One of the secrets of the success of Hogan's Heroes during its 6 year run (1965-71) was that some of the cast members were also Holocaust survivors.
Robert Clary, who played Louis LeBeau, was the last of those survivors in the cast, along with Werner Klemperer and John Banner. We are saddened to learn that Robert has passed away at 96.
At 16, Robert and his family were captured and taken to Germany from their home in Paris, and placed in a concentration camp. After World War II, Clary began his show business career, moving to the US, and making his television debut on The Ed Wynn Show. He also starred on Broadway, and appeared in a TV adaptation of Broadway's "New Faces" in 1960.
During the Hogan years, Clary, along with castmates Bob Crane, Ivan Dixon, Larry Hovis, & Richard Dawson, recorded an album of WWII songs, with Crane playing drums. Clary returned to television, this time appearing on daytime soaps Days of Our Lives, The Young & The Restless, and The Bold & The Beautiful, all produced by Corday Productions and Sony.
In 1983, Robert was the subject of a feature piece on the CBS Evening News:
Rest in peace.
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