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T@ TflIE MEilf{qEAS
Note: If your newsletter has an X in the
'TIME TO RENEW' box near the mailing
label, you must renew your membership
($16/year) to oontinue rec€iving the
newsletter.
Good news! Bemard Fox (Col. Critteoden)
has agreed to be interviewed for an upcoming
newslett€r. Send your questions for Bemard
on a 3x5 csrd to the fafl club address and we
will get as many answered as possible.
I
hope that everyone will order Robert
Clary's new CD (see the enclosed flyer). I
have already received my copy, and it is
traflv[A cglALLErNcE
Question: In which episode does Hogan
lament, "Aunt Alice knits a funny sock"?
Send your answer to Hoganfs Heroes
Fan Club, P.O. Box 361281 Los Angeles,
CA 90036. One enhy per member. All
correct entries received by October 31,
197 will be pooled and one winner will
be selected at random. The winner will
receive a Hogan's Heroes Dell Comic
book.
Congratulations to Cindy Franklin, the
winner of our last trivia drawing.
Colonel Klink's hometownn mentioned in
Lib," is
fabulous!
"Hogan's Double
Brenda Scott Royce
Fan Club Director
German member Peggy Dorge pointed
out that in the German-language version
oI Hogan's Heroes, Klink i6 from Dresden,
Saxony. Members who submitted either
answer were entered in the drawing.
fi0EmqERs QeA
Q: How many videos are there in the
Columbia House collection? Can I get a list
ofall
the episodes they ofrfer?
lApzig,
THE ]TAADONG P6ST
Bu, Bell or trade your H an's
Heto6
memorabilia herel Li6ting6 are lr€e of charge to
members. All ads will be run on a lirst come,
first served baeig as epace allowe,
-. Bob Krueger
A: So far,
Columbia House has released
twenty tap€s (four episodes per tape). The
next ten tape extension will be available soon.
For a list of the episodes on each tape, call
Columbia House at (800) 457-0866.
#####
The Hoga 's Herc* Hemld is publislEd quanerly by &e
H%m's Her@s Fe club, P.o. Box 361285, lDs Ansel6,
cA 90036- E-mlit HogmFe@!ol.@m. @1997. Annusl
dues: il6: back issu€s: Sl. The fan club welcom€s articl€
strbmissions by
editing.
nembers. All articles are subjelt to
SEEKING the CBS Promo lor Hognn's
Heroes with the eye, plus photos. Ron
Paul, Jr., 4885 E. Buder #101, Fresno, CA
727.
PENPAIS WANTED. Im 28 years old,
my hobbies are reading books, going to
the theatre and traveling. I look forward
to gefting in contact with other fans of
Hogan's Heroes- Peggy Dorge, Klingstr. Z
D-3864Q Goslar, Germany.
*5
Thanks to members Kim Remus, Rich Summers and Ron Paul Jr., who all
sent in different versions of this Associated Press article which appeared in
several newspapers in August.
Revamped'Hogan's Heroes' has Germans in stitches
howledg€s
u-
G€rnuns also t'€liew
lag t3 bave beeD &ustlatine lh€ir
Nazi captors for uree decades on
Americar TV. But G€m)arE g€mt
now.
- util
Eero€s' bas becoDe a
"Iloaar's
Iaugting
cull hil in the countrv as c€mds
Fow more willnq 6 examb€ the
Third B€ich. Tte ihow about Alied
prisoneF outwittins lb€t caDtors at
a G.rlna! mW car@ giws lhsn a
unlque chane e!!o lo laudr abod tL
To etrsure cerma! viivers utrd€rstand the show islt rne.lt !o be
tahn s€fiousv, dialosue is r€qlrted
l,o rnake the Nui! flan moE .idid-
ror instance. tbe "Eell Eitler"
salule. illeeal i! Germanv. tu replaced witn comic Dh.aaes lit€
"Ad'os,' "Thants b€
ln one episode
a
ao
heaven," or
Rferenct
0o
dro}
ping "bombs" oD London w;s
changed
to
condoms." In others.
bling sidekjch Sst. Hans Schultz.
spe.I with r€€ional dial€crs ttat ptay
on sl,er€oBpes dd male wlDtev€r
th€y say solmd eren finnier to the
The shov is estecially popular
''Some people think it's m Door
taste. They don t tt nk vou shbuld
make Jokes about that'tim€," ac-
tirne to Dur
WesclEnfelder, 21, of Berlh But she
adds lhat her ?2.y€ar{ld g}a!dfatler. who was imDrisoned bv thc
Nazis in 19{5 as a &@ruDi* aidb t
turl
6nd n
laughing ar the
tullly vll€n tl€y mlcl'ed rle
"He! cedaiob
noi a
b4"
she sqvs.
The st r'lns Doe€r ol'Hosai's
Hero€s" in Cemaoy mateslt an
G€rlnaIs in this
exc€plioD amoDg AmedcaD sit.3n1s.
which have becone hcreasinllv
hrriLrt sI
For €rample, Cable I canceted
"Seinfeld." one of the most rn..
"Hogan's
ftom 1965 to t97l Col. Hogan, played by Rob€rt Crane, dlstracts
on CBS in the the attenllon of bumbling camp kommandant
United states Col. Klink, played by lllemer Ktemperer, tn the
serles whlch ls qulck becomlng a cult classlc
to bring the
sh tio Crell@y
emonE Germans.
in 1992, bur ir sas
ratinss !op, lar'eeh be@use ofdubbing lnat audiend* daracterized
a
iohs.
Cage
i}le
iw Grsiotr
Fldl of Ee.oes"
iD;n;d "A
i! German.
tregan broadcastinp rwo yql.s a.{o.
Since r99s
l}d soth ,hnivciarru
-
of the Nazisrdefeat
has b€en awash with
c€sstul u-S. slFvrs, afte! less than a
year. The cosrnopolital Eas[ Co.st
hurnor Dro!€d hanl to tarslaue. ald
the shot' had a cmt a.iee lhousand
cor€ viewers, slatoo sDotes-llrl]u
Antie Burda said.
Other American frw.iles such as
Stevetr Spielberg's lilm
and DaDiel cold"SthindleC! Lbt"
.Iliuels
fihelm KLhk the camD cons hagen's boot,
Wilins D(e
n nder. ref€N !o his cbdnir lr.tu
cutlon€rs" aiso rrer€ wel r€ceived
who *!rts in the nude
a cfr.ni.
A Drivah network Cable 1 took and provok€d lenslhy, narional
ter that wsnt in the U.S.-series.
another shot
and re- reEitins
The monocl€d Xlink and Ib bwn- dubbin! the Dm!'a
to DEv uo the
Yet wilh democ.atic cernanv
Col.
ltt
waryers b€hind lheEl
"l lik€ that the ceman amv is
made to look sitty," said J;na
lhe
wisecractilE CoI Matthias
- tl€
Robert Hosan
and hjs clhort: fi gaHamann of
BERLIN
sotdly in NATO ard the EumD€ai
UDjo& FoUs baE shown mo6t Ja'ung
cemd Ti
-docmentaries
examining lhe Thi.d Reich A sixpan series caled "flitleCs HelDeE'
garnered c.itical praise anil brB
audiene *hen il airFrl lh v.:r
'.
Reprinted with permission ofthe Associated Press.
'Fderds" snd "F.esier" have a
snlal lalFdght fouo\'ine cm sother
networj( SATI, hrt ar€ beatfn in lhe
ratilgs by news shows on other
One excepdoD to lhe
t€nd
rl
js
"Mar-
ried ... wilh Chtdr€4"
ch DuIs in
D€arly 2 miUim viercrs niehw with
its sexual iDuerdoes a.d d6ltiih
€Ery![arhem.
Inter.r'iew with...
Larry Hovis
Larrv Hovis began his career as a singer in his hometown of Houston, Texas. He recorded a
sinsie for Caoit;l Records while still a Genager. Shortly after moving ro Los Angeles in 1963, he
lanied his fiist regular television series role i^ Gomer Pyle' U S M.C. He was also a performer
and witer on Laigh In hrtwo s€asons (1967 -68, l97l-72). Atfrer Hogani Heroes' he produced
same shows- inclidinp, Liar's Chtb, and performed in stage productions such as The Besl Lil e
ilhorehouse h Texasl Cunently, Larry ii teaching drama at Southwest Texas State University in
San Marcos, Texa6.
Br€ndr Scott Royce: In the pilot episode of
Hogan's Heroes, you were not one of the
regulars. How did it happen that you were
cast p€.manently?
Larry Hovis: Well, it was just one of those
things. In the pilot I was Lieutenant CaIter,
and I escaped. And then they showed the
pilot to CBS, and CBS pick€d it up for a
series, and Eddie Feldmar\ the producer, just
decided to make me a regular. And he said,
'We'll just make you a sergeant iNtead of a
lieutenant, because s€rgeants are more
sympathetic.' And I seid, 'What about the
escape?' And he said. 'No one will care.'
BSR: When you first
heard th€ pr€mise
a sitcom set in a POW camp
the show
what did you think?
-
LH:
it's
such a hit now in Germany?
LE; I'm really amazed! I'm amazed that
people here still care. That always really
surprises me. But guess it's really an
interesting comment on the German people
that they can see what we were doing and
laugh at that, and I ju$ think it's amazing,
and very nice.
I
BSR: You appeared on laugh In for one
year while you were also staring io Flogarr 3.
Is it true that you got pressure from CBS to
qwt Lrrugh In?"
of
-
I
had to be sure that we were
doing something tasteful. I didn't equate a
conc€naation camp.
POW camp with
Obviously I knew the differencc. But I knew
Well,
BSR! lvhat do you think about the fact that
a
Ltr:
Not really. Maybe somebody
said
point,
I
that at some
but don't think so. I just
reached the point where
couldn't do
I
everything. Ann Elder and I were writing
Mitzi Gaynor specials for a couple of yearg
and her nightclub act, and I was wdting for
other people. And trying to do two shows
wasjust crazy.
that the public might not be as ready for
somethiog like that, until they found out what
we really were, and that we were not really
making fun of the Holocaust or anything like
that. It was really about the ingcnuity of the
American G.L Hopefully, if anything, it
makes war seem ridiculous. I know that's
kind of a Pollyanna thing to say, but what else
can you do with a 30 minute sitcom?
BSR| That's umeal. I think I
read that you
were the first person to be a regular on two
different shows at the same time.
LH: I think that's truq but I never really
thought about it. It was just too crazy trying
to do it all at once. Plus I also had four kids
to raise!
BSR: Did you enjoy working on Goner
Pyle, U.S.M.C.?
Carson Storm writes, "You're various
impersonations of characters on the series
including Hitler the fire marshall, German
ar€ tenific. Do you feel the
soldiers, etc.
writers gave you more of these parts than
other cast memb€rs because you had bgttgr
ability to podray a variety ofpersonalitiesT'
-
LHr
Not very much. It was nice that I got
some work. and Jim Nabors was very nice.
And Frank Sutton was very nice. But my
character was basically a wall, you know, just
somebody in the background salng hi. I did
ten episodes ofthe show.
BSR: Do you still
have any ptops or other
memonbilia from Hogan's Heroell
LII:
BSR;
You know, I don't. The few things I
did have, over the years, donated to
celebrity auctions aod things like that. My
memories are all in my heart and my head.
I
BSR:
Since you are an accomplished writer,
did you ever contribute scripts or story ideas
ot Hogan's Heroes'l
LH:
No. Richard Dawson and I roughed
out an outline ofan episode we thought we'd
like to write. And Eddie Feldman, our
producer, bless his heart, he was just the most
princely guy in the wo.ld ... he very kindly
said, 'well, let me think about it and then
we'll talk about it.' And then suddenly
realized, you know what, he really doesn't
want to alienate these wonderful wdters that
we had. They were really nice to us, and we
really should leave them alone and just act.
I
BSR: Member Melissa Edmundson
writes,
"You often used the lines, 'You got it boy. I
mean, Sir-' Can you tell me who came up
with that? It's one ofmy favorite lines from
Hogan's Heroesl"
LII:
How funny! My hunch would be
Larry Marks, on€ of the writers we had. It
sounds like something he would have written.
I'd like to take credit for it, but it wasn't me.
-
LE:
I don't think that's the reason at all. I
think because Carter was this kind nebbish
character. And everybody else was so
defined and interesting. I think they did that
to make me just a little more interesting.
BSR: What
was your favorite character that
you impersonated?
LE:
A very weird general who had gotten
back from the Russian front. don't
remember his name, but I whack everything
with my saber. I don't remember the episode,
Ijust remember the chancte(. I loved doing
that. lEditor's notei Impersonating General
'Tiger' von Weidler, Ca.ter challenges Klink
to a dual of sabers in "Duel ofHonor."l
I
BsR: A few members wrote
in to ask what
is your favorite episode of Eogan's Heroell
LH:
I don't have one. Each ofthe
writers had their own take that was $o
interesting to do. Richard Powell, for
Gosh,
examplq was probably our most sophisticated
writer. And I really loved his scripts, they
wore very literate. Larry Marks was a
wonderful comedy writer, and he wrote very
good things for me, so I always loved it when
I saw him. Bill Davenport, a real wonderful
comedy writer. Phil Sharp, Artie Julian...
they were alljust tenific, and so consequently
I can't really choose an episode at all.
BSR Did
member?
you have a favorite fellovr' cast
LE:
well Richard and I probably
more time together,
spent
in terms of
playing
backgammon and laughing. He'sjust one of
the ftnni€st and most brilliant people I've
ever known. I felt very close to lvan Dixon,
and to Robed Clary. And W€rner and John
and Bob kind of had their own kind of life.
They were very nice, and we were all very
friendly with each other, but I don't know,
fuchard and I seemed to have the most
BSR: Was it liustrating being one ofa
cast
of seven regulars?
LE:
Not at alll It was one of the luckiest
things in the world. My goodness, when you
really analyze my character, ar,/ competent
actor could have done what I did. And the
fact that Eddie said you're the guy that's
going to get to do it for six years... I mean,
who could have a complaint?
simpatico, I guess you would say.
BSR: Was anyorc in the cast difficult to
work with?
LH:
Not in my opinion. And I must say,
you can give a lot of credit once again to
Eddie Feldman. He made all of us feel just as
important as anyone
else. We all
nec€ssary, and consequently we had a
felt
lot of
fun.
Our sets were always being visited by
peoplq and I think everyone really enjoyed
themselves. Because we never took
ourselves seriously.
BSR: Everyone
BSR: Member Carson Storm wdtes, "Your
vocals on the albury Hogan's Heroes Sing
W
the Best oflfotd
11Ere great. What do
you remembgr about the recording sessions?"
LE:
Robert Clary and
I
both had a lot
of
experience recording. I wss a singer before I
ever b€came an sctor. And Robert of course
was a recording star
1947, as a matter of
fact. I remember how everybody was a little
nervous; and then how muoh fun we all had.
h
And then io sbout two hours, everybody felt
kind ofequal. I really lov€d it, it was & lot of
firn.
you and Richard
Dawson were the resident pranksters on the
set. Can you describe any ofyour antics?
say$ that
LH:
(Laughs) h's reaUy tough to do it in a
short amount of time. They're very elaborate
pranks that would lake us months to develop.
Silly things that made us laugh. One simple
thing, one day we were in the commissary,
and Sally Kellerman was doing a guest shot
on somebody's show, and we saw her. So
we had one of rhe guys that work€d there
take our plastic flower from our table over to
her with our compliments, and she kept
staring at us like we $,ere nuts. Tons of stuf
we did. We had a great time. We thought it
was wonderful, but of cource I'm sure we
John Banner, were not involved
must have bored everybody silly.
recording?
BSR: He also asks why the other
cast
members, Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and
in
the
LHr
Yeah, occasionally. Robert and I
speak occasionally on the phone. I spoke to
Wemer a couple of times. I haven't spoken
to Richard in quite a while. fuchard is kind of
a recluse sometimes, I understand. I lost
touch with Ivan when he went to Hawaii.
He's a wonderful guy, a wonderful talent. My
wife passed away a couple of years ago, and
thafs kind of what prompted me to talk to
Robert and Werner, just to bring th€m up to
date' because we a.ll knew each other It was
a
BSR: Do you have any upcoming acting or
writing projects?
LH:
Nothing that would be on that kind of
occasionally perform at the
university here. But more and more I love
teaching, and I kind of like directing. I've
done a few plays. But think that my
performance days as such are probably behind
me. Unless somebody wants to tour rl,e
Sxnshine Boys ot son]€thing like that!
a scale. I
I
very sweet, sad thing.
BSR: We've heard rumors ofa feature film
version of Hogan's Heroes, but it nev€r
BSR: I'm
sorry to
LHr It
was very quick and
hear that.
happens.
blessedly
painless. Bless her heart.
BSR: Have any of your children followed
your footsteps into show business?
LE:
Nor really. My youngest son Paul is
in New York right no\r. He thought about
trying to act, and he may a little, and maybe
direct. He's not really sure. But that's about
it. My daughter's in Pennsylvania, and I have
another son in L.A. My youngest daughter
and her husband and I live together here.
BSR: What led you to move
LE:
That would be very interesting. It
would be fascinating to see, but I'm sure
none ofus would be involved. I don't think
you can go back. All the people that have
done those reunion things, that's great. But I
would just feel ridiculous.
BSR: And with Bob
Crane ard John Banner
gong it wouldn't be the same.
LE; It wouldo't be the same. It really
wouldn't.
Gosh, John was such a sweet guy.
Bless his heart.
back to Texas?
LH: I'm from Houston, and my family,
over the years, has all kind of moved to
Wimberley, Seguin, and Austin. So, I kind of
wanted to be back among my brothers and
sisters end my mom. I live in San Marcos,
which is about thirty miles south of Austin,
BSR: lvhere
can fans
LH:
They can write to me in care of the
Department of Theatre, Southwest Texas
State University, 601 University Drive, San
Marcos, Texas 78666.
between Austin and San Artonio.
BSR: Any final
BSR:
LH:
How long have you been teaching at
About nine years.
The club thanks
IAtry
Hovis
comments about the show?
I'm so grateful to have been
It's a wonderful memory. And
Just that
a part of it.
the public has always been so generous about
evert'thing, and I just think it's neat.
the university?
LII:
writs to you?
titue to ahswer our questions, and thanks also to all of the
nenbery vho sent in queslions!
fot taking the
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