Leon Askin, 97; Actor in ‘Hogan’s Heroes,’ Dozens of Movies

VIENNA —  Leon Askin, the actor who played Gen. Albert Burkhalter in the 1960s television comedy “Hogan’s Heroes,” has died, Austrian officials said Friday.

The actor was 97. Neither city officials nor the Vienna hospital where he died disclosed the cause or date of his death.

Askin was best known for his role as the Nazi general who constantly threatened to send the prisoner of war camp’s inept commander, Col. Wilhelm Klink, to the Russian front because of his stupidity.

Born Leo Aschkenasy in Vienna on Sept. 18, 1907, Askin worked as a cabaret artist in the 1930s before fleeing to France and then to the United States to escape persecution by the Nazis.

He had roles in dozens of films, including director Billy Wilder’s “One, Two, Three” and Henry Koster’s “The Robe” starring Richard Burton.

In the course of his career, he also appeared with Elizabeth Taylor and Peter Ustinov.

Askin took up residence in Vienna again in 1994, returning to his roots in cabaret. He also took roles in Vienna’s Festwochen and with the Volksoper, one of the city’s opera companies. He received Vienna’s Gold Medal of Honor, one of the city’s most distinguished prizes.

“We have lost a huge actor and artist and a wonderful man,” Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl said in a statement.