Leon Askin
Austrian actor (1907–2005)
title: "Leon Askin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1907-births", "2005-deaths", "20th-century-austrian-male-actors", "21st-century-austrian-male-actors", "austrian-expatriate-male-actors-in-the-united-states", "austrian-male-film-actors", "austrian-male-television-actors", "burials-at-the-vienna-central-cemetery", "jewish-austrian-male-actors", "male-actors-from-vienna", "recipients-of-the-austrian-cross-of-honour-for-science-and-art,-1st-class", "united-states-army-air-forces-personnel-of-world-war-ii", "broadway-theatre-people"] description: "Austrian actor (1907–2005)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Askin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Austrian actor (1907–2005) ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Leon Askin |
| image | Leon Askin in Road to Bali.jpg |
| caption | Askin in Road to Bali (1952) |
| birth_name | Leo Aschkenasy |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Vienna, Austria-Hungary |
| death_date | |
| death_place | Vienna, Austria |
| resting_place | Vienna Central Cemetery |
| occupation | Actor |
| years_active | 1930s–2001 |
| spouse | {{plainlist |
| * {{marriage | Louise "Mimi" Huntington-Smith |
| * {{marriage | Annelies Ehrlich |
| :: |
| name = Leon Askin | image = Leon Askin in Road to Bali.jpg | image_size = | caption = Askin in Road to Bali (1952) | birth_name = Leo Aschkenasy | birth_date = | birth_place = Vienna, Austria-Hungary | death_date = | death_place = Vienna, Austria | resting_place = Vienna Central Cemetery | other_names = | occupation = Actor | years_active = 1930s–2001 | spouse = {{plainlist|
| parents = | website = Leon Askin (; born Leo Aschkenasy, 18 September 1907 – 3 June 2005) was an Austrian actor best known in North America for portraying the character General Burkhalter on the TV situation comedy Hogan's Heroes. From the 1950s onward he had a steady career on both sides of the Atlantic.
Life and career
Leon Askin was born as Leo Aschkenasy into a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, on September 18, 1907. His parents, Malvine (née Susman) and Samuel Aschkenasy, were later murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp during the Holocaust.
Askin’s first experience with performance came during World War I, when, as a child, he recited a poem before Emperor Franz Joseph. In the 1920s, he studied acting under Louise Dumont and Max Reinhardt. In the 1930s, he directed politically charged works by playwright Jura Soyfer at Vienna’s "ABC" cabaret theater. His professional debut as an actor came in Vienna in 1926 in The Dutch Merchant.
Fleeing Austria in 1940 following persecution and physical abuse by the Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS), Askin emigrated to the United States. During World War II, he served as a staff sergeant in the United States Army Air Forces. After the war, he began a career in Hollywood, often cast as foreign characters with thick accents.
Askin appeared as Anton Rubinstein in a Disneyland television episode about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He was featured in the series Adventures of Superman—first as a diamond smuggler in the 1953 episode "Superman in Exile", and later as a South American leader in a color episode. His film work included the role of Abidor, a Syrian guide, in The Robe (1953).
Askin continued working steadily in film and television through the 1950s and 1960s. Notable appearances include Pension Schöller (1960), and a key supporting role in Billy Wilder’s political satire One, Two, Three (1961), co-starring with James Cagney.
His most iconic role came in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971), in which he portrayed the stern and blustering General Albert Burkhalter, appearing in 67 episodes. The character served as the superior officer to the inept Colonel Klink and frequent target of manipulation by the POWs.
Askin made guest appearances on numerous television shows including:
The Restless Gun (1957, episode: "The Shooting of Jett King")
My Favorite Martian (1965, episode: "Martin of the Movies")
The Monkees (1967, episode: "The Card Carrying Red Shoes")
Daniel Boone (1969, episode: "Benvenuto... Who?")
Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (1974, episode: "Fiddler in the House")
Happy Days (1978, season 6, episode 8)
Three’s Company (1979, episode: "The Bake-Off")
Between 1977 and 1979, Askin appeared on PBS’s Meeting of Minds, portraying both Martin Luther and Karl Marx.
He also had a brief appearance as a Moscow news anchor in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), and although he was cast in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974), his scenes were ultimately cut from the final version.
Askin's credits on Broadway included portraying Mr. Prince in A Temporary Island (1948) and Second Beard in Twentieth Century (1950).
Selected filmography
Road to Bali (1952)
Desert Legion (1953)
The Veils of Bagdad (1953)
Knock on Wood (1954)
Secret of the Incas (1954)
Valley of the Kings (1954)
Son of Sinbad (1955)
The Last Blitzkrieg (1959)
Lulu (1962)
Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace (1962)
Do Not Disturb (1965)
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
Double Trouble (1967)
The Caper of the Golden Bulls (1967)
The Perils of Pauline (1967)
The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
A Fine Pair (1968)
Guns for San Sebastian (1968)
The Maltese Bippy (1969)
Death Knocks Twice (1969)
Hammersmith Is Out (1972)
The World's Greatest Athlete (1973)
Going Ape! (1981)
Frightmare (1983)
Death
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Grab_von_Leon_Askin_auf_dem_Wiener_Zentralfriedhof.JPG" caption="Leon Askin's grave located at [[Vienna Central Cemetery]]."] ::
Askin died from natural causes in Vienna on June 3, 2005, at the age of 97 and is interred at Vienna Central Cemetery.
Filmography
Film
::data[format=table]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | Assignment – Paris! | Franz | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Road to Bali | King Ramayana | |
| 1953 | Desert Legion | Maj. Vasil | |
| 1953 | South Sea Woman | Pierre Marchand | |
| 1953 | China Venture | Wu King | |
| 1953 | The Robe | Abidor | |
| 1953 | The Veils of Bagdad | Pasha Hammam | |
| 1954 | Knock on Wood | Laslo Gromeck | |
| 1954 | Secret of the Incas | Anton Marcu | |
| 1954 | Valley of the Kings | Valentine Arko | |
| 1955 | Carolina Cannonball | Otto | |
| 1955 | Son of Sinbad | Khalif | |
| 1955 | Spy Chasers | Col. Alex Baxis | |
| 1958 | Der Schinderhannes | Rochus Eppelsheimer | |
| 1959 | The Last Blitzkrieg | Sergeant Steiner | |
| 1959 | Abschied von den Wolken | Gen. Cordobas | |
| 1960 | Mistress of the World | Fernando | |
| 1960 | Pension Schöller | Fritz Bernhardi | |
| 1960 | Until Money Departs You | Dr. Plauert | |
| 1960 | Weit ist der Weg | Luiz | |
| 1961 | Immer Ärger mit dem Bett | Luigi Papagallo | |
| 1961 | Blind Justice | Strafverteidiger Dr. Leupold | |
| 1961 | One, Two, Three | Peripetchikoff | |
| 1962 | Lulu | Dr. Goll | |
| 1962 | The Testament of Dr. Mabuse | Flocke | |
| 1962 | Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace | Charles | |
| 1965 | John Goldfarb, Please Come Home! | Samir | |
| 1965 | Do Not Disturb | Langsdorf | |
| 1966 | What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? | Col. Kastorp | |
| 1967 | Double Trouble | Inspector de Groote | |
| 1967 | The Caper of the Golden Bulls | Morchek | |
| 1967 | The Perils of Pauline | Commisar | |
| 1968 | The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz | Oscar | |
| 1968 | Guns for San Sebastian | Vicar General | |
| 1968 | A Fine Pair | Chief Wellman | |
| 1968 | ** | Felix | |
| 1968 | Lucrezia | Alessandro VI | |
| 1969 | The Maltese Bippy | Axel Kronstadt | |
| 1969 | Death Knocks Twice | Pepe Mangano | |
| 1972 | Hammersmith Is Out | Dr. Krodt | |
| 1973 | Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls | Thor | |
| 1973 | Genesis II | Overseer | |
| 1973 | The World's Greatest Athlete | Dr. Gottlieb | |
| 1974 | Young Frankenstein | Herr Waldman | Uncredited / Scene Deleted |
| 1974 | Karl May | Klotz-Sello | |
| 1974 | Perahim – die zweite Chance | ||
| 1975 | Parapsycho – Spectrum of Fear | ||
| 1981 | Going Ape! | Zebrewski | |
| 1982 | Airplane II: The Sequel | Moscow Anchorman | |
| 1983 | Frightmare | Wolfgang | |
| 1984 | A Stroke of Genius | ||
| 1985 | Savage Island | Luker | |
| 1985 | Stiffs | Funeral Director | |
| 1985 | First Strike | ||
| 1986 | Odd Jobs | Don Carlucci | |
| 1987 | Deshima | Frank Nievergelt | |
| 1994 | OcchioPinocchio | The Psychiatrist | |
| 1994 | Höhenangst | Vater Gusenleitner | |
| 1994 | Adolf Lanz – Mein Krampf | Josef Lanz von Liebenfels | |
| 1995 | Tödliche Liebe | ||
| 1998 | Black Flamingos – Sie lieben euch zu Tode | ||
| 1999 | Kubanisch rauchen | Waranovsky | |
| 2001 | Ene mene muh – und tot bist du | (final film role) | |
| :: |
Television
::data[format=table]
| Year 1964 | Title The Outer Limits (TV series | Shop Superintendent | Notes S2:E10, Pt.1, The Inheritors, Pt.1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-1971 | Hogan's Heroes | General Burkhalter | Recurring role; 67 episodes |
| 1967 | The Monkees | Nicolai | S2:E9, "The Card Carrying Red Shoes" |
| 1969 | Daniel Boone | Roquelin | 1 episode |
| 1978 | Happy Days | Prof Himmel | S6:E8, "Fearless Malph" |
| 1979 | Three's Company | Mr. Hoffmeier | S3:E18, "The Bake-Off" |
| 1982 | The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour | Additional voices | |
| 1983 | Kottan ermittelt | Rudolf Wasservogel | 3 episodes |
| 1985 | Diff'rent Strokes | Doshenko | Episode: "Russian Embassy" |
| :: |
Decorations and awards
- 1988: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art
- 1994: Silver Medal for Service to the City of Vienna
- 1996: Award of the title "professor"
- 2001: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class
- 2002: Gold Medal of Honour for Services to the city of Vienna
- 2003: Goldener Rathausmann of Vienna to mark the 75th anniversary
- 2007: Naming of Leon-Askin-Platz in Vienna-Penzing
- 2007: A bust of Leon Askin in Türkenschanzpark (Vienna)
- 2007: Plaque unveiled at Hütteldorferstrasse 349 in Vienna-Penzing, to mark 100th anniversary of Askin's birth
- 2009: At Sechsschimmelgasse 19 in Vienna-Alsergrund a public housing block was named after him
- 27 May 2010: Leon-Askin-Park at Grundsteingasse in Ottakring (Vienna's 16th District) named after Askin
References
Notes
References
- (April 8, 1951). "Second Beard to Mark 25th Year As Stage Actor". Brooklyn Eagle.
- "Leon Askin". The Broadway League.
- Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
- "Reply to a parliamentary question".
- "Reply to a parliamentary question".
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