Leon Askin(1907-2005)
- Actor
- Director
- Writer
As a nine-year-old boy, Leon Askin recited a 17-stanza eulogy for Emperor Franz Josef
in front of the city hall in Vienna's 9th District. Little did the son
of a salesman know then that he would one day be the student of Max Reinhardt
and Louise Dumont, and discover Jura Soyfer while directing the
political cabaret "ABC". Emigration brought him into contact with even
more 20th-century luminaries: in 1938 he met Erwin Piscator, the founder of
the school of Epic Realism, and worked with him for the next 30 years.
On the set of Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (1961), Wilder once exclaimed, "Here comes my
professional!" Askin, who was often cast as the "funny villain",
performed alongside Richard Burton, Doris Day and James Cagney. It is not merely
exposure to big stars that distinguishes Leon Askin, though. He
captured the hearts of critics and audiences with his impressive stage
performances of "Faust" and "Shylock" on Broadway, which he also
directed, and "Othello" in Hamburg. In addition, Askin made TV history
as Gen. Burkhalter in the series Hogan's Heroes (1965).
