“Hogan’s Heroes” Trivia

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To this day it’s hard for me to believe that anyone would greenlight a TV comedy about a World War II prisoner of war camp.  But that’s exactly what happened.  Hogan’s Heroes ran for 168 episodes, premiering in September 1965 and airing the last original episode in April 1971.  Hogan’s Heroes is the longest running American TV series inspired by World War II.  Who would’ve thunk it?

MeTV recently posted 12 Incredibly True Facts about Hogan’s Heroes.  Here are three of my favorites and my thoughts on each…

The actors playing the four main German roles were Jewish. Klemperer (Klink), Banner (Schultz), Leon Askin (Burkhalter) and Howard Caine (Hochstetter) were Jewish, and all but the latter had fled the Nazis during WWII. Additionally, Robert Clary, who played the cooking French corporal, LeBeau, had been interned at a concentration camp. Klemperer stated at the time, “I am an actor. If I can play Richard III, I can play a Nazi.” The actor insisted that Hogan always won out over his captors.

(I remember at the time there was a bit of controversy from World War II vets, and some who had been in POW camps, as well as those who felt nothing about WW2 was funny. – Craig)

The set was blown up during the making of Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS. What an ignominious fate. Hogan’s Heroes was filmed on Desilu Productions’ RKO Forty Acres backlot. In the making of the trashy 1974 exploitation film Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS, the set was destroyed for the final scene. Hogan’s producers were okay with it, as it saved the cost of having the set demolished.

(What a way to go! – Craig)

The show used the tagline If you liked World War II, you’ll love Hogan’s Heroes!  The tagline was sarcastically suggested by comedian and author Stan Freberg in an interview with Bob Crane in The Sunday Times, on September 15, 1965. “Shall we say, ‘If you liked World War II…you’ll love Hogan’s Heroes?'” Freberg dryly asks. “No, let’s not say that, no,” Crane responds. Nevertheless, it became the tagline.

(I wonder if in this age of political correctness, would Hogan’s Heroes ever make it to production? – Craig)