Werner Klemperer |
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Werner Klemperer Biography |
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Werner Klemperer, everyone`s favorite TV German Air Force colonel, was best known for his role as the bumbling Col. Wilhelm Klink on the comedy series "Hogan`s Heroes" (1965). Although he`ll forever be known as the blustering but inept German commandant of Stalag 13, Klemperer was in fact a talented dramatic actor, as evidenced by his acclaimed performance as an arrogant, unrepentant Nazi judge being tried for crimes against humanity in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). His identification with Nazi roles notwithstanding, Klemperer was in real life a Jew who fled with his family from Nazi Germany in the 1930s. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. When he was offered the Col. Klink role, Klemperer only agreed to do it if the show`s producers promised that Klink would never succeed in any of his schemes. "Col. Klink" earned Klemperer five Emmy nominations, and he took home the trophy twice, in 1968 and 1969. Since the end of the series, Klemperer has carved out an impressive musical career as a conductor and also served as a narrator with many major U.S. symphony orchestras. He was an accomplished concert violinist.
Biography Credit: www.imdb.com/name/nm0459252/bio |
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 Two years after his death, was portrayed by actor Kurt Fuller in "Auto Focus" (2002). Best remembered by the public for his role as Colonel Klink in Hogan`s Heroes (1965). Klemperer agreed to take the role of Col. Klink in "Hogan`s Heroes" (1965) only on the condition that none of Klink`s schemes would ever succeed and that he would always wind up looking foolish. During World War II, served in the U.S. Army and was assigned to Maurice Evans` Special Entertainment Unit serving with fellow actor Carl Reiner. His last acting role was as Colonel Klink, his most famous character, on a 1993 episode of "The Simpsons" (1989). Was nominated for Broadway`s 1988 Tony Award as Best Actor (Featured Role - Musical) for a revival of "Cabaret." Immersed himself into teaching himself English so completely, that he found himself actuially thinking and dreaming in English. For many years, he served as an elected member of the National Council of Actors` Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States. Although he was most famous for playing a colonel in the German Luftwaffe (air corps), Klemperer`s family were German Jews who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s. One of his favorite works was as narrator in "Peter and the Wolf," which he performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Klemperer also appeared as a narrator with nearly every major symphony orchestra in the United States. His repertoire included such works as Beethoven`s "Egmont" and "Fidelio," Stravinsky`s "L`Historie du Soldat" and "Oedipus Rex." He appeared as Pasha Selim in the Mozart opera "The Abduction From the Seraglio". Son of conductor Otto Klemperer. He conducted the Buffalo Orchestra. US Army during WWII | ||
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