Overview (4)

Mini Bio (1)

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 the son of 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. After the series, Klemperer 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.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Morgan De Sade (additional info by Susan Cohen)

Spouse (4)

Trade Mark (2)

Klink's cry "Hooo-gaaann!" whenever Col. Hogan foiled him (later "Hooo-meerrr!" as the voice of Homer Simpson's conscience).



The Shouting of "SCHUUUUUULTZ", for his sergeant of the Guard Schultz



Trivia (15)

Served in the U.S. Army from 1942-45.



Conducted the Buffalo (NY) Orchestra.





Son of conductor Otto Klemperer

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."



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.



He and his family emigrated to the US from Germany while he was a teenager. He immersed himself in learning English so completely that he found himself actually thinking and dreaming in English.





His last acting role was as Colonel Klink, reprising his most famous character, on a 1993 episode of The Simpsons (1989). His familiar cry "Hogan!" became "Homer!" as he counseled Homer Simpson.



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 his guest appearance on "The Pat Sajak Show" (1989) he was presented with a monocle by Sajak, as the host had learned that Klemperer's original monocle from "Hogan's Heroes" (1965) had recently been stolen from his personal collection.



Despite persistent myths that Klemperer was an accomplished musician and professional conductor, he actually had little musical talent and readily admitted it.





His nickname "Klempy" was given to him by Tallulah Bankhead , when they worked together in the play, "Dear Charles", on Broadway in 1955.



In his career after Hogan's Heroes (1965), he received accolades for his musical talent, while singing in opera and musical theatre. He also provided narration for various orchestras, and in studio recordings.