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IMDbPro

John Banner(1910-1973)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
John Banner in Hogan's Heroes (1965)
The inmates of a German World War II prisoner of war camp conduct an espionage and sabotage campaign right under the noses of their warders.
Play trailer0:33
Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971)
7 Videos
22 Photos
John Banner, who achieved television immortality for his portrayal of the Luftwaffe POW camp guard Sergeant Schultz in the TV series Hogan's Heroes (1965), was born on Tuesday, January 28th, 1910 in Vienna., which in 1938 was then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

The 28-year-old Banner, who was Jewish, was forced to flee from his homeland to avoid being captured after the Anschluss (union) between Nazi Germany and Austria. This occurred while he was engaged in a tour of Switzerland with an acting company. Unable to return to Austria due to Hitler's anti-Semitic policies of persecution, Banner emigrated to the United States of America as a political refugee.

Soon after reaching the United States, John Banner, who knew nothing of the English language, was hired to be a Master of Ceremonies to a musical revue. He had to learn his lines phonetically. The total immersion paid off in that he rapidly picked up English. His accent and "Nordic" look ironically meant that Banner was typecast in several films as Nazis during the 1940s. He survived the war portraying the same villains who were murdering every member of his family, who had been left behind in Austria. All of them perished in concentration camps; his biological parents and all of his siblings perished.

At the time of his emigration to the US, John Banner weighed a trim 180 pounds. He eventually added another 100 pounds to become the chubby character actor America would come to know and love in regular appearances in movies and on TV. He specialized in foreign-official types, such the his role as Soviet Ambassador in Fred MacMurray's comedy movie, Tällaistakin voi sattua (1964).

In 1965, Bing Crosby Productions cast Banner as "Sergeant Schultz", in the wartime comedy television sitcom, Hogan's Heroes (1965). The show debuted on Friday evening, September 17th, 1965, on CBS channels. The series was a take-off on Billy Wilder's Vankileiri 17 (1953), although with much more humor and less drama. The bumbling Dutch uncle who Banner portrayed was a continent apart from the wickedly evil Nazis he had portrayed during World War II. Spectacularly inept as a guard of Allied prisoners of war, Sergeant Schultz was prone to ignoring the irregularities that transpired in the fictional Stalag 13, bellowing firmly, "I know nothing! I see nothing! Nothing!!!"

John Banner enjoyed the role but demurred when accused of portraying a "cuddly" Nazi. He told TV Guide, "I see Schultz as the representative of some kind of goodness in every generation."

Banner and Werner Klemperer (who portrayed the equally comical and bumbling "Colonel Klink", and who, like Banner, was a Jewish refugee who had escaped Hitler's reach), co-starred with the series' leading actor, Bob Crane, in Yöjuoksuja ja syrjähyppyjä (1968), a bizarre movie "comedy" about a defecting East German athlete. The picture bombed and the trio went back to turning out the highly popular series without losing too much pride or momentum.

After the cancellation of Hogan's Heroes (1965) in 1971, Banner was signed for another TV show set in the past. The Chicago Teddy Bears (1971), which was set during the Prohibition era. Banner's "Uncle Latzi" was a close cousin of Schultz, but lightning did not strike twice and the series was canceled after only 13 episodes in a three month season.

John Banner died on his 63rd birthday, Sunday, January 28th, 1973, in his hometown and country of Vienna, Austria. His 63 year (including 16 Leap Days) lifespan consisted of 23,011 total days, equaling 3,287 weeks and 2 days.
BornJanuary 28, 1910
DiedJanuary 28, 1973(63)
BornJanuary 28, 1910
DiedJanuary 28, 1973(63)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos22

John Banner, Ron Hagerthy, and Todd Karns in Operation Urgent (1952)
John Banner in Operation Urgent (1952)
John Banner and Todd Karns in Operation Urgent (1952)
John Banner and Todd Karns in Operation Urgent (1952)
John Banner and Todd Karns in Operation Urgent (1952)
John Banner and Todd Karns in Operation Urgent (1952)
John Banner in Hogan's Heroes (1965)
James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, John Banner, and Werner Peters in 36 tuntia (1964)
John Banner and Tom Tyler in Yksinäinen ratsastaja (1949)
John Banner, Bob Crane, and Werner Klemperer in Hogan's Heroes (1965)
John Banner
John Banner and Werner Klemperer in Hogan's Heroes (1965)

Known for:

John Banner, Robert Clary, Bob Crane, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, Larry Hovis, and Werner Klemperer in Hogan's Heroes (1965)
Hogan's Heroes
7.8
TV Series
  • Sgt. Schultz
  • Sgt. Hans Schultz
  • Wolfgang Brauner
James Garner, Eva Marie Saint, and Rod Taylor in 36 tuntia (1964)
36 tuntia
7.3
  • Ernst
  • 1964
Sininen enkeli (1959)
Sininen enkeli
6.2
  • Principal Harter
  • 1959
Richard Basehart, Maria Emo, Carl Esmond, and Cordula Trantow in Hitler (1962)
Hitler
5.7
  • Gregor Strasser
  • 1962

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • George (1972)
    George
    8.2
    TV Series
    • 1973
  • Susan Dey, Danny Bonaduce, David Cassidy, Suzanne Crough, Brian Forster, and Shirley Jones in The Partridge Family (1970)
    The Partridge Family
    6.5
    TV Series
    • Max Ledbetter
    • 1972
  • Alias Smith and Jones (1971)
    Alias Smith and Jones
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Otto
    • 1972
  • Doris Day (1968)
    Doris Day
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Bruno
    • 1972
  • The Chicago Teddy Bears (1971)
    The Chicago Teddy Bears
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Uncle Latzi
    • 1971
  • John Banner, Robert Clary, Bob Crane, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, Larry Hovis, and Werner Klemperer in Hogan's Heroes (1965)
    Hogan's Heroes
    7.8
    TV Series
    • Sgt. Schultz
    • Sgt. Hans Schultz
    • Wolfgang Brauner
    • 1965–1971
  • George Hamilton, Peter Lawford, and Olga Schoberová in Togetherness (1970)
    Togetherness
    5.4
    • Hipolitas Mollnar
    • 1970
  • Star Spangled Salesman (1968)
    Star Spangled Salesman
    6.6
    Short
    • Chef
    • 1968
  • Yöjuoksuja ja syrjähyppyjä (1968)
    Yöjuoksuja ja syrjähyppyjä
    4.4
    • Weber
    • 1968
  • Red Skelton in The Red Skelton Show (1951)
    The Red Skelton Show
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Sgt. Schultz
    • 1967
  • The Lucy Show (1962)
    The Lucy Show
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Sgt. Schultz
    • 1966
  • Susan Brown and Michael T. Mikler in The Young Marrieds (1964)
    The Young Marrieds
    8.3
    TV Series
    • Dimitri Kilarin #1
    • 1965
  • Kraft Suspense Theatre (1963)
    Kraft Suspense Theatre
    7.7
    TV Series
    • Martin Rutke
    • 1965
  • Allan Lane, Alan Young, and Mister Ed in Mister Ed (1961)
    Mister Ed
    6.9
    TV Series
    • Professor Meyerhoff
    • 1965
  • Whitney Blake, Shirley Booth, Bobby Buntrock, and Don DeFore in Vispilävaltikka (1961)
    Vispilävaltikka
    7.2
    TV Series
    • Mr. Mueller
    • 1965

Soundtrack

  • John Banner, Robert Clary, Bob Crane, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, Larry Hovis, and Werner Klemperer in Hogan's Heroes (1965)
    Hogan's Heroes
    7.8
    TV Series
    • performer: "Voices of Spring Waltz, Opus. 410"
    • performer: "Swanee" (uncredited)
    • 1970–1971

Videos7

Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series - Kommandant's Kollection
Clip 1:10
Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series - Kommandant's Kollection
Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series - Kommandant's Kollection
Clip 1:00
Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series - Kommandant's Kollection
Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series - Kommandant's Kollection
Clip 1:20
Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series - Kommandant's Kollection
Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series - Kommandant's Kollection
Clip 1:32
Hogan's Heroes: The Komplete Series - Kommandant's Kollection
Trailer
Trailer 1:33
Trailer
MeTV Promo Trailer
Trailer 0:33
MeTV Promo Trailer
Immortal Sergeant
Trailer 2:12
Immortal Sergeant

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 1.85 m
  • Born
    • January 28, 1910
    • Vienna, Austria
  • Died
    • January 28, 1973
    • Vienna, Austria(abdominal hemorrhage)
  • Spouses
      Renee Christine Gemenne MuhrJune 19, 1965 - January 28, 1973 (his death)
  • Other works
    From Vienna (1939). Musical revue. Book adapted by John La Touche, Eva Franklin and Hugo Hauff. Book by Lothar Metzl, Werner Michel, Hans Weigel, Jura Soyfer, Peter Hammerschlag and David Gregory. Featuring songs by Werner Michel, Walter Drix, Otto Andreas and Jimmy Berg. Scenic Design by Donald Oenslager. Costume Design by Irene Sharaff. Lighting Design by Hassard Short. Production Supervised by Charles Friedman. Staged by Herbert Berghof. Music Box Theatre: 20 Jun 1939- 26 Aug 1939 (79 performances). Cast: John Banner, Louis Ebers, Fred Essler, Nelly Franck, Hans Herberth, Paul Lindenberg, Fred Lorenz-Inger, Walter Martin, Katherine Mattern, Karl Mueller, Elizabeth Neumann, Maria Pichler, Hedy Pitt, Kurt Reichert, Lothar Rewalt, Illa Roden, Henry Vanicelli, Henry Werbeck. Produced by The Refugee Artists Group.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 4 Articles

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Banner is best remembered for his portrayal of the Luftwaffe prison-camp guard "Sergeant Schultz" in the TV series Hogan's Heroes (1965). But there remains a certain irony: John Banner was Jewish.
  • Quotes
    On his ironic casting as Sgt. Schultz: "Well, who better to play Nazis than we Jews?"

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