Werner Klemperer

His identification with Nazi roles notwithstanding, Klemperer was in real life the son of a Jew who fled with his family from Nazi Germany in the 1930s. He served in the U. S. Army during World War II. When he was offered the Col. Klink role, Klemperer only agreed to do it if the show's producers promised that Klink would never succeed in any of his schemes. "Col.

Along with Gary Busey, he is one of only two actors to appear in all three of the longest running prime time scripted series in US television history: Gunsmoke (1955), The Simpsons (1989) and Law & Order (1990).

Although he'll forever be known as the blustering but inept German commandant of Stalag 13, Klemperer was in fact a talented dramatic actor, as evidenced by his acclaimed performance as an arrogant, unrepentant Nazi judge being tried for crimes against humanity in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961).

Werner Klemperer, everyone's favorite TV German Air Force colonel, was best known for his role as the bumbling Col. Wilhelm Klink on the comedy series Hogan's Heroes (1965).

During his guest appearance on "The Pat Sajak Show" (1989) he was presented with a monocle by Sajak, as the host had learned that Klemperer's original monocle from "Hogan's Heroes" (1965) had recently been stolen from his personal collection.

His last acting role was as Colonel Klink, reprising his most famous character, on a 1993 episode of The Simpsons (1989). His familiar cry "Hogan!" became "Homer!" as he counseled Homer Simpson.

He and Kim Hamilton knew each other for 21 years prior to them marrying in 1998, two years before his death.