Leon Askin (German pronunciation: [ˈleːɔn ˈaskin] ; born Leo Aschkenasy, 18 September 1907 – 3 June 2005) was an Austrian Jewish actor best known in North America for portraying the character General Burkhalter on the TV situation comedy Hogan's Heroes.
Askin was born into a Jewish family in Vienna, the son of Malvine (Susman) and Samuel Aschkenasy (both of whom were later murdered in a German concentration camp).[1] According to his autobiography his first experience of show business occurred during World War I when he recited a poem before Emperor Franz Joseph. In the 1920s, he studied acting with Louise Dumont and Max Reinhardt. While working at Vienna's "ABC" cabaret theater in the 1930s, he frequently directed the works of dissident political writer Jura Soyfer.
Askin fled Austria to the United States in 1940,[1] after having been beaten and abused by the Nazi SA and SS. His parents were murdered in the Treblinka death camp. He then served in World War II as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces. After the war, he went to Hollywood to begin a career in films, invariably portraying foreign characters who speak English with a strong accent. Askin appeared as the Russian composer Anton Rubinstein in a Disneyland anthology episode of the life of Peter Tchaikovsky.[2] Fans of the television series Adventures of Superman recall his portrayals of an eastern European diamond smuggler (Joseph Ferdinand) in the 1953 black-and-white episode "Superman in Exile",[3] and as a South American prime minister in a color episode. He appeared in 20th Century Fox's biblical epic The Robe in 1953 as a Syrian guide named Abidor. In 1960, he appeared in the film Pension Schöller, and the following year was prominently featured in Billy Wilder's film One, Two, Three, co-starring with James Cagney.
Askin gained wide recognition and popularity for his recurring role as the stern General Albert Burkhalter in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes, appearing in 67 episodes of the show’s run from 1965 to 1971, including the pilot episode. Burkhalter was the gruff and portly commanding officer of Colonel Klink, the bungling commandant of a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp, manipulated by American Colonel Hogan so that the prisoners would get away with clandestine activities.
Askin made guest appearances on The Restless Gun 1957 episode "The Shooting of Jett King", My Favorite Martian and the 1965 episode "Martin Of The Movies" as Von Reinbein. The Monkees 1967 episode "The Card Carrying Red Shoes", as Nicolai, on Daniel Boone in its 1969 episode "Benvenuto... Who?" as Roquelinm and in the "Fiddler in the House" episode of the 1974 situation comedy Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers as a violin virtuoso. Between 1977 and 1979, he appeared in Steve Allen's PBS series, Meeting of Minds, portraying Martin Luther and Karl Marx. He portrayed a psychology professor in a season six episode of Happy Days. In 1979 he portrayed the character Mr. Hoffmeier of Hoffmeier’s Bakery, judging a pie contest in an episode in the third season of Three’s Company titled "The Bake-Off".
His other film credits include roles in:
In 1982, he had a brief appearance as a Moscow Anchorman in the film Airplane II: The Sequel.
Askin had a role in the classic Mel Brooks comedy Young Frankenstein (1974), but his scenes were cut from the film.
Askin died from natural causes in Vienna on June 3, 2005, at the age of 97 and is interred at Vienna Central Cemetery.[4]
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