When I was a kid, in the 70's and 80's...this stuff was hilarious....
Pair that with an afternoon of hogans heroes, poppin wheelies with the ace of spades tucked in your rear spokes, then a quick run inside for F troop with grape koolaid and bazooka Joe comix...and you're looking at my picture of a perfect day circa age 10...
Andy, great link! That's a must-read for anyone who was into the show! You know, I thought I saw ww1 awards on Klink! He's no war rookie! Thanks!
Mike
Ed Roths wife is selling lots of Rat Fink shirts.
High quality and MANY RF images.
Werner Klemperer, Howard Caine, Leon Askin, and John Banner, that acted the chief Germans: Klink, Hochstetter, Burkhalter and Schultz, were in fact all Jewish. All of them also served in the US Armed Forces during World War II.
Robert Clary, John Banner, and Leon Askin were all actual survivors of the Holocaust. Werner Klemperer escaped Nazi Germany in 1933.
Werner Klemperer only agreed to play Col. Klink once he was assured (by the show's creator) that Klink would never succeed in his schemes.
The character of Sergeant Schultz, prior to the war, had been the president of a successful toy manufacturing company. Colonel Klink had previously been a bookkeeper.
The leather jacket that Bob Crane wore in this series was originally worn by Frank Sinatra in Von Ryan's Express (1965). It was later worn by Greg Kinnear in Auto Focus (2002).
Werner Klemperer, Howard Caine, Leon Askin, and John Banner, that acted the chief Germans: Klink, Hochstetter, Burkhalter and Schultz, were in fact all Jewish. All of them also served in the US Armed Forces during World War II.
Robert Clary, John Banner, and Leon Askin were all actual survivors of the Holocaust. Werner Klemperer escaped Nazi Germany in 1933.
Werner Klemperer only agreed to play Col. Klink once he was assured (by the show's creator) that Klink would never succeed in his schemes.
The character of Sergeant Schultz, prior to the war, had been the president of a successful toy manufacturing company. Colonel Klink had previously been a bookkeeper.
The leather jacket that Bob Crane wore in this series was originally worn by Frank Sinatra in Von Ryan's Express (1965). It was later worn by Greg Kinnear in Auto Focus (2002).
Early in production planning it was decided to make it always be winter with snow on the ground and frost on the windows. This was to prevent problems with continuity and to allow the episodes to be shown in any order. Since much of the filming was done in the summer the actors had to wear coats and act cold even when the temperature was over 90 degrees F.
The show was still very popular in its final season on the air. However, it was caught up in the "rural purge" that took place just before the 1971-1972 television season. The main reason it was canceled was due to the fact that it was felt that the show mainly appealed to rural audiences and older people in much the same way that shows like The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Green Acres (1965) and Hee Haw (1969) were.
Even though Klink acts like a coward, his military decorations indicate he is a combat hero from both WWI and WW II.
'Ivan Dixon (I)' ('Kinch') left the series at the end of the fifth season (the only regular cast member to do so), stating that he was fed up with the posturings of Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and Richard Dawson. He was replaced by Kenneth Washington for the final 24 episodes. Also, there was no mention of what happened to Kinch following Dixon's departure.
Larry Hovis, Sgt. Andrew Carter, refused to remove his wedding ring for the series. He wore gloves for the majority of his performance (although there were occasions when the ring was visible).
Richard Dawson stated that when he got the part of Newkirk, Mike Dann (then president of CBS) asked him to use a Cockney accent, rather than his native Liverpool accent. Dann believed that the Cockney accent would sound more familiar to American viewers.
The black and white pilot episode originally included a Russian character who was played by Leonid Kinskey. Kinksey refused to continue with the series because he became uncomfortable with having Nazi characters starring in a comedy.
In the pilot episode, Carter was a lieutenant and was only going to appear in that one episode.
Most night scenes are filmed using a "Day for Night" filter which is a special attachment used to make scenes filmed during the day to look like night.
The Stalag 13 outdoor set was located at the NW corner of the Forty Acres back lot in Culver City, CA, near Lucerne Ave. and Higuera St., SE corner. After the series cancellation, the set was used in the Mission: Impossible: Trial by Fury (1968) episode where it doubled as a South American prison. It was also used as Medical Camp 9 in the Nazi sexploitation thriller Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS (1975), during the filming of which it was burned. The back lot was then bulldozed in 1976 and is now an industrial park. The location was previously used for the Tara plantation facade in Gone with the Wind (1939).
The car seen leaving the camp in the opening credits and from time to time during the series is a Mercedes model G4 Parade Car. The six-wheeled, three-axle vehicle had four wheel drive on the rear wheels (6 x 4) and was popular among the German Military elite.
The nearest town to Stalag 13 was Hammelburg.
In the German dubbed version, very often the salute "Heil Hitler" was changed to "Heil Kr�uter!" (literally translated: medicinal herb). - Also, when the show alluded to actual bombing and killing, the dialog was often modified as well. For instance, when the Americans destroyed a munitions factory, the German version made it a toilet paper factory. And when Sgt. Schulz reported the Allies having bombed Hamburg, it was revised to the Royal Air Force dropping candy as a "propaganda maneuver".
Another recurring character was Burkhalter's sister Frau Gertrude Linkmeyer, usually played by Kathleen Freeman, but on one occasion, in the fourth year, by Alice Ghostley, who also appeared in a final season episode as the wife of a Nazi field marshal.
Kinchloe and Newkirk did all the "fake" German orders and provided most of the disguised German voices used on the telephone.
Married cast: Schultz is married with five children, but this doesn't stop him from dating other women. LeBeau may be or was married.
Cynthia Lynn who played Klink's secretary "Helga" in the first season was replaced by Sigrid Valdis who played "Hilda" at the insistence of Bob Crane after Valdis began dating (and later married) Crane.
The show was famous for recycling actors in different roles. For example: William Christopher (best known as Father Mulcahy on M.A.S.H) played a POW, a German soldier and a British flier. Harold J. Stone played both an American agent and a German General. Antoinette Bower played Berlin Betty, a German scientist and an underground agent.
The ornate helmet that sits on the desk of Col. Klink, Werner Klemperer is a pre-WW1 Prussian army Pickelhaube (Spiked Helmet), possibly a family heirloom as it is clearly one of his most prized possessions. As the helmet used in the show differs in several respects from museum examples it is probably a replica produced by the props department and not an actual antique.
Col. Klink and Sgt. Schultz nicknamed Cpl. LeBeau "Cockroach", for his small height.
Schultz's rank is a Master Sergeant.
Howard Caine appeared earlier in two episodes playing different characters before he took on the role of Major Hochstetter. They were Hogan's Heroes: Happy Birthday, Adolf (1966) as Major Keitel & Hogan's Heroes: The Battle of Stalag 13 (1966) as Colonel Feldkamp.
Two actors and their character roles that appeared in all 168 episodes: "American Colonel Bob Hogan", acted by Bob Crane & German Colonel, "Wilhelm Klink" acted by Werner Klemperer
Early in production planning it was decided to make it always be winter with snow on the ground and frost on the windows. This was to prevent problems with continuity and to allow the episodes to be shown in any order. Since much of the filming was done in the summer the actors had to wear coats and act cold even when the temperature was over 90 degrees F.
The show was still very popular in its final season on the air. However, it was caught up in the "rural purge" that took place just before the 1971-1972 television season. The main reason it was canceled was due to the fact that it was felt that the show mainly appealed to rural audiences and older people in much the same way that shows like The Beverly Hillbillies (1962), Green Acres (1965) and Hee Haw (1969) were.
Even though Klink acts like a coward, his military decorations indicate he is a combat hero from both WWI and WW II.
'Ivan Dixon (I)' ('Kinch') left the series at the end of the fifth season (the only regular cast member to do so), stating that he was fed up with the posturings of Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and Richard Dawson. He was replaced by Kenneth Washington for the final 24 episodes. Also, there was no mention of what happened to Kinch following Dixon's departure.
Larry Hovis, Sgt. Andrew Carter, refused to remove his wedding ring for the series. He wore gloves for the majority of his performance (although there were occasions when the ring was visible).
Richard Dawson stated that when he got the part of Newkirk, Mike Dann (then president of CBS) asked him to use a Cockney accent, rather than his native Liverpool accent. Dann believed that the Cockney accent would sound more familiar to American viewers.
The black and white pilot episode originally included a Russian character who was played by Leonid Kinskey. Kinksey refused to continue with the series because he became uncomfortable with having Nazi characters starring in a comedy.
In the pilot episode, Carter was a lieutenant and was only going to appear in that one episode.
Most night scenes are filmed using a "Day for Night" filter which is a special attachment used to make scenes filmed during the day to look like night.
Fantastic inside information, Jim. I will watch the show re-runs with new eyes.
man! everyone had to have a rat fink ring!! Mine wasn't from a bag. Got mine for 10 cents from the supermarket gumball machine!
Verrrryyy interesting about the leather jacket! Wonder who ended up with that treasure!
Nice g! Btw, if anyone's seen gangland undercover on history channel, about infiltrating the vagos mc, I counted at least 3 ek's, double sigs on tats and jackets, and one very improbable pickelhaube. But you know, that was the thing...ww2 vets that rode bikes didn't want to give them up after the war, hells angels got started in 48. Hey, need to buy a helmet? No, got one in my rucksack off a german!