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Leon Askin
Leon Askin
	Askin in Road to Bali (1952)
Born	Leo Aschkenasy; 18 September 1907; Vienna, Austria-Hungary
Died	3 June 2005 (aged 97); Vienna, Austria
Resting place	Vienna Central Cemetery
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1930s–2001
Spouses	; Louise "Mimi" Huntington-Smith (m. 1945; div. 1955) ; Annelies Ehrlich (m. 1955; div. 1994) ; Anita Wicher (m. 2002)

Leon Askin (German pronunciation: [ˈleːɔn ˈaskin] ^ⓘ; 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]} His professional debut as an actor came in Vienna in 1926 in The Dutch Merchant.^[1]

Fleeing Austria in 1940 following persecution and physical abuse by the Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS), Askin emigrated to the United States.^{[citation needed]} 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, episode: "Fearless Malph")

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).^[2]

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

Askin died from natural causes in Vienna on June 3, 2005, at the age of 97 and is interred at Vienna Central Cemetery.^[3]

Filmography

Film

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	Always Trouble with the Bed	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	God's Police Patrol [de]	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

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^[4]
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^[5]
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

^ "Second Beard to Mark 25th Year As Stage Actor". Brooklyn Eagle. 8 April 1951. p. 29. Retrieved 7 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Leon Askin". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2026.
^ 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" (PDF) (in German). p. 811. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
^ "Reply to a parliamentary question" (PDF) (in German). p. 1383. Retrieved 14 January 2013.

External links

Official website
Leon Askin at IMDb
Leon Askin at the Internet Broadway Database
Literature on Leon Askin
Leon Askin^{[permanent dead link]} (in German) from the archive of the Österreichische Mediathek

[be-1] "Second Beard to Mark 25th Year As Stage Actor". Brooklyn Eagle. 8 April 1951. p. 29. Retrieved 7 January 2026 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Leon Askin". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2026.

[3] 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.

[4] "Reply to a parliamentary question" (PDF) (in German). p. 811. Retrieved 14 January 2013.

[5] "Reply to a parliamentary question" (PDF) (in German). p. 1383. Retrieved 14 January 2013.

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