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Howard Caine (January 2, 1926 — December 28, 1993) was an American actor who is best remembered as the gestapo officer, Major Wolfgang Hochstetter in the 1960s-era sitcom, Hogan`s Heroes. He also played Lewis Morris of New York in the film musical, 1776 and Everett Scovill a thinly disguised portrait of Charles Manson`s attorney, Irving Kanarek in the television movie, Helter Skelter. Howard Caine was born in Nashville, Tennessee into a Jewish family. At the age of 13, his family moved to New York City. After his family`s arrival in New York, he began to study acting, where he learned to erase his southern accent, while also learning 32 foreign and American accents. After serving in the U. S. Navy during World War II, he continued his studies at The School of Drama of Columbia University, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. After graduation, Howard began working on Broadway, soon appearing in such plays as Wonderful Town, Inherit the Wind, Lunatics & Lovers, and Tiger at the Gates, before he replaced Ray Walston in the lead role of Mr. Applegate, in the Broadway version of Damn Yankees. In the early 1950s, he began working in Hollywood, appearing first in the television film, Marty (later the basis for the 1955 film of the same name), as a bartender. Besides that TV film, and Hogan`s Heroes, he has also appeared in such television series as Bonanza, Peter Gunn, Alfred Hitchock Presents, My Three Sons, The Untouchables, Dr. Kildare, The Twilight Zone, My Favorite Martian, Get Smart, The Rat Patrol, Felony Squad, Police Story, and Jonny Quest, as well as the feature films, besides 1776, From the Terrace, Pay or Die, Judgment at Nuremberg, The Man from the Diner`s Club, Pressure Point, Alvarez Kelly and Watermelon Man. Howard last acting role before his death was as Lord Maxwell Beaverbrook in the Television miniseries, War and Remembrance.

Howard, who was fascinated with the Appalachian five-string Banjo, began mastering the instrument in the mid-1960s. From the summer of 1970 to his death, he had taken trophies at 29 prominent Banjo and Fiddle Contests in the Southland for both Best Traditional Banjo and Traditional Singing. He was also a popular folk singer and appeared in prominent Folk Clubs and Folk-Festivals. Howard died in 1993 in North Hollywood.