carter was a [[boy scout]] who formerly worked at a drug store in [[Muncie, Indiana]] and hopes to become a pharmacist after the war. He is an [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American Indian]]; his [[Sioux]] name is ''Little Deer Who Goes Swift and Sure Through Forest'' and he once won a snowman-building contest in Bullfrog, [[North Dakota]].<ref name="Everybody Loves a Snowman"/> His [[catchphrase]] is "You got it Boy [correcting himself] Colonel". His awards include the [[Silver Star]], [[Bronze Star Medal|Bronze Star]], [[Purple Heart]], [[Commendation Medal]] and [[Good Conduct Medal (United States)|Good Conduct Medal]].


=== German release: ''Ein Käfig voller Helden'' ===
Unlike most of the rest of the "Heroes", Carter is not much of a "ladies' man". After he receives a "[[Dear John Letter]]" from his hometown sweetheart, Mary Jane, he requests permission to escape to try to win her back, but is asked to complete one last solo mission before escaping. After the mission is completed he meets a German gal who charms him enough to feel losing Mary Jane isn't the end of the world. When he returns, he cavalierly says to his comrades before leaving the camp for a date: "Women are like a war; there's always another one coming along."<ref name = "Request Permission to Escape">{{cite episode| title = Request Permission to Escape| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = April 29, 1966| season = 1| number = 32}}</ref> In real life, Hovis was married and refused to remove his wedding ring while filming the show as the bachelor Sergeant Carter. Thus, Carter is usually shown wearing gloves, and his left hand is rarely shown in the show.
Despite its international success as a [[parody]] of the Nazis, the series was unknown on German television for decades.


German film distributor [[KirchGruppe]] acquired broadcasting rights to the show but initially did not air it out of fear that it would offend viewers; in 1992, ''Hogan's Heroes'' was finally aired on German television for the first time, but the program failed to connect with viewers due to issues with [[lip sync]]ing.<ref name="WSJ Article" /> However, after the dialogue was rewritten to make the characters look even more foolish (ensuring that viewers understood the characters were caricatures) the show became more successful.
As a Technical Sergeant, Carter is the senior non-commissioned officer and, after Colonel Hogan, the senior prisoner, regularly depicted on the program. Despite this, he is never shown to exercise any real authority over the other prisoners, as Staff Sergeant Kinchloe is Hogan's Chief of Staff. Furthermore, Corporals Newkirk and LeBeau routinely 'rib' him about his naïveté and he comes across as almost childlike in his innocence. However, Hogan's men admire and respect TSgt. Carter and are very loyal to him.


First aired with a title that translates roughly as 'Barbed Wire and Heels', it was soon renamed, somewhat more whimsically in German, to ''[[:de:Ein Käfig voller Helden|Ein Käfig voller Helden]]'' ("A Cage Full of Heroes"), to make it more relatable to the German viewer. Klink and Schultz's characters were given broad [[High German languages|Saxon]] and [[Bavarian language|Bavarian]] dialects, playing on regional stereotypes to underline the notion that they are comic figures. An unseen original character &ndash; "Frau Kalinke" &ndash; was introduced in dialogue only as Klink's cleaning lady and perennial mistress whom he described as performing most of her cleaning duties in the nude.<ref name="WSJ Article">{{cite news |last=Steinmetz |first=Greg |title=In Germany Now, Col. Klink's Maid Cleans in the Nude |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |page=A1 |date=May 31, 1996 |url=http://www.hogansheroesfanclub.com/articleWSJ31May1996.php |via=Hogan's Heroes Fan Club |access-date=March 28, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030124051412/http://www.hogansheroesfanclub.com/articleWSJ31May1996.php |archive-date=January 24, 2003 }}</ref>
In the black-and-white pilot episode,<ref name = "The Informer">{{cite episode| title = The Informer| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = September 17, 1965| season = 1| number = 1}}</ref> Carter is a Lieutenant and not a prisoner of Stalag (Camp) 13. He is an escaped prisoner from another POW camp and temporarily brought into the Stalag 13 so Hogan and his men could arrange for him to get out of Germany with civilian clothes, fake identity papers and for a submarine to pick him up. After the pilot his character is made a sergeant and a regular member of the cast.


==Legal issues==
[[File:Robert Clary Cynthia Lynn Hogans Heroes.JPG|thumb|180px|left|LeBeau and Fräulein Helga (Cynthia Lynn)]]
[[Donald Bevan]] and [[Edmund Trzcinski]], the writers of the 1951 play ''[[Stalag 17]]'', a World War II prisoner-of-war story turned into a 1953 [[Stalag 17|feature film]] by [[Paramount Pictures]], sued [[Bing Crosby|Bing Crosby Productions]], the show’s producer, for infringement. Their lawsuit was unsuccessful. While the jury found in favor of the plaintiffs, a federal judge overruled them. The judge found "striking difference in the dramatic mood of the two works."<ref name=Royce>{{cite book| title=Hogan's Heroes: Behind the Scenes at Stalag 13| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbJ_AQAAQBAJ&q=hogan%27s+heroes+suit+settled+stalag+17&pg=PT26| last=Royce| first=Brenda Scott| date=October 15, 1998| page=22| publisher=Renaissance Books| isbn=978-1580630313| access-date=March 28, 2014}}</ref><ref name="wga">{{cite web |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/wga-fights-movie-rights-hogans-heroes-bing-crosby-302842 |title=WGA Fights Over Movie Rights to 'Hogan's Heroes' |last=Gardner |first=Eric |newspaper=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=March 21, 2012 |access-date=June 4, 2012}}</ref>


In 2012, an arbitration hearing was scheduled to determine whether [[Bernard Fein]] and [[Albert S. Ruddy]], the creators of the show, had transferred the right to make a movie of ''Hogan's Heroes'' to Bing Crosby Productions along with the television rights or had retained the derivative movie rights.<ref name="wga" /> In 2013, Fein (through his estate) and Ruddy acquired the sequel and other separate rights to ''Hogan’s Heroes'' from [[Mark Cuban]] via arbitration, and a movie based on the show was planned.<ref name=fleming>{{cite news| last=Fleming| first=Mike Jr.| url=https://deadline.com/2013/03/hogans-heroes-rights-won-back-by-creators-al-ruddy-and-bernard-fein-theyre-plotting-new-movie-454636/| title='Hogan's Heroes' Rights Won Back By Creators Al Ruddy And Bernard Fein; They're Plotting New Movie| journal=[[Deadline Hollywood]]| date=March 15, 2013| access-date=March 28, 2014}}</ref>
====Corporal LeBeau====
[[Free French Air Force]] [[Corporal#France|Corporal]] Louis "Louie" LeBeau ([[Robert Clary]]) is a [[Master Chef]] who is passionate about his cooking and a notoriously patriotic Frenchman. He often generally refers to Germans in uniform and Nazis as "pigs", and specifically as "[[Boche]]" or "dirty Boche", while the other prisoners call them [[Kraut]]s (which were traditionally meant to be derogatory remarks towards World War I and World War II German soldiers). Schultz and Klink refer to LeBeau as "Cockroach." The opening credits show LeBeau opening the secret entrance under the doghouse - with a dog in it. But because the dogs are friendly towards the prisoners (thanks to the veterinarian who is on their side) LeBeau is able to enter their compound without the dogs raising the alarm. Though highly claustrophobic, because of his small size he can hide in small spaces, such as the safe in Colonel Klink's office, box crates or a [[dumbwaiter (elevator)|dumbwaiter]]. LeBeau also uses his talent as a singer to help the "Heroes" in several episodes (Clary began his career as a singer). As a stereotypical French lover, LeBeau tries to be romantic with a number of the women he comes in contact with in the series.


==Reception==
In numerous episodes, LeBeau uses his cooking skills to get Klink out of various jams with his superiors or simply so Klink can impress guests. In exchange for LeBeau's cooking a dinner or banquet, Hogan bargains for extra privileges (which is usually just a ruse to gain access to Klink's guests). LeBeau also bribes Schultz with food, especially his famous [[Apfelstrudel|apple strudel]]. In the first two seasons (excluding the pilot), LeBeau made the uniforms and suits, although this job increasingly went to Newkirk. In fact, by the fifth season episode "Gowns by Yvette,"<ref name = "Gowns by Yvette">{{cite episode| title = Gowns by Yvette| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 30, 1970| season = 5| number = 19}}</ref> it is suggested that LeBeau cannot even sew a stitch, though he claims creative responsibility for the dress Newkirk eventually sews; but later, he once again began to sew and mend the clothing alongside Newkirk. In the show, LeBeau suffers from [[Blood phobia|hemophobia]] and is seldom seen without his scarf. He also may have been the first POW at Stalag 13. In one episode, it was shown that he couldn't remember his serial number, although it might have been an act. The farthest he got was "H12497".
''Hogan's Heroes'' won two [[Emmy Awards]] out of twelve nominations. Both wins were for Werner Klemperer as Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy, in 1968 and 1969. Klemperer received nominations in the same category in 1966, 1967 and 1970. The series' other nominations were for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1966, 1967 and 1968; Bob Crane for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series in 1966 and 1967; [[Nita Talbot]] for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy in 1968; and [[Gordon Avil]] for cinematography in 1968.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.emmys.com/awards/nominations/ |title=Nominations &#124 |publisher=Emmys.com |date=September 20, 2015 |access-date=December 24, 2015}}</ref>


The producers of ''Hogan's Heroes'' were honored in the first annual [[NAACP Image Awards]], presented in August 1967, one of seven television shows and two news shows that were recognized for "the furtherance of the Negro image." Other honorees included ''[[I Spy (1965 TV series)|I Spy]]'', ''[[Daktari]]'', ''[[Star Trek]]'' and ''[[Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series)|Mission: Impossible]]''.<ref>"NAACP Will Present Nine Image Awards," Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1967</ref><ref>Kathleen Fearn Banks, Historical Dictionary of African-American Television, pp. 304-305, Scarecrow Press, 2006 https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000fear/page/n3/mode/2up</ref>
Robert Clary is a French Jew who was in the Nazi [[concentration camp]]s Ottmuth and [[Buchenwald]] and still had his serial number tattooed on his arm. After the death of Richard Dawson in 2012, Clary is the only member of the original cast who is still living.{{clear left}}


In December 2005, the series was listed at number 100 as part of the "Top 100 Most Unexpected Moments in TV History" by [[TV Guide]] and [[TV Land]]. The show was described as an "unlikely POW camp comedy."<ref>{{cite news |title=TV Guide and TV Land Join Forces To Count Down The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments |url=http://sev.prnewswire.com/television/20051201/NYTH02201122005-1.html |access-date=March 7, 2021 |work=PR Newswire |date=December 1, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060830195947/http://sev.prnewswire.com/television/20051201/NYTH02201122005-1.html |archive-date=August 30, 2006}}</ref>
[[File:Richard Dawson and Ulla Stromstedt in Hogan's Heroes - 1968.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Richard Dawson as Newkirk]]

====Corporal Newkirk====
[[Royal Air Force]] [[Corporal#United Kingdom|Corporal]] Peter Newkirk (British-American actor [[Richard Dawson]]) is the group's [[confidence trick|conman]], [[Illusionist|magician]], [[pickpocketing|pick-pocket]], [[card sharp]], [[forger]], [[bookie]], [[tailor]], [[lock picking|lock picker]], and [[safe cracker]]. He does numerous impersonations of German officers as well as doing a voice imitation of [[Adolf Hitler]] and on one occasion a great imitation of [[Winston Churchill]], the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] during the war. On a number of occasions Newkirk dresses as a woman to fool the Germans as part of a mission. However, as a bit of a Casanova, he tries to romantically hook up with most of the women (birds, as he calls them) he comes in contact with throughout the series.

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 from other camps they're trying to help get out of Germany. He also uses his skills as [[pickpocketing|pick-pocket]], [[lock picking|lock picker]] and [[safe cracker]] on many occasions, particularly to open Klink's office safe. As a [[card sharp]], Newkirk helps to make sure Schultz loses a lot and is forever in need of bribe money from the prisoners to pay his gambling loses (Schultz usually pays his debt or gets money to gamble by giving the prisoners information). Newkirk is called "the Englander" by Schultz and sometimes even Klink in some of the episodes. He is also often teamed with Carter and his irritation at Carter's bumbling antics and dimwittedness is used for comedic effect.

This series marked Dawson's second appearance on American television (he had earlier appeared on an episode of ''[[The Dick Van Dyke Show]]'' in 1963). Dawson auditioned for the role of Hogan, but was told he did not sound American enough. In the version translated for broadcast in Germany, Newkirk's pronounced British accent was replaced by a simulation of stuttering.

Richard Dawson has stated in an interview that he had initially used a [[Liverpool]] accent for the Newkirk character, but had been told by Mike Dann (the then-president of CBS) to switch it to a Cockney accent, as Dann felt that the Liverpool accent was not accessible to the American television audience. Dawson expressed his vindication upon seeing a marquee for the first Beatles film "A Hard Days Night" in 1964.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4t8K-xTliM</ref>{{clear left}}

===Germans===

====Colonel Klink====
[[Kommandant]] [[Oberst]] ([[Colonel]]) Wilhelm Klink ([[Werner Klemperer]]) is an old-line [[Luftwaffe]] officer of aristocratic ([[Junker]]) [[Prussia]]n descent, but is inept, a bit dimwitted, cowardly, often clueless if not rather gullible. He was born in [[Leipzig]] in the early 1890s, though he refers to [[Düsseldorf]], where he attended the [[Gymnasium (school)|Gymnasium]] (high school) (graduating 43rd in his class), as his home town.<ref name="Kommandant of the Year">{{cite episode| title = Commander of the Year| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 1, 1965| season = 1| number = 3}}</ref> After failing the entrance exams to study law or medicine,<ref name="Kommandant of the Year"/> he received an appointment from [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]] to a military academy, through the influence of his uncle, the [[Bürgermeister]]'s ''barber'', and graduated 95th in his class &ndash; the only one who has not risen to the rank of general. He has been stuck at the rank of [[colonel]] for 20 years with an efficiency rating a few points above "miserable". However, when questioned by Colonel Hogan, Colonel Klink admits that many of his higher-ranking classmates have been killed in action or shot by Hitler.<ref name = "The Schultz Brigade">{{cite episode| title = The Schultz Brigade| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = September 23, 1966| season = 2| number = 2}}</ref>
The nearest he ever comes to General is when Hogan tricks Klink and the German General Staff into thinking Klink has been personally chosen by Hitler to be the new Chief of Staff just as the D-Day invasion begins. When faced with a decision whether to move the German reserves to Normandy or not Klink can only order more champagne.<ref name="D-Day at Stalag 13"/>

[[File:Bernard Fox Werner Klemperer Hogan's Heroes 1968.JPG|thumb|225px|left|Bernard Fox as Colonel Crittendon (left) and Werner Klemperer as Klink]]

He has fencing armor in his dining room and in his office a pompous [[coat of arms]] on the wall (only briefly seen in one episode). In another episode when he thinks he is going to be rich, he claims his 500-year-old name will finally have some money as well. He always wears a monocle on his left eye, usually carries a [[riding crop]] and walks with a stoop (his monocle often reflects an image of the round studio lights). In a few episodes Klink is seen wearing the [[Pour le Mérite]] (or The Blue Max); [[Iron Cross]]; [[Ground Assault Badge of the Luftwaffe]] and the [[Parachutist Badge (Germany)|Parachutist Badge]].

A veteran aviator of the [[World War I|First World War]], Klink is quite content to live out the end of his military career in the relative comfort and safety of a prison camp commandant's billet, although in one episode he wished he was piloting a Heinkel bomber again and also wants his old bomb group back. However, his piloting his skills are suspect. On August 4, 1917 during World War I, he panicked and crashed which left his passenger with a permanent limp. His passenger was none other than "The Blue Baron" Mannfred von Richter (a parody of [[Manfred von Richthofen]] "[[The Red Baron]]", who did not survive the First World War). The Blue Baron, by then a general, visits Klink in "Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?" and reminds Klink of the injury.<ref name = "Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?">{{cite episode| title = Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?"| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 14, 1968| season = 4| number = 12}}</ref> But according to Burkhalter and Schultz, Klink is too afraid to fly.<ref name = "The Missing Klink">{{cite episode| title = The Missing Klink| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 4, 1969| season = 4| number = 15}}</ref>

With his innate skills as a conman, Hogan is able to very easily manipulate Klink through a combination of appealing to his vanity through a lot of flattery, chicanery and playing with Klink's fears of being sent to the frigid and bloody [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Russian Front]] with the [[Soviet Union]], or of being hauled off by the [[Gestapo]]. Klink is so easily manipulated by Hogan that Klink doesn't even notice, though occasionally he wonders who is really in command of Stalag 13. Part of this [[running gag]] also has Schultz and others wondering who is really running the camp. When Hogan really wants to appeal to Klink's vanity he calls Klink the "Iron Colonel" or the "Iron Eagle". Klink is for the most part portrayed as a vain, bumbling and, most certainly, incompetent career officer rather than as an evil German or ardent Nazi.

Colonel Klink received the ''Citation of Merit-Second Class'' (fictitious) from General Stauffen during World War II. The general visits Stalag 13 to get a briefcase from Hogan filled with explosives in a plot to assassinate [[Adolf Hitler]], all under the unsuspecting eyes of Klink.<ref name = "Operation Briefcase">{{cite episode| title = Operation Briefcase| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 7, 1966| season = 2| number = 4}}</ref> This is typical of the scenarios in which Hogan will entangle Klink. A [[running gag]] is that Klink gets doused with water or covered with snow for comedic effect. Another running gag is that Klink is an inept violinist, too, and is only able to play [[The U.S. Air Force (song)|the U.S. Army Air Forces Song]] (in real life, [[Werner Klemperer]] was a skilled violinist, son of the famous orchestra [[conducting|conductor]] [[Otto Klemperer]], and a skilled orchestra conductor in his own right). The World War I [[Pickelhaube]] of an Uhlan lancer regiment that sits on his desk is frequently played with by Hogan and his fellow prisoners, to the constant annoyance of Colonel Klink (Hogan and sometimes Schultz also pilfer cigars from a box sitting next to the Pickelhaube). A third running gag is that Klink often forgets to give the Hitler Salute at the end of a phone call, usually asking "what's that?" and then saying "Yes, of course, Heil Hitler."

General Burkhalter tells Klink, a perpetual bachelor, to help him be promoted to general he needs to marry into an important family. Klink initially thinks that Burkhalter is referring to his lovely niece, but Klink finds out that it is actually Burkhalter's homely and gruff sister, the widow Frau Linkmeyer, whom Burkhalter is trying to marry off and who Klink is scared of.<ref name = "Cupid Comes to Stalag 13">{{cite episode| title = Cupid Comes to Stalag 13| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = April 15, 1966| season = 1| number = 30}}</ref> Klink narrowly escapes from this fate several times with the help of Colonel Hogan. Klink later learns that the two other Stalag commandants under Burkhalter's command also narrowly escaped marriage to Frau Linkmeyer. In "War Takes a Holiday", Klink tries to flatter Schultz, a businessman in civilian life, hoping to be hired as a bookkeeper with Schultz's toy company now that he falsely thinks the war is over.<ref name = "War Takes a Holiday">{{cite episode| title = War Takes a Holiday| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 27, 1968| season = 3| number = 21}}</ref>

====Sergeant Schultz====
[[File:John Banner as Schultz.jpg|thumb|187px|John Banner as Schultz]]
{{Distinguish|Private Schulz}}

'''[[Feldwebel|Hauptfeldwebel]] (Senior Master Sergeant) Hans Georg Schultz''' ([[John Banner]]), serial number 23781, is Klink's bumbling, inept and a bit dimwitted, but affable if not lovable, 300-pound [[Sergeant#Germany|Sergeant of the Guard]] who is forever taking small bribes from the prisoners with whom he is overly friendly. The bribes are usually in the form of chocolate from [[Red Cross]] packages or LeBeau's delicious cooking often in exchange for information. His main goal is to avoid getting into trouble and as long as he doesn't get into trouble (or at least gets out of trouble) he doesn't overly concern himself too much about what the prisoners do. However, when Schultz is confronted by evidence of the prisoners' suspicious activities ("monkey business" as he calls it) and feels he must report them to Klink, Hogan will usually, one way or another, talk Schultz out of reporting anything such as remind him of all the bribes he would have to report to Klink or when a prisoner is missing Hogan will assure him that the prisoner will be back. Although Schultz repeatedly tries to avoid reporting anything or at least having Klink find out, if he does report what is going on to Klink, Hogan and his men are usually able to cover up the problem before Klink arrives. Sometimes Schultz, not wanting to deal with the situation, will simply look the other way, repeating "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing!" (or, more commonly as the series went on, simply "I see nothing&ndash;NOTHING!"). This eventually became one of the main [[catchphrase]]s of the series and probably the most widely used by fans of the show. Just the same if Schultz is found to be derelict in his duty he could easily be [[court-martial]]ed or sent to the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Russian Front]] to fight the Russians in the bitter cold, if not shot as a traitor for his apparent complicity. When Schultz does get into trouble (usually on account of the prisoners) Hogan, as with Klink, tries to find a way to get Schultz out of trouble if for no other reason to avoid having him replaced with a more competent soldier who isn't as easy to manipulate. Though generally shown as being borderline incompetent, he has (on occasions) proven his mettle, as can be seen in episodes such as "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to London",<ref name = "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to London">{{cite episode| title = A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to London| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 7, 1967| season = 3| number = 5}}</ref> where he catches Hogan assisting another man attempting to escape; he even goes so far as to stand up to Hogan, moving him along at gunpoint.

Like Colonel Klink, he is a veteran of [[World War I]]. His hometown is [[Heidelberg]], and in civilian life he is the owner of Germany's biggest and most successful toy manufacturing company, The Schatzi Toy Company.<ref name="War Takes a Holiday"/> With the onset of war, Schultz was involuntarily recalled to military duty and lost control of his toy factory as it was converted to military use. He has a wife, Gretchen (played by [[Barbara Morrison]]) and five children whom he sees only on infrequent leave. However, a few times he is unfaithful to his wife, for instance in "Sergeant Schultz Meets Mata Hari" he dates a woman who, as it turns out, is a secret [[Gestapo]] agent.<ref name = "Sergeant Schultz Meets Mata Hari">{{cite episode| title = Sergeant Schultz Meets Mata Hari| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = September 30, 1967| season = 3| number = 4}}</ref> LeBeau once refers to Schultz as a [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrat]], a party which [[History of the Social Democratic Party of Germany#Weimar Republic (1918–1933)|the Nazis banned in 1933]], and Schultz on several occasions is shown to be very disgusted by Hitler in particular and the Nazis in general. In one episode he mentions how much he preferred having a [[kaiser]] rule Germany and his whole attitude can be summed up by his statement that "When it comes to war, I don't like to take sides". Schultz is also a bad gambler, frequently playing cards with the prisoners, and usually losing - although much of this is caused by Newkirk fixing the games in order to get information from Schultz (in exchange for the money he lost or for money to gamble). He also likes to drink a bit especially whenever free liquor is available, but above all Schultz loves to eat - ''a whole lot'' - especially LeBeau's exquisite cooking. He is described by Klink as being "in his forties."<ref name="The Missing Klink"/> In real life, Banner was in his late fifties. When the prisoners make fun of Schultz he calls them "Jolly Jokers".

Schultz carries a [[Krag-Jørgensen]] rifle, which he never keeps loaded and tends to misplace or even hand to the POWs when he needs to use both hands (he then might say "Give me back my gun, or I'll SHOOT!"). He never wears the chin-strap on his helmet and needs glasses to read<ref name = "To the Gestapo With Love">{{cite episode| title = To the Gestapo With Love| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 26, 1968| season = 4| number = 5}}</ref> He wears a fictitious version of the [[Iron Cross]] (4th Grade) awarded by General Kammler ([[Whit Bissell]]), a friend who Schultz mentored during World War I and addresses Schultz by first name, and whom Schultz addresses as [[Lieutenant]] Kammler (the rank he held during World War I).<ref name = "The Rise and Fall of Sergeant Schultz">{{cite episode| title = The Rise and Fall of Sergeant Schultz| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 21, 1966| season = 2| number = 6}}</ref>

===Recurring characters===
[[File:Bob Crane Sigrid Valdis Hogans Heroes 1969.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Sigrid Valdis]] as "Fräulein Hilda" with co-star and eventual husband, [[Bob Crane]].]]

* [[Fräulein]] Helga ([[Cynthia Lynn]], 1965 to 1966) and [[Fräulein]] Hilda ([[Sigrid Valdis]], 1966 to 1971) served as the secretaries of Colonel Klink. Both Fräulein Helga and Fräulein Hilda were portrayed as having ongoing flirting and kissing relationships with Colonel Hogan. Both assist Hogan and his men in various ways, including providing tidbits of information, access to official papers or equipment or at least remaining indifferent towards their suspecious conduct in exchange for a warm kiss or some other form of affectionate gesture from Hogan. In the pilot episode,<ref name="The Informer"/> Helga works as manicurist in the prisoners' underground barber shop, but it is only in the pilot episode that it is suggested her cooperation with the prisoners is all that extensive. Eventually, during the run of the TV series, it is implied that Hilda and Hogan have a running romance, especially when she hints at getting a diamond engagement ring in exchange for her help. Sigrid Valdis and Bob Crane were married in 1970 on the show's set in [[Culver City, CA|Culver City, Calif.]], where all of the interior and some of the exterior scenes of ''Hogan's Heroes'' were filmed. Nearly all of the crewmen and women, and all the cast members of the TV series were present, and Richard Dawson served as the best man to the groom.
* [[General of the Infantry (Germany)|General der Infanterie]] Albert Hans "Hansi" Burkhalter ([[Leon Askin]]) is Klink's heavyset superior officer who is gruff and frequently tires of Klink's babbling and incompetence, often telling him to "shut up" and threatening to send him to the [[Eastern Front (WWII)|Russian Front]]. Burkhalter is mystified by Stalag 13's perfect record, unable to make sense of it in combination with its Kommandant's frequently-evidenced incompetence. Klink's outstanding record at Stalag 13 is the primary reason for General Burkhalter never actually making good on any of his threats towards Klink. General Burkhalter's confusion over Klink's skill as a Kommandant when he appears to be an idiot in all other regards is a [[running gag]]. Burkhalter affected to live a Spartan existence like a good German officer, but in reality, he loves the good life, even in war. He is scared-to-death of Mrs. Burkhalter (calling her "the highest authority in Germany"), testifying to this several times during the series and after Hogan manages to get a few compromising photos of the General with very attractive women (in order to blackmail him). As the series progresses, he suspects Hogan's greater role at Stalag 13; however, in the end, Burkhalter, like the others, comes to depend upon Hogan to get them out of trouble with the High Command when one scheme or the other runs off the tracks. In the pilot episode,<ref name="The Informer"/> Burkhalter is promoted from colonel to general by the High Command between the first and second episodes. His rank is equivalent to a lieutenant (three-star) general in the American armed forces.
* [[Gestapo#Ranks|Sturmbannführer]] (Major) Wolfgang Hochstetter ([[Howard Caine]]), of the [[Gestapo]] and the SS ([[Schultzstaffel]]), is an ardent Nazi who never understands why Hogan is constantly allowed to barge into Klink's office at will. Hochstetter frequently demands of Klink "Who is this man?" or "What is this man doing here?!" with increasing stridency. His [[catchphrase]] is "Heads will roll". He is also noted for the many times he shouts "Baah!" at Klink or Hogan after his multiple failures. Klink is justifiably afraid of him, but Burkhalter, who despises Hochstetter just as Klink does, is not. But even Hochstetter is manipulated by Hogan. In "War Takes a Holiday",<ref name="War Takes a Holiday"/> Hogan tricks Hochstetter into believing that the war has ended and lending his staff car to several captured underground leaders, who use it to escape just as Hochstetter's superiors arrive. Howard Caine played two other German officers in the series, Gestapo Kriminaldirektor (Colonel) Feldkamp<ref name = "Happy Birthday Adolf">{{cite episode| title = Happy Birthday Adolf| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 7, 1966| season = 1| number = 17}}</ref> and Major Keitel,<ref name = "The Battle of Stalag 13">{{cite episode| title = The Battle of Stalag 13| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 14, 1966| season = 2| number = 5}}</ref> before becoming Major Hochstetter. Throughout the series, the rank insignia on Hochstetter's collar is that of a [[Standartenführer]] (or Kriminaldirektor if he was not also in the SS) which was equivalent to [[Oberst]] (colonel) in the Wehrmacht—a major in the Gestapo would be a [[Sturmbannführer]] (or Kriminalrat if he was not also concurrently an SS officer).
* [[Group Captain]] (Colonel) Rodney Crittendon ([[Bernard Fox (actor)|Bernard Fox]]) is a [[Royal Air Force]] [[group captain]] whose medals include the [[Distinguished Service Order]], [[Order of the British Empire]], [[Military Cross|Military Cross and Bar]], [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)|Distinguished Flying Cross]], and [[Air Force Cross (United Kingdom)|Air Force Cross]]. He is a hopelessly incompetent British officer who crosses paths several times with Hogan and his crew. He believes that a POW's only duty is to escape and to be involved in anything is else is strictly against regulations. When first transferred to Stalag 13 from Stalag 18, Hogan poses a hypothetical question to Crittendon asking what he would do if he were aware the POWs were engaged in spying and sabotage; Crittendon replies that he would report them to the German authorities (thus preventing him from being included in the official mission of the Stalag 13 POWs). However, in a 3rd season episode Crittendon volunteers to replace Hogan as the group's leader since he is familiar with the members of the team (even though he has only had a measly two-day training course in espionage and sabotage).<ref name = "Hogan, Go Home">{{cite episode| title = Hogan, Go Home| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 13, 1968| season = 3| number = 19}}</ref> Crittendon is also known for developing and attempting to execute various forms of prison camp escapes that ''never'' work, and for coming up with the secret "Crittendon Plan", which turns out to consist of planting [[geranium]]s along the sides of runways to cheer up returning British pilots.<ref name = "The Crittendon Plan">{{cite episode| title = The Crittendon Plan| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = September 9, 1967| season = 3| number = 1}}</ref> In a dual role, Bernard Fox played British traitor Sir Charles Chitterly (possibly a parody of [[William Joyce]] known as [[Lord Haw-Haw]]), who, along with his wife Lady Leslie Chitterly ([[Anne Rogers]]), are visiting the camp and their way to see their friend [[Adolf Hitler]]. Lookalike Crittendon, who was parachuted in, replaces Sir Charles and is briefly able to fool his wife, who after discovering the truth decides not to turn him in. Meanwhile the real Sir Charles escapes and wonders around the camp.<ref name = "Chitterly's Lover: Part 1">{{cite episode| title = Lord Chitterly's Lover: Part 1| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 11, 1970| season = 6| number = 4}}</ref><ref name = "Chitterly's Lover: Part 2">{{cite episode| title = Lord Chitterly's Lover: Part 2| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 18, 1970| season = 6| number = 5}}</ref> The rank "colonel" is inaccurate since, although the pay grades are equivalent, a group captain is never addressed as "colonel". However, his character may have been called colonel because most of the American television audience, unfamiliar with British military ranks, undoubtedly would have been confused as to how Crittendon outranked Hogan (Crittendon has 12 years seniority over Hogan because Crittendon has been stuck at colonel for so long, however, Crittendon admits that he's been behind a desk for many years).<ref name = "The Assassin">{{cite episode| title = The Assassin| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = April 8. 1966| season = 1| number = 29}}</ref>
* Marya ([[Nita Talbot]]) is a Russian spy who works occasionally with Hogan, but whom he does not entirely trust. She often appears as the trusted [[paramour]] of some high-ranking German officer or scientist. Her mission is to either discredit or destroy her paramours, as she notes that "...&nbsp;Hitler can't be expected to kill all of his generals". She meets Hogan and LeBeau in Paris during the second season where she learns of his Stalag 13 activities.<ref name="A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 1"/><ref name="A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 2"/> Her schemes often come into conflict with Hogan's plans, but she nevertheless always proves to be either faithful to the Allied cause or having compatible causes of her own. She is described as a "[[White movement|White Russian]]", but it is unclear whether this refers to her possible ethnicity as a [[Belarusians|Belarusian]] or her possible political allegiance to the [[Russia]]n anti-communist [[White Movement]] (thus allowing her character to remain apolitical - while the [[Soviet Union]] was an ally during the war, when the series was filmed anti-communist/anti-Soviet feeling ran high in the U.S., see the [[Cold War]]). Marya is constantly flirting with Hogan, to his discomfort, and also flirts with LeBeau, who believes her to be an innocent, decent woman who won't sell out or get the Heroes in trouble (at least not on purpose). Her trademark line, said with an exaggerated [[Russian language|Russian]] accent, is "Hogan, Dah-link" (Hogan Darling in normal English).
* Tiger ([[Arlene Martel]]), is a beautiful female [[French Resistance|French Underground]] contact, who has a running romance with Hogan and appears in the series a few times. Hogan has noted that Tiger has saved his life at least once. Hogan describes Tiger as 'the' leader of the French Underground. He frees her from the [[Gestapo]] twice: once on the way to Berlin via train, and once springing her from Gestapo headquarters in Paris, France.<ref name="A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 1"/><ref name="A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 2"/>
* [[Hauptmann]] (Captain) Fritz or Felix Gruber ([[Dick Wilson]]) is Klink's adjutant who is rarely seen (Dick Wilson also played several other characters in the series including a member of the Underground). However, in "Don't Forget to Write",<ref name = " Don't Forget to Write ">{{cite episode| title = Don't Forget to Write| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 9, 1966| season = 2| number = 13}}</ref> Gruber becomes the new ruthless Kommandant of Stalag 13 after Klink mistakenly volunteers for the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Russian Front]]. Because Gruber is rather hard lined and not at all easy to manipulate, the prisoners desperately want to get Klink back. Hogan then orders three prisoners to escape and hide. When Gruber is unable to recapture them Burkhalter turns to Klink to recapture the prisoners, which he does with the help of Hogan. General Burkhalter sees that it would be a mistake to send Klink to the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Russian Front]] and gives Klink his old job back. In addition to Gruber, several other junior officers or more capable [[non-commissioned officer|NCO's]] are occasionally assigned to Klink's command, but one way or another Hogan finds a way to get rid of them. In one episode, Hogan pretends to be Klink's adjutant, a "Major Hogan Hüppel", to fool some German officers. During most of ''Hogan's Heroes'', there is a conspicuous omission of any second-in-command to Kommandant Klink, and in fact, the omission of any junior [[Luftwaffe]] officers at all (however, there was an apparent adjutant to Klink in the pilot episode<ref name="The Informer"/>). Klink claims he doesn't need one and often feels threatened by more competent officers, even junior officers. In reality, a Stalag like this one had more than a few officers with the ranks of Leutnant (lieutenant), Hauptmann (captain), and Major (major) carrying out their duties under the command of the Kommandant (if for no other reason because a camp commander cannot be on duty at the camp 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in all parts of the camp at the same time). This omission may have been a plot ploy as it would be much easier for Hogan to control what happens with only Klink to manipulate (as opposed to an entire staff of camp officers) and for the TV audience to follow along.
* [[Obergefreiter]] (Corporal) Karl Langenscheidt ([[Jon Cedar]]), is one of Schultz's guards who is only seen or spoken of occasionally. He often arrives at the worst of times and also informs the distraught Colonel Klink when an important guest arrives, much to Klink's displeasure. In "Art for Hogan's Sake", Langenscheidt gets involved in Hogan's scheme to forge the famous [[Édouard Manet]] priceless painting, "[[The Fifer|The Fife Player]]", and switch it for the real one General Burkhalter had "requisitioned" from the [[Louvre]] museum in Paris to give to [[Hermann Göring]] as a birthday present.<ref name = "Art for Hogan’s Sake">{{cite episode| title = Art for Hogan's Sake| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 30, 1966| season = 2| number = 16}}</ref>
* Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer (née Burkhalter) ([[Kathleen Freeman]], played onetime by [[Alice Ghostley]]<ref name = "Watch the Trains Go By">{{cite episode| title = Watch the Trains Go By| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = February 1, 1969| season = 4| number = 19}}</ref>) is General Burkhalter's gruff and homely sister whom he tries to marry off, notably to Klink who knows marrying her would help his career. However, she is usually in a one-sided relationship as Klink is scared-to-death of her, but Hogan manages to split the two one way or another. A running gag in several episodes with her is that Klink can run away with her husband Otto who, she sometimes protests, is only [[missing in action]] on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Russian Front]] (but as General Burkhalter says missing in action on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Russian Front]] is as good as dead). In one episode Hogan commented "You two can start a club".<ref name="Watch the Trains Go By"/> In another running gag is Klink threatening to have Hogan shot for even suggesting he could marry Frau Linkmeyer. In "Kommandant Gertrude",<ref name = "Kommandant Gertrude">{{cite episode| title = Kommandant Gertrude| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = February 28, 1971| season = 6| number = 21}}</ref> Frau Linkmeyer arrives at the camp with her new (reluctant) fiancée, Major Wolgang Karp ([[Lee Bergere]]), who she intends to replace Klink as camp commandant under her iron-fisted supervision, but Hogan manages to foil her plans and their engagement. She only appears in episodes with General Burkhalter.
* Maurice Dubay <!-- Yes, according to the credits, the name is spelled "Dubay" and *not* "Dubois" -->(Felice Orlandi), is a [[French Resistance|French Underground]] contact who appeared in several episodes. (Orlandi's real-life wife, [[Alice Ghostley]], appeared in two episodes, one time assuming the role of Frau Linkmeyer<ref name="Watch the Trains Go By"/> and in the other as Mrs Mannheim).<ref name = "That's No Lady, That's My Spy">{{cite episode| title = That's No Lady, That's My Spy| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 24m 1971| season = 6| number = 17}}</ref>
* [[Italian Army ranks|Maggiore]] (Major) Bonacelli, is a visiting commander of an Italian [[prisoner-of-war camp]] who is at Stalag 13 to learn Klink's techniques for no escapes, but is actually not too gung-ho about supporting the Fascist war effort, particularly the German war effort. In "The Pizza Parlor", Major Bonacelli ([[Hans Conried]]) is talked out of defecting to neutral Switzerland by Hogan and into acting as a spy for the Allies back at his POW camp.<ref name = "The Pizza Parlor">{{cite episode| title = The Pizza Parlor| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = February 11, 1966| season = 1| number = 22}}</ref> In "The Return of Major Boncelli" (this time played by [[Vito Scotti]]), Hogan talks Bonacelli into photographing the new advanced German [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft gun]] before defecting to Switzerland (while he's being chased by the Gestapo).<ref name = "The Return of Major Bonacelli">{{cite episode| title = The Return of Major Bonacelli| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = March 15, 1969| season = 4| number = 25}}</ref>

Among some of the notable actors to appear on Hogan's Heroes were: [[Gavin MacLeod]] ''([[McHale's Navy]],'' ''[[The Mary Tyler Moore Show]]'' and ''[[The Love Boat]]),'' played several dislikable German characters including the corrupt Gestapo Major Keitel<ref name = "Clearance Sale at the Black Market">{{cite episode| title = Clearance Sale at the Black Market| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = September 28, 1969| season = 4| number = 1}}</ref>
and the despicable Gen. von Rauscher;<ref name = "The Witness">{{cite episode| title = The Witness| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = March 1, 1969| season = 4| number = 23}}</ref> [[James Sikking|James B. Sikking]] ("Lt. Howard Hunter" on ''[[Hill Street Blues]]'') played three characters (in three episodes), including an SS officer,<ref name="My Favorite Prisoner">{{cite episode| title = My Favorite Prisoner| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = January 25, 1969| season = 4| number = 18}}</ref> a German soldier,<ref name="No Names, Please">{{cite episode| title = No Names, Please| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = November 30, 1968| season = 4| number = 10}}</ref> and an Underground leader;<ref name="The Big Broadcast">{{cite episode| title = The Big Broadcast| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 6, 1970| season = 6| number = 12}}</ref> [[William Christopher]] ("Father Mulcahy" on [[M*A*S*H (TV series)|M*A*S*H]]), played four characters (in four episodes) including a POW pretending to be a German general<ref name = "Will The Real Adolf Please Stand Up?">{{cite episode| title = Will The Real Adolf Please Stand Up?| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 2, 1966| season = 2| number = 12}}</ref> and POW "Thomas" who temporarily takes over the duties normally assigned to Carter;<ref name="War Takes a Holiday"/> [[Henry Corden]], also played several characters on both sides including "The Blue Baron";<ref name="Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?"/> [[Harold Gould]], played several German generals; [[Ben Wright (actor)|Ben Wright]] played several German officers including Count Rudolf von Heffernick,<ref name = "Klink's Old Flame">{{cite episode| title = Klink's Old Flame| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = February 8, 1969| season = 4| number = 20}}</ref> but also a defecting German scientist, Dr. Riemann;<ref name = "The Dropouts">{{cite episode| title = The Dropouts| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 27, 1970| season = 6| number = 14}}</ref> [[John Dehner]] played Gen. von Platzenref<ref name = "The Late Inspector General">{{cite episode| title = The Late Inspector General| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = October 8, 1965| season = 1| number = 4}}</ref> and Col. Backscheider;<ref name="A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 1"/><ref name="A Tiger Hunt in Paris: Part 2"/> [[Bob Hastings]] ''([[McHale's Navy]]),'' played Russian pilot Igor Piotkin in "A Russian is Coming"<ref name = "A Russian is Coming">{{cite episode| title = A Russian is Coming| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = November 25, 1967| season = 3| number = 12}}</ref> and [[Noam Pitlik]] played several characters on both sides including the German spy planted among the prisoners in the black-and-white pilot episode.<ref name="The Informer"/> In a dual role, [[Lloyd Bochner]] played [[Group Captain]] James Roberts who is on his way to meet [[Winston Churchill]], but is replaced by his lookalike German spy Leutnant Baumann who plans on assasinating Churchill.<ref name="A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to London"/> [[Antoinette Bower]] played three roles including "Berlin Betty" (a parody of "[[Axis Sally]]"), a British traitor who makes propaganda broadcasts for the Nazis.<ref name = "Is There a Traitor in the House?">{{cite episode| title = Is There a Traitor in the House?| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 19, 1969| season = 5| number = 13}}</ref> Dave Morick, [[John Stephenson (actor)|John Stephenson]], [[Edward Knight (American actor)|Edward Knight]], [[Stewart Moss]], David M. Frank and [[John Hoyt]] each appeared in the series a number of times, usually as Germans though with some in minor roles.

==Broadcast history==
* Friday at 8:30-9:00 p.m. on CBS: September 17, 1965—April 7, 1967; September 26, 1969—March 27, 1970
* Saturday at 9:00-9:30 p.m. on CBS: September 9, 1967—March 22, 1969
* Sunday at 7:30-8:00 p.m. on CBS: September 20, 1970—April 4, 1971

==Episodes==
{{further|List of Hogan's Heroes episodes}}

===Pilot episode===
The [[Television pilot|pilot]] episode, "The Informer" (played by [[Noam Pitlik]] as the German spy pretending to be an Allied prisoner), was produced in [[black-and-white]] with the opening scene depicting the show as "Germany 1942".<ref name="The Informer"/> As with many pilot episodes, there are several differences from the series proper, such as Burkhalter being introduced as a colonel, instead of a general. There were many changes to Larry Hovis's character of Carter. In the pilot, he was credited as a guest star and is shown as a lieutenant, rather than a sergeant. "Lt. Carter" had recently escaped from another camp and at the end of the episode is in route to England.

[[Leonid Kinskey]] appears in the pilot episode as Vladimir Minsk, a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] POW who specializes in [[tailor]]ing. Kinskey ultimately turned down a contract to become a permanent character. Although the intent was probably to give the series a truly international feel, it is perhaps just as well as [[Nazi Germany]] had always put Soviet POWs into separate Stalags, or at least separate compounds within a Stalag, where they were treated considerably more harshly than those of the [[Allies of World War II|Western Allied]] prisoners (the death rate among Soviet prisoners was very high, approx. 60%, while it was relatively low among Western Allied prisoners, approx. 4% – see [[Nazi crimes against Soviet POWs|Soviet POWs]]). Although Western Allied prisoners were also usually put in separate Stalags by nationality, or at least separate compounds within a Stalag, it wasn't unusual to find them mixed together (compounds were separated by [[barbed wire]] fences with no prisoner movement between each compound).

In the pilot, Col. Klink's secretary, [[Fräulein]] Helga, is actually part of Hogan's team and is a manicurist in the prisoners' underground barber shop, but it is only in the pilot episode that it is suggested her cooperation with the prisoners is all that extensive. In the actual TV series, she and her successor, [[Fräulein]] Hilda, are merely willing to look the other way, as well as provide tidbits of information and access to official papers or equipment, in exchange for a warm kiss or some other form of affectionate gesture from Hogan. Another difference is that the word "Stalag" was avoided in the pilot; it was simply referred to as "Camp 13". It is also referred to as Camp 13 in several of the first episodes, but is eventually only referred to as Stalag 13 (perhaps because American TV audiences were unfamiliar with the word Stalag at the beginning of the series).

The camp also appears to be bigger, with more barracks, prisoners, and guards shown than on the series itself; Klink appears to have an adjutant. Also, the tunnels used by the prisoners are more extensive, full of activities such as counterfeiting German [[Reichmarks]], the production of gun-shaped cigarette lighters as souvenirs supposedly sold in Berlin, and a steam room and barbershop for the prisoners.

Stylistically, the look of the pilot is grittier, not only because it was filmed in black and white, but because low-angle shots are used at times for close-ups, especially of the Germans. The overall "feel" is closer to films such as ''[[Stalag 17]]'' than the regular episodes, albeit far more comical.

===Filming===
Outdoor scenes were filmed on the famed [[RKO Forty Acres|40 Acres]] [[Backlot]] in [[Culver City, California|Culver City, CA]]. The set was destroyed in 1975 in the filming of the final scene of ''[[Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS]]''.<ref>http://www.grooviespad.com/stalag13/office/FAQ.htm</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|71650|Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS}}</ref> Indoor scenes were filmed at Cinema General Studios, Desilu Studios and Paramount Studios.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058812/locations</ref>

==Theme music==
The [[theme music]] for ''Hogan's Heroes'' was composed by [[Jerry Fielding]]. The title of the theme music is "March" or "Hogan's Heroes March". There are [[lyrics]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.headington.org.uk/adverts/themes/hi.htm |title=Theme songs of early UK TV programmes |publisher=Headington.org.uk |date=2010-10-09 |accessdate=2012-06-04}}</ref> to the title music (also written by Fielding). While they were never sung in the show, they were performed on an album titled ''Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II'' featuring Dixon, Clary, Dawson and Hovis. The drums were performed by [[Bob Crane]], who was an accomplished drummer.

==Jewish actors==
The actors who played the four major German roles&mdash;Werner Klemperer (Klink),<ref>Weintraub, Bernard. ''New York Times' (December 8, 2000)</ref> John Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (Burkhalter), and Howard Caine (Hochstetter)&mdash;were Jewish. Furthermore, Klemperer, Banner, Askin, and Robert Clary (LeBeau) were [[Jew]]s who had fled the Nazis during World War II. Clary says in the recorded commentary on the DVD version of episode "Art for Hogan's Sake" that he spent three years in a [[concentration camp]], that his parents and other family members were killed there, and that he has an identity tattoo from the camp on his arm ("A-5714"). Likewise John Banner had been held in a (pre-war) [[concentration camp]] and his family was killed during the war. Leon Askin was also in a pre-war French [[internment camp]] and his parents were killed at [[Treblinka]]. [[Howard Caine]] (Hochstetter), who was also Jewish (his birth name was Cohen), was American, and Jewish actors [[Harold Gould]] and [[Harold J. Stone]] played German generals.

As a teenager, Werner Klemperer (Klink) (son of the conductor [[Otto Klemperer]]) fled Hitler's Germany with his family in 1933. During the show's production, he insisted that Hogan always win over his Nazi captors or else he would not take the part of Klink. He defended his playing a Luftwaffe Officer by claiming, "I am an actor. If I can play Richard III, I can play a Nazi." Banner attempted to sum up the paradox of his role by saying, "Who can play Nazis better than us Jews?" Ironically, although Klemperer, Banner, Caine, Gould, and Askin play stereotypical World War II Germans, all had actually served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II &mdash; Banner<ref>[http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?p=1156096&sid=c707f6eafa5d7e79d3c9ff8cde7a55b8 Axis History Forum]</ref> and Askin in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Caine in the U.S. Navy, Gould with the U.S. Army, and Klemperer in a [[Special Services (entertainment)|U.S. Army Entertainment Unit]].

==Reception==
During the original run of the program, ''Hogan's Heroes'' was three times nominated for the [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] for Best Comedy Series.<ref>[http://www.hogansheroesfanclub.com/awards.php Hogan's Heroes Fan Club - Awards.]</ref> The [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences|television academy's]] faith in the show is generally confirmed by most modern viewers. {{As of|2008}}, online participants overwhelmingly deemed it a show that "never [[jumped the shark]]".<ref>[http://www.jumptheshark.com/topic/Hogans-Heroes/Hogans-Heroes-General-Comments/921 jumptheshark.com rating for ''Hogan's Heroes'']</ref> Likewise, about 93% of respondents at [[tv.com]] rated the show as "good" or better, as of 2008.<ref>[http://www.tv.com/hogans-heroes/show/1449/reviews.html?review_id=41053&flag=1 tv.com poll on ''Hogan's Heroes'']</ref>


===Nielsen ratings===
===Nielsen ratings===
NOTE: The highest average rating for the series is in '''bold text'''.
Note: The highest average rating for the series is in '''bold text'''.
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|-
Line 190: Line 134:
| 2) 1966–1967 || #17 || 21.8 (Tied with ''The CBS Friday Night Movies'')
| 2) 1966–1967 || #17 || 21.8 (Tied with ''The CBS Friday Night Movies'')
|-
|-
| 3) 1967–1968 || rowspan="4" colspan="2" | Not in the Top 30
| 3) 1967–1968 || #38 || 18.7
|-
|-
| 4) 1968–1969
| 4) 1968–1969 || #39 || 19.8
|-
|-
| 5) 1969–1970 || #39 || 18.9 (Tied with ''Andy Williams Show'' and ''Kraft Music Hall'')
| 5) 1969–1970
|-
|-
| 6) 1970–1971
| 6) 1970–1971 || Not in the Top 30
|}
|}


==Controversies==
==Home media==
[[Paramount Home Entertainment]] (under [[CBS Home Entertainment|CBS DVD]] starting in 2006) has released all six seasons of ''Hogan's Heroes'' on DVD in regions 1 and 4. The series was previously released by [[Columbia House]] as individual discs, each with five or six consecutive episodes, as well as on a compilation 42 VHS collection of the 168 episodes.


On March 8, 2016, [[CBS Home Entertainment]] re-released a repackaged version of the complete series set, at a lower price.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://tvshowsondvd.com/news/Hogans-Heroes-The-Complete-Series/21821| title='The Complete Series' is Getting a DVD Re-Release Soon!| publisher=[[TVShowsOnDVD.com]]| access-date=December 14, 2015| first=David| last=Lambert| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151217020319/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Hogans-Heroes-The-Complete-Series/21821| archive-date=December 17, 2015}}</ref>
===At time of broadcast===
[[Donald Bevan]] and [[Edmund Trzcinski]], the writers of the 1951 play ''[[Stalag 17]]'', a World War II prisoner of war story turned into a 1953 [[feature film]] by [[Paramount Pictures]], sued [[Bing Crosby|Bing Crosby Productions]], the show's producer, for infringement.<ref name="wga" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/Stalag-17 |title=Stalag 17: A film review |accessdate=2008-08-01 |author=[[Christopher Null|Null, Christopher]] |publisher=Filmcritic.com}}</ref> However, their lawsuit was unsuccessful. While the jury found in favor of the plaintiffs, the federal judge overruled them. The judge found "striking difference in the dramatic mood of the two works."<ref name="wga">{{cite web |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/wga-fights-movie-rights-hogans-heroes-bing-crosby-302842 |title=WGA Fights Over Movie Rights to 'Hogan's Heroes' |author=Gardner, Eric |publisher=''[[Hollywood Reporter]]'' |date=March 21, 2012 |accessdate=June 4, 2012}}</ref> In his book, ''My War'', [[Andy Rooney]], who was a friend of the ''Stalag 17'' authors, changed the facts to portray their suit as successful, stating that "...&nbsp;someone at CBS apparently ripped off their idea and made a television series called ''Hogan's Heroes'' of it. The television program had too many similarities in character and plot to be coincidental, and when Don and Ed sued the network they won a huge award."<ref>Rooney, Andy. ''My War''. New York: Random House, 1995. p. 264</ref><ref>http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/wga-fights-movie-rights-hogans-heroes-bing-crosby-302842</ref><ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=LbJ_AQAAQBAJ&pg=PT26&lpg=PT26&dq=hogan%27s+heroes+suit+settled+stalag+17&source=bl&ots=0m7YnRr4K0&sig=wJWyZsh6NfSZkIU2__uo6O0n9RQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=biPHUovCB6jSsATkyoGIDg&ved=0CFEQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=hogan%27s%20heroes%20suit%20settled%20stalag%2017&f=false</ref>


In Australia (Region 4), the first DVD releases were from Time–Life (from around 2002–2005) with each disc sold individually with 4–5 episodes per disc. Between 2005 and 2007 these same discs were packaged as individual complete-season collections.
In fact, under [[Writers Guild of America]] rules, ''Hogan's Heroes'' was determined to be an original work, and an arbitration hearing was scheduled in 2012 to determine whether [[Bernard Fein]] and [[Albert S. Ruddy]], the creators of the show, had transferred the right to make a movie of ''Hogan's Heroes'' to Bing Crosby Productions along with the television rights or had retained the derivative movie rights.<ref name="wga" />


The complete series was released on Blu-ray in Germany in 2018. The set consists of 23 double-layer BD-50 discs. The discs are region-free. While menus and titles are in German, the episodes include both German and original English audio tracks.<ref>{{citation |title=Hogan's Heroes: The Complete Series Blu-ray |url=https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Hogans-Heroes-The-Complete-Series-Blu-ray/200244/#Forum |access-date=December 29, 2020}}</ref>
Despite some claims, overall the only similarities between the television show ''Hogan's Heroes'' and the movie ''Stalag 17'' is that they both have a heavyset Sergeant Schultz in a Luftwaffe prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. Otherwise the plots, characters and intrigues are very different. For example the Sergeant Schultz on ''Hogan's Heroes'' is dimwitted and easily bribed, quite the opposite of the ''Stalag 17'' Sergeant Schultz who is a cunning and dedicated soldier. In ''Hogan's Heroes'', as prisoners in the camp, they are deeply involved in espionage and sabotage (including working with resistance groups, defectors and spies), but in ''Stalag 17'' the prisoners are not involved in anything remotely close to that. However, there was one episode that was similar to the movie. In the pilot episode of ''Hogan's Heroes'' the Germans planted a spy among the prisoners which was the main plot of the movie. But even with this similarity in plot the rest of the pilot episode is quite different.
On December 13, 2022, Paramount Pictures released the entire blu-ray series in the U.S.

If ''Hogan's Heroes'' is like any movie it would be the lighthearted ''[[The Password is Courage]]'' starring [[Dirk Bogarde]] as [[Sergeant Major]] Coward who is a British POW in a German prison camp during World War II and becomes involved in sabotage, sneaking in and out of camp and into town where he even finds a love interest. He also easily manipulates the camp commander and the movie also has a heavyset bumbling Sergeant Schultz who takes a number of bribes. These are all earmarks of the plots of ''Hogan's Heroes'', but are not at all found in the movie ''Stalag 17''. Similarities to other movies and books like ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'' pretty much end after comparing themes common to all World War II prisoner of war books and movies involving escapes and tunnels and bribing the guards in German prison-of-war camps.

===Retrospective criticism===
In spite of its three Emmy nominations, ''[[TV Guide]]'' in 2002 named ''Hogan's Heroes'' the fifth worst TV show of all time (p 180, Running Press, Philadelphia, 2007).<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/07/12/entertainment/main515057.shtml The Worst TV Shows Ever*, CBS News, July 12, 2002.]</ref> The listing for ''Hogan's Heroes'' in particular accuses the show of trivializing the suffering of real life POWs and the victims of [[the Holocaust]] with its comedic take on prison camps in the [[Third Reich]]. However, many of the actors in the series themselves had been affected by the Holocaust and/or internment camps. Several of these actors said they were comfortable with playing Germans and Nazis as long as the show made the Nazis look foolish.

===Historical Inaccuracies===
Aside from inaccuracies concerning the correct medal, proper uniform, location of buildings, etc., the series farcically plays extremely fast and loose with historical events and persons, implausibly involving prisoners of war in nearly everything from impersonating Hitler, Himmler, Göring, numerous generals and officers to involvement in the highest levels of the German military to traveling to Paris to destroying Nazi Germany's most advanced weapons programs. In a way, the series seems to have been merely the mixing of the [[prisoner of war]] (POW) movies, like the ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]'' and ''[[The Password is Courage]]'' (with POWs, escapes, tunnels, German guards), and the [[James Bond]] phenomenon (with spies, espionage, sabotage, beautiful women) that was so very popular in the 1960s. It also often parodies history, usually for comical effect, such as with the character Mannfred von Richter, "the Blue Baron", which is a parody of [[Manfred von Richthofen]] better known as the Red Baron.<ref name = "Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?">{{cite episode| title = Will the Blue Baron Strike Again?"| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = December 14, 1968| season = 4| number = 12}}</ref>

*As such the series is hardly reflective of all that much that actually took place inside [[prisoner-of-war camp]]s or how the actual events many of the episodes are based on actually occurred outside of the camps. For that matter, the series fails to fully reflect the life, the rather harsh life, of POWs in a German POW camp during World War II (their main concern was simply surviving the ordeal and if possible escaping).<ref>"Captivity, Flight and Survival in World War II" by Alan J. Levine, copyright 2000, Greenwood Publishing Group</ref> While it is possible that some camp commanders were vulnerable to manipulation and most certainly many guards were bribed and military personnel assigned to prison camps were usually the least capable,<ref>"Captivity, Flight and Survival in World War II" by Alan J. Levine, copyright 2000, Greenwood Publishing Group</ref> just about all of the premise is otherwise just fiction and even a bit silly (it is a comedy after all). There is no evidence of Allied prisoners being involved in sabotage except of discreet acts of sabotage, such as wrecking machines and damaging railroad cars when they were on work parties,<ref>"Captivity, Flight and Survival in World War II" by Alan J. Levine, copyright 2000, Greenwood Publishing Group</ref> let alone use a prison camp as a base of operations to directly commit numerous acts of sabotage and espionge.
*The producers may have wanted to (quite inaccurately) portray most Germans as disloyal or at least indifferent towards the [[Third Reich]] and the military fate of their country and those in authority and uniform as bumbling fools. In reality, while many Germans became more and more disilliusioned by Hitler and the Nazi cause as Germany started to lose the war, nearly all Germans were willing to support and fight on in the defense of their country (no matter who was running it). Even for those few Germans who were willing to help escaped POWs and the Allies, the threat of being found out, arrested and being sent to a concentration camp or shot was very high and deadly serious (the [[Hitler Youth]] were the most vigilant about turning in anyone who was disloyal in this respect).<ref>"Captivity, Flight and Survival in World War II" by Alan J. Levine, copyright 2000, Greenwood Publishing Group</ref>
*There is no evidence that the Germans used prisoner-of-war camps to protect secret weapons or important persons from Allied aerial bombings let alone keep them within close proximity to the prisoners within the same compound. The tunnels are totally unrealistically tall and spacious. The series depicts the prisoners communicating by radio with submerged submarines. The technology to needed to be able to communicate with a submerged submarine wasn't developed until after World War II. [[Swastika]]s on the camp flagpole and in a picture in Klink's office are incorrectly shown as left facing (possibly a deliberate slight on the part of the producers).
*In the episode "Hold That Tiger",<ref name = "Hold That Tiger">{{cite episode| title = Hold That Tiger| series = Hogan's Heroes| airdate = September 24, 1965| season = 1| number = 2}}</ref> the German Tiger Tank is actually an American self-propelled howitzer called the [[M7 Priest]] and is not considered a [[tank]]. It has no turret and weighed less than half of what a real German Tiger Tank weighed. The two versions of the tank, [[Tiger I]] and [[Tiger II]], were massive even by today's standards.
*Historically correct German rank designations, such as [[Feldwebel|Hauptfeldwebel]] (Senior Master Sergeant), Leutnant ([[lieutenant]]), [[Hauptmann]] (captain), [[Oberst]] (Colonel) and others were almost always given American armed forces equivalents in the series, presumably because it would be easier for the American TV audience to understand. Most of the proper designations provided on this webpage are the historically correct designations, but are not necessarily ones ever verbally used in the series for the persons indicated (although indicated by the insignia on their uniforms).
*The presence of Colonel Hogan, Colonel Crittenton and occasionally other Allied officers mixed together with enlisted personnel in a Luft [[Stalag]], other than temporarily, is partially historically inaccurate. While Luft Stalags, unlike most Stalags, had a mixture of officers and enlisted personnel, they were generally put into separate compounds within the camp (compounds were separated by [[barbed wire]] fences with no prisoner movement between each compound). Also Luft Stalags were considerable larger than the 103 prisoners depicted on the series and normally held thousands and in the case of one Stalag over 130,000 Allied prisoners.<ref name="Captivity 2000">"Captivity, Flight and Survival in World War II" by Alan J. Levine, copyright 2000, Greenwood Publishing Group</ref>

==Later broadcasts==
[[Universal HD]] broadcasts Hogan's Heroes in 1080 High Definition, with the picture being mildly cropped to better fit 16:9 television screens, rather than being fully "[[pillarbox]]ed" as most non-widescreen programs are when viewed on high-definition television. The picture is cropped only slightly from the top, and more from the bottom, so that the tops of characters' heads are not usually affected. The series was filmed in 4:3, so the cropping used by Universal HD — similar to the [[14:9]] compromise aspect ratio already in use to transition shows and commercials to/from 4:3 and 16:9 — leaves a narrow vertical black strip at each side of the picture, each about 1/3 the width of the normal "pillarboxing" borders characteristic of 4:3 content shown on a 16:9 screen.<ref>[http://www.universalhd.com/app/Schedule/?keyword=HEROES Hogan's Heroes in HD]</ref>{{dead link|date=August 2012}} The series is also broadcast on [[Me-TV]].

==German-language version==
''Hogan's Heroes'' was not broadcast in Germany on German television until 1992. The original German-language dubbed version was titled ''Stacheldraht und Fersengeld'' ("Barbed Wire and Turning Tail"). The program was next re-dubbed and re-broadcast in 1994 as ''Ein Käfig voller Helden'' ("A Cage Full of Heroes"), which gained considerable popularity.{{Citation needed|date=February 2009}}

In the newer German-language version of ''Hogan's Heroes'', the Germans and [[Austria]]ns speak in a number of different accents. It amplifies the contrast between Colonel Klink (who portrays the [[Prussia]]n stereotype but has an accent from [[Saxony]]) and Sergeant Schultz (who portrays the ''Urbayern'' [[Bavaria]]n stereotype), which gives the German version of ''Hogan's Heroes'' another slapstick element. Furthermore, Klink's choice of vocabulary and memorable quotes add more gags that would not be possible in a direct translation of the original English-language version of ''Hogan's Heroes.''

The American characters in ''Hogan's Heroes'' speak a neutral [[Standard German|High German]] (Standard German). Lebeau speaks German with a French accent. General Burkhalter speaks with strong [[Austria]]n accent, especially to go along with the fact that the actor who played this role, [[Leon Askin]] was born in [[Vienna]].

A major change to the German version of ''Hogan's Heroes'' is that Corporal Newkirk, who speaks with a British accent in the original, has his voice changed to that of an exaggerated stutterer in the German version. Another change that was made is in Sergeant Schultz's first name. This is "Hans" in the English version, but they changed this to "Georg" in the German version.

Apart from all of the above, there are numerous departures from the original stories, which introduce factors that are not present in the English ''Hogan's Heroes''. Among other things, the German version introduces a new character, "Kalinke", who is Klink's cleaning lady and also his perennial mistress. Of course, she is [[unseen character|referred to, but never seen]], because she was nonexistent in the films of the television program. Colonel Klink describes her as performing most of her cleaning duties in the nude.<ref name="WSJ Article">{{Cite news| last = Steinmetz| first = Greg| author-link =| title = In Germany Now, Col. Klink's Maid Cleans in the Nude| newspaper = Wall Street Journal| pages = A1| date = 1996-05-31| url = http://www.hogansheroesfanclub.com/articleWSJ31May1996.php| postscript = <!--None-->}}</ref>

==DVD releases==
[[CBS Home Entertainment|CBS DVD]] (distributed by [[Paramount Home Entertainment|Paramount]]) has released all six seasons of ''Hogan's Heroes'' on DVD in Region 1 & 4. The series was previously released by [[Columbia House]] as individual discs, each with five or six consecutive episodes.


{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
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| 168
| 168
| November 10, 2009
| November 10, 2009
| December 3, 2009<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.booktopia.com.au/hogan-s-heroes/dvd/9324915083059.html |title=Hogan's Heroes |publisher=[[Booktopia]] |access-date=November 14, 2020}}</ref>
| December 3, 2009
|-
| The Complete Series
| 168
|March 8, 2016
December 17, 2019 (Repackaged)
| August 12, 2020<ref>{{cite web| title=Hogan's Heroes: The Complete Series (Seasons 1 - 6)| url=http://www.ezydvd.com.au/DVD/Hogans-Heroes-The-Complete-Series-Seasons-1-6/dp/6222100| website=[[EzyDVD]]}}</ref>
|}
|}


==Merchandise and promotion==
==In popular culture==
In 1965, [[Fleer]] produced a 66-[[trading card]] set based on the series.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oldbubblegumcards.com/1960s/Hogans-Heroes/index.html |title=Fleer Hogan's Heroes 1965 Trading Card Set |publisher=Oldbubblegumcards.com |access-date=December 24, 2015}}</ref> [[Dell Comics]] produced nine issues of a series based on the show from 1966 to 1969, all with photo covers. The artwork was provided by [[Henry Scarpelli]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lambiek.net/artists/s/scarpelli_henry.htm|title=Henry Scarpelli|website=lambiek.net}}</ref> ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' magazine #108 (January 1967) parodied the show as "Hokum's Heroes". An additional one-page parody called "Hochman's Heroes" took the show's premise to the next level by setting it in [[Buchenwald]] concentration camp.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.madcoversite.com/mad108.html| title=''Mad'' #108| date=January 1967| work=Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site| access-date=June 7, 2017}}</ref>
<!-- Please help order these chronologically, even if the dates are commented to avoid cluttering the text. Also, citations would be nice. Discuss in TALK.-->


In 1968, Clary, Dawson, Dixon, and Hovis recorded an album titled ''Hogan's Heroes Sing the Best of World War II'', which included lyrics for the theme song.<ref name=sing>{{cite web| title=Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II| url=http://hogansheroesfanclub.com/collectiblesAlbumsHogansHeroesSingTheBestOfWorldWarII.php| publisher=Hogan's Heroes Fan Club| access-date=March 28, 2014| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060904230908/http://hogansheroesfanclub.com/collectiblesAlbumsHogansHeroesSingTheBestOfWorldWarII.php| archive-date=September 4, 2006}}</ref> While the show was in production, Crane, Klemperer, Askin, and Banner all appeared (as different characters) in the 1968 film ''[[The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz]]''.
* ''[[Mad (magazine)|Mad]]'' magazine #108 (January 1967) parodied the show as "Hokum's Heroes". An additional one-page parody called "Hochman's Heroes" took the show's premise to the next level by setting it in [[Buchenwald]] concentration camp.

* In the December 1, 1966 ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' episode "It's How You Play the Game", Colonel Klink appears in one of the show's trademark [[Batman (TV series)#Batclimb Cameos|window cameos]] as Batman scales the side of a building. When Batman and Robin ask why Colonel Klink is in Gotham City, Colonel Klink states that he is looking for an underground agent. Batman tells Colonel Klink to try not to get picked up as Chief O'Hara can be very tough with aliens incognito. Colonel Klink quotes "incognito, in my monocle?" When Robin tells Colonel Klink to say hi to Colonel Hogan for him and Batman, Colonel Klink quotes that it is a wonder Hogan has not borrowed one of Batman's bat-ropes for one of his escapes.

* The television series ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has made several references to ''Hogan's Heroes''<ref>http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058812/movieconnections</ref> including:
** The <!--1991-->episode "[[Burns Verkaufen der Kraftwerk]]" when [[Mr. Burns]] sells the [[Springfield Nuclear Power Plant]] to a German company. One of the Germans alludes to the show when he says, "The new owners have elected me to speak with you because I am the most non-threatening. Perhaps I remind you of the lovable Sergeant Schultz on ''Hogan's Heroes''."
** Colonel Klink (voiced by Klemperer himself) appears in the<!--1993--> episode "[[The Last Temptation of Homer]]", as a guardian angel assuming the form of a character Homer knows, who shows Homer what his life would be like without Marge. Throughout the episode Homer tells Klink of the tunnels and radio that were hidden from him throughout ''Hogan's Heroes''.
** In the <!--2002--> episode "[[The Great Louse Detective]]", [[List of recurring The Simpsons characters#Rainier Wolfcastle|Rainier Wolfcastle]] references Sgt. Schultz's [[catchphrase]]. When discussing a nudist [[Nazi exploitation|Nazi exploitation film]] he made early in his career, he says "I Wore Nussing!"

* Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz appear in the <!--2006--> ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' episode "Metal Militia", voiced by [[Seth Green]]. In a segment that parodies this show, [[Hulk Hogan]] and other wrestlers were in the place of Colonel Hogan and his inmates as they plan to make their escape at the time when Adolf Hitler pays a visit to Colonel Klink's Stalag 13 camp.

* The children's Disney TV show ''[[Recess (TV series)|Recess]]'' makes reference to ''Hogan's Heroes'' on the episode "Old Folks Home". In the episode, an old war hero named "Logan" reminisces about his days in the war to T.J. While he reminisces, a flashback appears of his days in a German-style POW camp. In the flashback, one of the barrack reads the number 13 (as in Stalag 13) in the background of the formation of Logan's men. While in formation, "Kommadant Pricklyton" questions Logan after losing his secret communique. In the flashback, many renowned ''Hogan's Heroes'' gag lines are used such as the Kommadant shouting "Logan!" and a husky man in a World War I style German uniform stating "I haven't seen a thing!"

* In the [[Battalion Wars]] series of video games, the soldiers of the Western Frontier faction are referred to as "Hermans Heroes", an obvious allusion to "Hogan's Heroes".

* Episode 4 of the fourth season of television show ''[[Community (TV series)|Community]]'' contains many references to the show.
* The 2010 TV series [[Pound Puppies (2010 TV series)|Pound Puppies]] utilizes remarkably similar plot structure with gags including an inept Pound manager and the kennel keeper mirroring Klink and Schultz respectively, the puppies using networks of underground tunnels, as well using Hogan's Heroes' theme as the inspiration for the show's theme.<ref>{{cite web|title=Pound Puppies|url=http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=87887&forumID=1&archive=0|accessdate=6 December 2013}}</ref>

*Schultz's very popular [[catchphrase]] "I hear nothing, I see nothing, I know nothing!" (undoubtedly an allusion to the [[three wise monkeys]])has entered public conscience.

== Merchandise ==
In 1965, [[Fleer]] produced a 66 [[trading card]] set for the series. Between 1966 and 1969, [[Dell Comics]] produced 9 [[comics|issues]] based on the series, all with photo covers. In 1968, Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, and Larry Hovis cut an [[LP record]], ''Hogan's Heroes Sing the Best of World War II'', which included lyrics for the theme song. The record did not sell well and as a result is today considered a collector's item.

In 1968, MPC (Model Products by Craft Master, Model Products Corp.) released a model jeep in 1/25 scale with spurious markings labeled as "Hogan's Heroes World War II Jeep". In 2003 another model (from the same mold, but with slightly different—though still spurious—decals) was released by AMT/ERTL. It cannot be built as a correct World War II military jeep, regardless of markings, without body work due to the fact it has a [[Trunk (automobile)#Door|tailgate]] opening; but it includes alternate parts to build a correct [[CJ-2A]]. A decal on the model read, "If found, return to Colonel Hogan".


==See also==
==See also==
{{col-begin}}{{col-break}}
* ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]''
* ''[['Allo 'Allo!]]''
* ''[[Auto Focus]]''
* ''[[Auto Focus]]''
* [[Colditz Castle]]
* [[Colditz Castle]]
* ''[[The Colditz Story]]''
* ''[[The Colditz Story]]''
* [[Colditz (1972 TV series)|''Colditz'' (1972 TV series)]]
{{col-break|gap=4em}}
* ''[[Escape to Victory]]''
* ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]''
* ''[[The Great Escape (film)|The Great Escape]]''
* ''[[Heil Honey I'm Home!]]''
* [[OFLAG XIII-B]] - officers camp located outside Hammelburg
* ''[[Stalag 17]]''
* ''[[M*A*S*H]]''
* [[Oflag XIII-B]] – officers' camp located outside Hammelburg
* [[Stalag XIII-C]]
{{col-end}}


==References==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
'''Notes'''
{{Reflist|2}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{commons category}}
{{Wikiquote}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0058812}}
*{{IMDb title|id=0058812}}
* {{tv.com show|hogans-heroes|Hogan's Heroes}}
*[http://www.tvgems.net/hogans-heroes/ ''Hogan's Heroes Episode Guide''] at TV Gems
*{{AllMovie title|175074}}
* [http://www.tvgems.net/hogans/index.html ''Hogan's Heroes Episode Guide'] at TV Gems
* {{Amg title|175074}}
* {{Discogs master|458875}}

{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Hogan's Heroes| ]]
[[Category:1965 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1965 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1971 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1971 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1960s American television series]]
[[Category:1960s American single-camera sitcoms]]
[[Category:1970s American television series]]
[[Category:1970s American single-camera sitcoms]]
[[Category:CBS network shows]]
[[Category:American spy television series]]
[[Category:American television sitcoms]]
[[Category:World War II television comedy series]]
[[Category:World War II television comedy series]]
[[Category:Television series by CBS Paramount Television]]
[[Category:Television series by CBS Studios]]
[[Category:Television series set in the 1940s]]
[[Category:Television series set in the 1940s]]
[[Category:Military comedy television series]]
[[Category:Military comedy television series]]
[[Category:Nazis in fiction]]
[[Category:American prison television series]]
[[Category:Luftwaffe]]
[[Category:Television series about Nazis]]
[[Category:Prisoners of war]]
[[Category:Television shows adapted into comics]]
[[Category:English-language television programming]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Television shows involved in plagiarism controversies]]
[[Category:1970s prison television series]]
[[Category:Prisoners of war in popular culture]]
[[Category:CBS sitcoms]]

Latest revision as of 14:11, 21 November 2024

This article is about the TV show. For other uses, see Hogan's Heroes (disambiguation).

Hogan's Heroes
GenreSitcom
Created by
Starring
ComposerJerry Fielding
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons6
No. of episodes168 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerEdward H. Feldman[1]
Running time25 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseSeptember 17, 1965 (1965-09-17) –
March 28, 1971 (1971-03-28)

Hogan's Heroes is an American television sitcom created by Bernard Fein and Albert S. Ruddy which is set in a prisoner-of-war (POW) camp in Nazi Germany during World War II, and centers around a group of Allied prisoners who use the POW camp as an operations base for sabotage and espionage purposes directed against Nazi Germany. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, and has been broadcast in reruns ever since.

Bob Crane starred as Colonel Robert E. Hogan, coordinating an international crew of Allied prisoners covertly running a special operations group from the camp. Werner Klemperer played Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the gullible commandant of the camp, and John Banner played the blundering but lovable sergeant-of-the-guard Hans Schultz.

Overview

[edit]

Hogan's Heroes centers on U.S. Army Air Forces Colonel Robert Hogan and his staff of experts who are prisoners of war (POW) during World War II. The plot occurs during the permanent winter season in the fictionalized Stalag 13 just outside Hammelburg in Nazi Germany, though details in the show are inconsistent with the real-life camp and city's location in Franconia.

When the group was formed under Hogan's command, he (and they) received the following orders: "You will assist escaping prisoners, cooperate with all friendly forces, and use every means to harass and injure the enemy." Hogan recites those orders verbatim, from memory in the Season 3 episode "The Collector General". Pursuant to those orders, the group secretly uses the camp to conduct Allied espionage and sabotage and to help escaped Allied POWs from other prison camps via a secret network of tunnels that operate under the ineptitude of commandant Colonel Klink and his sergeant-of-the-guard, Sergeant Schultz.

The prisoners cooperate with resistance groups (collectively called "the Underground"), defectors, spies, counterspies, and disloyal German officers to accomplish this. The prisoners sometimes bribe or blackmail otherwise-loyal German officers so as to effectively manipulate their actions. Under Hogan's leadership, the prisoners also devise schemes such as having Sergeant Carter visit the camp disguised as Adolf Hitler as a distraction, or rescuing a French Underground agent from Gestapo headquarters in Paris.

To the bafflement of his German colleagues who know him as an incompetent sycophant, Klink technically has a perfect operational record as camp commandant as no prisoners have successfully escaped during his tenure. Hogan and his men assist in maintaining this record so they can continue with their covert operations without active interference from the German military.

Considering Klink's record, and the fact that the Allies would never bomb a POW camp, Stalag 13 appears to be a very secure location. As a result, the Germans often use the camp for high-level meetings, to hide important persons and develop secret projects. Klink frequently has many other important visitors and is temporarily put in charge of special prisoners.

This brings the prisoners into contact with many important VIPs, scientists, spies, high-ranking officers, and some of Germany's most sophisticated and secret weapons projects such as the Wunderwaffe and the German nuclear weapons program, of which the prisoners take advantage in their efforts to hinder the German war effort.

Setting

[edit]

The setting is the fictional Luft Stalag 13, a prisoner-of-war camp for captured Allied airmen. Like the historical Stalag XIII-C,[2] it is located just outside a town called Hammelburg, although its location in the show is fictional, and does not correspond to the location of the actual Hammelburg. There are frequent references throughout the series to Düsseldorf being the nearest large city, and Düsseldorf is much farther northwest. In the season 1 episode, "German Bridge Is Falling Down", Hogan points to a map, and he is clearly pointing to NW Germany. (If anything, even farther north than Düsseldorf.)

The show is a combination of several writing styles that were popular in the 1960s: the "wartime" show, the "spy" show, and "camp comedy".

The camp has 103 Allied prisoners of war (POWs) during the first season, but becomes larger by the end of the series. Few inmates have significant roles in the storylines other than the featured cast members.

In Stalag 13, there are always patches of snow. Beyond recreating an extreme or adverse setting, this was to prevent problems with continuity and to allow the episodes to be shown in any order. Episodes with obvious non-winter settings, such as "D-Day at Stalag 13," either did not film any scene on the outdoor set or were careful not to show any "snow."

Characters

[edit]
Main article: List of Hogan's Heroes characters
First season cast (l–r): Cynthia Lynn, Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer, John Banner, Ivan Dixon, Robert Clary, and Richard Dawson. Absent: Larry Hovis
  • Bob Crane as U.S. Colonel Robert E. Hogan, the senior ranking POW officer and the leader of the men in the POW camp. He uses his wit and ingenuity to commit sabotage and obtain military information. Crane was offered the role after appearing as "guy next door" types in television shows like The Dick Van Dyke Show and as a regular in The Donna Reed Show.[3][4]
  • Werner Klemperer as German Colonel Wilhelm Klink, the commandant of the POW camp. He is completely unaware of Hogan's operation and is proud the camp has a perfect no-escape record under his command. In real life, Klemperer was from a Jewish family (his father was the orchestral conductor Otto Klemperer) and found the role to be a "double-edged sword"; his agent initially failed to tell him the role of Klink was intended to be comedic. Klemperer remarked, "I had one qualification when I took the job: if they ever wrote a segment whereby Colonel Klink would come out the hero, I would leave the show."[5]
  • John Banner as German Sergeant Hans Schultz, the camp's first sergeant. He is a clumsy and inept, but extremely affable man who often gives out information to the prisoners for bribes, or simply by talking too much, without realizing he is giving away information. Hogan and his men frequently plot or perform their subversive activities in plain sight of Schultz, knowing he would never report them for fear of being punished or sent to fight at the Russian front for allowing such activity on his watch. He would often exit the scene with his catch phrase "I know (see, hear) nothing!" Banner was born to Jewish parents and was in fact a sergeant during World War II, but in the U.S. Army.[6][7]
  • Robert Clary as French Corporal Louis LeBeau, a gourmet chef, and patriotic Frenchman, frequently referred to as "the cockroach" by both Klink and Schultz. Clary was Jewish in real life and was deported to a Nazi concentration camp, but survived by using his talent in singing and dancing in shows. Clary said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times, "Singing, entertaining, and being in kind of good health at my age, that's why I survived. I was very immature and young and not really fully realizing what situation I was involved with ... I don't know if I would have survived if I really knew that."[8]
  • Richard Dawson as RAF[9] Corporal Peter Newkirk, the group's con man, magician, pickpocket, card sharp, forger, bookie, tailor, lock picker, and safe cracker. He is a skilled tailor and is in charge of making uniforms for POWs impersonating German soldiers. Dawson's role as a military member in the film King Rat was reportedly the reason he landed a spot on Hogan's Heroes.[10]
  • Ivan Dixon as U.S. Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe (seasons 1–5), the man responsible for contacting the underground by radio. Casting Dixon, or any African-American actor, as a positively shown supporting character was a major step for a television show in the mid-1960s.[11] Dixon left the show prior to the final season and was replaced by Kenneth Washington as Sgt. Richard Baker, another African-American character but with a less prominent role.
Larry Hovis as Sgt. Carter
  • Larry Hovis as U.S. Technical Sergeant Andrew J. Carter, a bombardier who is an expert in chemistry, explosives, and demolitions. He makes explosive devices as needed. Hovis appeared in the pilot episode as a different character, but became a regular cast member when the show was picked up.
  • Kenneth Washington as U.S. Sergeant Richard Baker (season 6). He assumed the duties of Sergeant Kinchloe after Ivan Dixon left the series. Upon the death of Robert Clary on November 16, 2022, Washington became the last surviving cast member of Hogan's Heroes.[12]

Episodes

[edit]
Main article: List of Hogan's Heroes episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
132September 17, 1965 (1965-09-17)April 29, 1966 (1966-04-29)
230September 16, 1966 (1966-09-16)April 7, 1967 (1967-04-07)
330September 9, 1967 (1967-09-09)March 30, 1968 (1968-03-30)
426September 28, 1968 (1968-09-28)March 22, 1969 (1969-03-22)
526September 26, 1969 (1969-09-26)March 27, 1970 (1970-03-27)
624September 20, 1970 (1970-09-20)April 4, 1971 (1971-04-04)

Broadcast history

[edit]
  • Friday at 8:30–9:00 p.m. on CBS: September 17, 1965 – April 7, 1967; September 26, 1969 – March 27, 1970
  • Saturday at 9:00–9:30 p.m. on CBS: September 9, 1967 – March 22, 1969
  • Sunday at 7:30–8:00 p.m. on CBS: September 20, 1970 – April 4, 1971

Production

[edit]

Locations

[edit]

Hogan's Heroes was filmed in two locations. Indoor sets were housed at Desilu Studios, later renamed as Paramount Studios for Season Four and then Cinema General Studios for Seasons Five and Six. Outdoor scenes were filmed on the 40 Acres backlot. 40 Acres was in Culver City, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area.[13] The studios for indoor scenes were both located in Hollywood. Producers had to create the effect that there was always a snowy winter, unusual in warm Southern California but normal in the German winter. The actors had to wear warm clothes and frequently pretend to be cold.

Although it was never snowing on the film set and the weather was apparently sunny, there was snow on the ground and building roofs, and frost on the windows. The set designers created the illusion of snow two ways: the snow during the first several seasons was made out of salt. By the fourth season, the show’s producers found a more permanent solution and lower cost, using white paint to give the illusion of snow. By the sixth and final season, with a smaller budget, most of the snow shown on the set was made out of paint.

After the series ended in 1971, the set remained standing until it was destroyed in 1974 while the final scene of Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS was filmed.[14]

Theme music

[edit]

The theme music was composed by Jerry Fielding, who added lyrics to the theme for Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II – an album featuring Dixon, Clary, Dawson, and Hovis singing World War II songs. The song also appeared on the album Bob Crane, His Drums and Orchestra, Play the Funny Side of TV.[13] Bob Crane, an expert drummer, played the drums when the theme was recorded.[15] If you listen closely, you will find that the opening drum riff played by Crane in the main title is the same as the riff used in the 1962 movie The Longest Day.

Casting

[edit]
Robert Clary spent three years during World War II in a concentration camp and still had his ID tattoo on his arm.

The actors who played the four major German roles—Werner Klemperer (Klink),[16] John Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (General Burkhalter), and Howard Caine (Major Hochstetter)—were all Jewish. In fact, Klemperer, Banner, and Askin had all fled the Nazis before or during World War II (Caine, whose birth name was Cohen, was an American); Klemperer, the son of conductor Otto Klemperer, fled Hitler's Germany with his family in 1933,[16] Banner emigrated from Switzerland to the United States when Germany annexed his native Austria in 1938,[17] and Askin emigrated from a pre-war French internment camp in 1940 and his parents were initially transported to Theresienstadt, then Auschwitz, and killed at Lublin.[18]

Robert Clary, a French Jew who played LeBeau, spent three years in a concentration camp (with an identity tattoo from the camp on his arm, "A-5714"); his parents and other family members were killed there. Other Jewish actors, including Harold Gould and Harold J. Stone, made multiple appearances playing German generals. Also, the Jewish actress Louise Troy appeared in several episodes.

German release: Ein Käfig voller Helden

[edit]

Despite its international success as a parody of the Nazis, the series was unknown on German television for decades.

German film distributor KirchGruppe acquired broadcasting rights to the show but initially did not air it out of fear that it would offend viewers; in 1992, Hogan's Heroes was finally aired on German television for the first time, but the program failed to connect with viewers due to issues with lip syncing.[19] However, after the dialogue was rewritten to make the characters look even more foolish (ensuring that viewers understood the characters were caricatures) the show became more successful.

First aired with a title that translates roughly as 'Barbed Wire and Heels', it was soon renamed, somewhat more whimsically in German, to Ein Käfig voller Helden ("A Cage Full of Heroes"), to make it more relatable to the German viewer. Klink and Schultz's characters were given broad Saxon and Bavarian dialects, playing on regional stereotypes to underline the notion that they are comic figures. An unseen original character – "Frau Kalinke" – was introduced in dialogue only as Klink's cleaning lady and perennial mistress whom he described as performing most of her cleaning duties in the nude.[19]

[edit]

Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, the writers of the 1951 play Stalag 17, a World War II prisoner-of-war story turned into a 1953 feature film by Paramount Pictures, sued Bing Crosby Productions, the show’s producer, for infringement. Their lawsuit was unsuccessful. While the jury found in favor of the plaintiffs, a federal judge overruled them. The judge found "striking difference in the dramatic mood of the two works."[13][20]

In 2012, an arbitration hearing was scheduled to determine whether Bernard Fein and Albert S. Ruddy, the creators of the show, had transferred the right to make a movie of Hogan's Heroes to Bing Crosby Productions along with the television rights or had retained the derivative movie rights.[20] In 2013, Fein (through his estate) and Ruddy acquired the sequel and other separate rights to Hogan’s Heroes from Mark Cuban via arbitration, and a movie based on the show was planned.[21]

Reception

[edit]

Hogan's Heroes won two Emmy Awards out of twelve nominations. Both wins were for Werner Klemperer as Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Comedy, in 1968 and 1969. Klemperer received nominations in the same category in 1966, 1967 and 1970. The series' other nominations were for Outstanding Comedy Series in 1966, 1967 and 1968; Bob Crane for Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series in 1966 and 1967; Nita Talbot for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy in 1968; and Gordon Avil for cinematography in 1968.[22]

The producers of Hogan's Heroes were honored in the first annual NAACP Image Awards, presented in August 1967, one of seven television shows and two news shows that were recognized for "the furtherance of the Negro image." Other honorees included I Spy, Daktari, Star Trek and Mission: Impossible.[23][24]

In December 2005, the series was listed at number 100 as part of the "Top 100 Most Unexpected Moments in TV History" by TV Guide and TV Land. The show was described as an "unlikely POW camp comedy."[25]

Nielsen ratings

[edit]

Note: The highest average rating for the series is in bold text.

Season Rank Rating
1) 1965–1966 #9 24.9
2) 1966–1967 #17 21.8 (Tied with The CBS Friday Night Movies)
3) 1967–1968 #38 18.7
4) 1968–1969 #39 19.8
5) 1969–1970 #39 18.9 (Tied with Andy Williams Show and Kraft Music Hall)
6) 1970–1971 Not in the Top 30

Home media

[edit]

Paramount Home Entertainment (under CBS DVD starting in 2006) has released all six seasons of Hogan's Heroes on DVD in regions 1 and 4. The series was previously released by Columbia House as individual discs, each with five or six consecutive episodes, as well as on a compilation 42 VHS collection of the 168 episodes.

On March 8, 2016, CBS Home Entertainment re-released a repackaged version of the complete series set, at a lower price.[26]

In Australia (Region 4), the first DVD releases were from Time–Life (from around 2002–2005) with each disc sold individually with 4–5 episodes per disc. Between 2005 and 2007 these same discs were packaged as individual complete-season collections.

The complete series was released on Blu-ray in Germany in 2018. The set consists of 23 double-layer BD-50 discs. The discs are region-free. While menus and titles are in German, the episodes include both German and original English audio tracks.[27] On December 13, 2022, Paramount Pictures released the entire blu-ray series in the U.S.

DVD Name Episodes Release dates
Region 1 Region 4
The Complete First Season 32 March 15, 2005 July 30, 2008
The Complete Second Season 30 September 27, 2005 November 7, 2008
The Complete Third Season 30 March 7, 2006 March 5, 2009
The Complete Fourth Season 26 August 15, 2006 June 3, 2009
The Complete Fifth Season 26 December 19, 2006 August 4, 2009
The Complete Sixth and Final Season 24 June 5, 2007 September 30, 2009
The Complete Series (The Kommandant's Collection) 168 November 10, 2009 December 3, 2009[28]
The Complete Series 168 March 8, 2016

December 17, 2019 (Repackaged)

August 12, 2020[29]

Merchandise and promotion

[edit]

In 1965, Fleer produced a 66-trading card set based on the series.[30] Dell Comics produced nine issues of a series based on the show from 1966 to 1969, all with photo covers. The artwork was provided by Henry Scarpelli.[31] Mad magazine #108 (January 1967) parodied the show as "Hokum's Heroes". An additional one-page parody called "Hochman's Heroes" took the show's premise to the next level by setting it in Buchenwald concentration camp.[32]

In 1968, Clary, Dawson, Dixon, and Hovis recorded an album titled Hogan's Heroes Sing the Best of World War II, which included lyrics for the theme song.[33] While the show was in production, Crane, Klemperer, Askin, and Banner all appeared (as different characters) in the 1968 film The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Royce, Brenda Scott (October 15, 1998). Hogan's Heroes: Behind the Scenes at Stalag 13 (reprint ed.). Macmillan. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-1580630313. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "Stalag 13 History: What Really Happened There?". Uncommon Travel Germany. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  3. ^ "Cinema Retro Hosts Book Event for Authors Robert Crane and Christopher Fryer". Cinemaretro. May 8, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  4. ^ "Bob Crane Interview" (Interview). WCFL-AM. August 4, 1972. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021 – via YouTube.
  5. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (December 8, 2000). "Werner Klemperer, Klink in 'Hogan's Heroes,' Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  6. ^ Witbeck, Charles (April 16, 1967). "Ex-Villain John Banner Turns 'Good Guy'". Fresno Bee. p. 15-TV – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "John Banner, the Sgt. Schultz Of 'Hogan's Heroes,' Dies at 63". The New York Times. February 2, 1973. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  8. ^ King, Susan (March 24, 2013). "Robert Clary a survivor in life and entertainment". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ "Hogan's Heroes – IAVM".
  10. ^ "Hogan's Heroes star Richard Dawson dies". ABC News (Australia). June 3, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2018. His role as a military prisoner in the 1965 film King Rat led to TV's Hogan's Heroes, about a band of allied POWs in a German camp who were constantly fooling their captors.
  11. ^ Hayward, Anthony (May 16, 2008). "Ivan Dixon: Kinchloe in 'Hogan's Heroes'". The Independent. London. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
  12. ^ Royce, Brenda (October 15, 1998). Hogan's Heroes: The Unofficial Companion. St. Martin's Press. p. 116. ISBN 1580630316 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ a b c Royce, Brenda Scott (October 15, 1998). Hogan's Heroes: Behind the Scenes at Stalag 13. Renaissance Books. p. 22. ISBN 978-1580630313. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  14. ^ Buttsworth, Sara; Maartje Abbenhuis, eds. (2010). Monsters in the Mirror: Representations of Nazism in Post-war Popular Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 105. ISBN 978-0313382161. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
  15. ^ Hadley, Mitchell. "The real Bob Crane: An interview with Carol M. Ford, author of Bob Crane: The Definitive Biography". Retrieved February 3, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Weintraub, Bernard (December 8, 2000). "Werner Klemperer, Klink in 'Hogan's Heroes,' Dies at 80". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  17. ^ Witbeck, Charles (April 16, 1967). "Ex-Villain John Banner Turns 'Good Guy'". Fresno Bee. p. 96. Retrieved September 12, 2014 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  18. ^ "Leon Askin - Biography". www.askin.at. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  19. ^ a b Steinmetz, Greg (May 31, 1996). "In Germany Now, Col. Klink's Maid Cleans in the Nude". The Wall Street Journal. p. A1. Archived from the original on January 24, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2014 – via Hogan's Heroes Fan Club.
  20. ^ a b Gardner, Eric (March 21, 2012). "WGA Fights Over Movie Rights to 'Hogan's Heroes'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 4, 2012.
  21. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 15, 2013). "'Hogan's Heroes' Rights Won Back By Creators Al Ruddy And Bernard Fein; They're Plotting New Movie". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  22. ^ "Nominations &#124". Emmys.com. September 20, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  23. ^ "NAACP Will Present Nine Image Awards," Los Angeles Times, August 7, 1967
  24. ^ Kathleen Fearn Banks, Historical Dictionary of African-American Television, pp. 304-305, Scarecrow Press, 2006 https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000fear/page/n3/mode/2up
  25. ^ "TV Guide and TV Land Join Forces To Count Down The 100 Most Unexpected TV Moments". PR Newswire. December 1, 2005. Archived from the original on August 30, 2006. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  26. ^ Lambert, David. "'The Complete Series' is Getting a DVD Re-Release Soon!". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on December 17, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  27. ^ Hogan's Heroes: The Complete Series Blu-ray, retrieved December 29, 2020
  28. ^ Hogan's Heroes. Booktopia. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
  29. ^ "Hogan's Heroes: The Complete Series (Seasons 1 - 6)". EzyDVD.
  30. ^ "Fleer Hogan's Heroes 1965 Trading Card Set". Oldbubblegumcards.com. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  31. ^ "Henry Scarpelli". lambiek.net.
  32. ^ "Mad #108". Doug Gilford's Mad Cover Site. January 1967. Retrieved June 7, 2017.
  33. ^ "Hogan's Heroes Sing The Best of World War II". Hogan's Heroes Fan Club. Archived from the original on September 4, 2006. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
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