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Colonel Hogan
Colonel Robert E. Hogan (portrayed by Bob Crane) – United States Army Air Forces Colonel Robert E. Hogan is the main protagonist of the series, senior officer among the prisoners of war at Stalag 13, and leader of a group of prisoners who secretly sabotage the German war effort and help allies to flee Germany. Hogan commanded the 504th Bombardment Group, and was shot down and captured during a raid on Hamburg when Luftwaffe Colonel Albert Biedenbender guessed Hogan's plan and developed a successful defense. Hogan graduated third in his military class, [1] and seems to thrive on difficult if not impossible missions. He was described by Biedenbender as having "a flair for the overcomplex" because of the complicated details of the missions he plans. [2]
Due to Hogan's care in planning operations, the skill of his staff, and Hogan's success at manipulating Klink and Schultz, Hogan's team is usually successful. Throughout the show, Hogan impersonates German officers, typically using aliases derived from his own name, such as "Hoganschmidt." He is a ladies' man, engaging in relationships with both Klink's secretaries, Helga and Hilda, and many of the civilian women with whom he comes into contact. In "The Ultimate Weapon" he even becomes romantically involved with a female SS officer.
Hogan's men are extremely loyal to their commander, as he is to them. In "Two Nazis for the Price of One", Hogan and his men are ordered back to London after they discover their operation is known by a Gestapo general. When circumstances force Hogan to stay behind, the men all elect to remain with him, which visibly touches Hogan. Newkirk once disobeys orders and explains the team's activities to an Allied general who was unaware of Hogan's real mission and chastised him for appearing to cooperate with the Nazis, with Newkirk telling the general he should "know how we all feel about Colonel Hogan" ("The General Swap"). When a British general praises Hogan's war efforts, Hogan is quick to state that he "has a good crew", crediting the men with the team's successes ("D-Day at Stalag 13").
The character was named after the actor Robert Hogan by friend and series creator Bernard Fein, who actually appears in two episodes of the show. [3] [4]
Colonel Klink
Colonel Wilhelm Klink (portrayed by Werner Klemperer) – Kommandant Oberst (Colonel) Wilhelm Klink is an old-line Luftwaffe officer of Prussian descent. He is gullible, cowardly, vain, inept, and often clueless. He is a veteran aviator of the First World War and can be seen wearing an Iron Cross First Class, along with the 1939 clasp for a second award (spange), Ground Assault Badge of the Luftwaffe, and the Pilot's Badge. The first class Iron Cross implies that he has also earned both the Iron Cross Second Class and the Honor Cross for service in World War I.
After failing his entrance exams for law or medical school, [5] he received an appointment to a military academy and graduated 95th in his class. [1] Stuck at the rank of colonel for twenty years with an efficiency rating "a few points above miserable", he is the only member of his class still in the Luftwaffe who has not risen to the rank of general. As far as the Wehrmacht knows, no prisoner has ever escaped Stalag 13 during Klink's command, a record he frequently touts. Klink always wears a monocle on his left eye and often carries a riding crop. Klink is, for the most part, portrayed as a cowardly and muddling career officer rather than a stereotypical evil German or ardent Nazi. Klink is easily manipulated by Hogan through a combination of flattery, chicanery, and playing on Klink's fear of being sent to the Russian Front or being arrested by the Gestapo. Although Klink keeps his relationship with Hogan at arm's length, he frequently seeks Hogan's suggestions when faced with professional challenges, which Hogan typically uses as an opportunity to help the Allied cause. Klink is an enthusiastic but untalented violinist.
Klemperer reprised his role as Colonel Klink outside of the series twice: once in a cameo in a 1966 episode of Batman , [6] and again in a 1993 episode of The Simpsons . In an episode of Batman, Colonel Klink had a batclimb cameo where he tells Batman and Robin that he is looking for an underground agent in Gotham City. Batman advises Klink not to get picked up as Chief O'Hara can be very tough with aliens incognito. Klink quotes "Incognito, with my monocle". When Robin asks Klink to say hi to Colonel Hogan for them, Klink angrily leaves quoting "It's a wonder he never tried to borrow your Batrope to pull another one of his escapes". In the episode of The Simpsons, an unconscious Homer Simpson's guardian angel assumes the form of someone Homer would revere, trying first Sir Isaac Newton, with whom Homer is unfamiliar, then Colonel Klink. During their conversation, Homer reveals the truth of Hogan's operations to a surprised Klink. [7]
Sergeant Schultz
Sergeant Hans Schultz (portrayed by John Banner) – Oberfeldwebel (equivalent to master sergeant during World War II) Hans Schultz is Klink's portly, inept, clumsy, dim-witted, yet affable sergeant of the guard. He displays two stripes at the cuffs of his tunic sleeves indicating the rank of Hauptfeldwebel, which is the equivalent of a company first sergeant with the same pay grade as Oberfeldwebel; he wears a fictitious version of the Iron Cross (4th Grade). [8] Schultz also has three other decorations from World War I (including the Wound Badge). [8]
Schultz seeks to avoid trouble at all costs, generally preferring to ignore the prisoners' suspicious activities, a desire he expresses with his catchphrase, "I know (see, hear) nothing, nothing!" [9] Hogan and his crew often openly discuss or carry out their operations in Schultz's presence and get him to ignore (or even assist) them, either by bribing him (with chocolate bars or LeBeau's gourmet cooking) or pointing out how he could be implicated if he reports them to Klink. Schultz carries a Krag-Jørgensen rifle, though he never keeps it loaded, and tends to misplace it or even hand it to a prisoner when he is distracted.
Schultz seems ambivalent to the German war effort, once stating that, "In war, I do not like to take sides.", and "Things were so much happier here when we had an emperor." [10] Like Klink, Schultz is a veteran of World War I. In the episode "War Takes a Holiday", he says that in civilian life he was the owner of Germany's largest toy manufacturing company, however in other episodes he says that he is "a poor man." [11] His claims of poverty are backed up by the fact that he is frequently short of money, even to the point of borrowing from the prisoners. He has a wife and five children, whom he sees only on infrequent leaves. He is apparently unfaithful, as he is seen dating women from the nearby town of Hammelburg, who usually turn out to be either underground agents assisting Hogan and his men or undercover Gestapo agents. [12] Schultz is an enthusiastic but unsuccessful gambler, and above all loves to eat, particularly LeBeau's gourmet cooking.
Corporal LeBeau
Corporal Louis LeBeau (portrayed by Robert Clary) – Free French Air Force Corporal Louis LeBeau is a skilled chef and occasional tailor. He is passionate about his cooking and patriotism for France. LeBeau frequently uses his culinary skills to impress Klink's guests, and Hogan uses LeBeau's culinary prowess to gain access to Klink's guests at dinners or banquets. LeBeau is also frequently seen bribing Schultz with food for information. He is friendly with camp's guard dogs, which makes it possible to use a hidden tunnel entrance located under a doghouse in the kennel. Though claustrophobic, he sometimes facilitates Hogan's operations by hiding in small spaces, such as the safe in Colonel Klink's office, boxes, crates, or a dumbwaiter. Both Schultz and Klink frequently refer to LeBeau as "the cockroach", due to his small stature.
In one first-season episode, LeBeau refers to being married, but except for that one instance it is never referenced again. When Lebeau and Marya flirt on several occasions, he expresses a desire to marry her. He is portrayed as a stereotypical Frenchman, attracted to many of the women with whom he comes in contact.
Actor Robert Clary was a French Jew and Holocaust survivor who was held in the Ottmuth and Buchenwald concentration camps during World War II. He was the last surviving member of the original cast of Hogan's Heroes; Clary died on November 16, 2022, at the age of 96.
Corporal Newkirk
Corporal Peter Newkirk (portrayed by Richard Dawson) – Royal Air Force Corporal Peter Newkirk had been a magician in civilian life. He uses his skills as a pick-pocket, forger, lock picker, and safe cracker on many occasions, particularly to forge Klink's signature or open the safe in Klink's office. As a card sharp, Newkirk gambles with Schultz to learn secret information. He is also a skilled tailor, in charge of making or altering uniforms, civilian clothes, and other disguises as needed for missions or for prisoners to move out of Germany. He is often teamed with Carter in operations, and sometimes quarrels with LeBeau over English and French cultural differences.
Newkirk is an excellent mimic and does numerous impersonations; he often impersonates German officers and can imitate the voices of Adolf Hitler and Winston Churchill, as well as celebrities, such as Humphrey Bogart. [13] Newkirk is a ladies' man, and often tries to initiate romance with the women who appear in the series. He is also highly susceptible to devious women who play on his sympathies.
Often the British voices heard on the radio as being from "London" were done by Richard Dawson, using a different, more "posh", accent than the one he used for Newkirk. Dawson had originally proposed using a Liverpool accent for Newkirk, but the producers rejected the idea.
Sergeant Kinchloe
Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe (portrayed by Ivan Dixon) – United States Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant James "Kinch" Kinchloe is primarily responsible for radio, telephone, and other forms of electronic communications. In many episodes Kinch acts as the de facto second-in-command in Hogan's crew; it was notable for a 1960s television show to have an African-American actor identified in such a manner. [14]
A talented mimic, Kinchloe easily imitates German officers speaking over the radio or telephone. Kinch is from Detroit, where he worked for the telephone company before the war. Kinch was also a boxer, having fought in Golden Gloves matches as a middleweight; because of this experience, in one episode he is recruited to fight a guard from Stalag 13. Kinchloe has remarkable ability when participating in undercover activities, but due to his skin color, his roles outside of the camp are limited.
Ivan Dixon left the series after the fifth season, and was replaced in the cast by Kenneth Washington for season 6. No mention was ever made on-screen explaining Kinchloe's departure from Stalag 13, and his role as radio operator was filled by Sgt. Baker. [15] [16]
Sergeant Carter
Technical Sergeant Andrew J. Carter (portrayed by Larry Hovis) – United States Army Air Forces Technical Sergeant Andrew J. Carter is a chemist and explosives expert in charge of ordnance and bomb-making. Prior to the war, Carter was a Boy Scout who had run a drug store in Muncie, Indiana. In the series, Carter shows a great talent in chemistry and explosives. He has a passion for producing explosive devices. (Oddly enough, in the episode "The Scientist", Carter states that he doesn't know anything about chemistry, even though he is seen in the opening credits of the show working in the chemistry lab.) While bright and enthusiastic at his specialties, he is often clumsy and forgetful. He often is called upon to impersonate officers, including Adolf Hitler, to whom he bears a striking resemblance. [17]
Carter references his fiancée Mary Jane, whom he expects to marry after the war. Unlike the rest of the men, he is shown to be shy around women, and Newkirk and LeBeau often joke about his naïveté. Although Carter is technically the ranking non-commissioned officer, he is never shown to exercise any authority. He is from the fictional town of Bullfrog, North Dakota, and is revealed to be part Native American, when he receives a letter from one of his Sioux relatives. Hovis did not want to remove his wedding ring to play the character, so to conceal it, Carter wears gloves in most of his appearances. [18] In the few episodes in which he is gloveless, Carter's left hand is visible only briefly.
In the pilot episode, "The Informer", Carter is a lieutenant who escaped from another prisoner-of-war camp, staying at Stalag 13 before continuing his journey to England. [19] However, by the second episode, Carter is a different character, with a different rank, and is a permanent member of Hogan's crew. This cast change occurred after Leonid Kinskey, who played Russian Sergeant Vladimir Minsk in the pilot, declined to return for further episodes. [19] [18]
Sergeant Baker
Sergeant Richard Baker (portrayed by Kenneth Washington) – Following Dixon's departure from the show after season five, the series producers chose to create a new character rather than recast his part. Baker, like Kinchloe, is an African-American radio expert who runs the underground communications center. [15] Newkirk is elevated to Hogan's second-in-command (despite being lower in rank to both Sergeants Baker and Carter) during the sixth season. As with Kinchloe, Baker is able to contribute vital support to the missions assigned to him by Hogan.
Upon the death of Robert Clary in November 2022, Kenneth Washington is the last surviving cast member of Hogan's Heroes.
