Leon Askin
Date of birth: 1907-09-18
Place of birth: Vienna, Austria
Known for: Acting
Also known as: Leo Aschkenasy
Biography
Leon Askin (Born: September 18, 1907, Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), Height 6ft [1.83m]) was an Austrian-American actor who enjoyed a successful career in both theater and television. He is best known for his portrayal of General Albert Burkhalter in the hit sitcom "Hogan's Heroes," a role he played for six seasons from 1965 to 1971. Born Leo Aschkenasy in Vienna, Austria, in 1907, Askin developed an interest in acting at a young age. He studied at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, a prestigious acting school in Vienna, and began his career on the stage in the early 1930s. With the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany, Askin, a Jew, was forced to flee Austria in 1938. He emigrated to the United States, where he continued to work in theater. He also began appearing in films and television shows, often playing villainous roles due to his imposing stature and commanding presence. Askin's most famous role came in 1965 when he was cast as General Burkhalter in "Hogan's Heroes." The show, which chronicled the exploits of a group of American prisoners of war running a secret operation from a German POW camp, was a huge success, and Askin became a household name. After "Hogan's Heroes" ended in 1971, Askin continued to work steadily in television and film. He appeared in numerous guest roles on popular shows such as "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Rockford Files," and "Murder, She Wrote." He also had recurring roles on the soap operas "General Hospital" and "Santa Barbara." Askin's film credits include such movies as "The Dirty Dozen," "The Night of the Generals," and "The Boys from Brazil." He also continued to work in theater throughout his career, appearing in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Askin remained active in acting well into his later years. He published an autobiography, "Quietude and Quest: Protagonists and Antagonists in the Theatre, on and Off Stage as Seen Through the Eyes of Leon Askin," in 1997. He also received numerous awards for his work, including the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art in 1988 and the Silver Cross of Honor in 1994. Askin died in Vienna in 2005 at the age of 97. He is remembered as one of the most versatile and talented actors of his generation.
Movie Credits
One, Two, Three
1961-12-15
C.R. MacNamara is a managing director for Coca Cola in West Berlin during the Cold War, just before
Parapsycho: Spectrum of Fear
1975-05-02
Split into three episodes, this film examines extrasensory perception, reincarnation and telepathy.
Road to Bali
1953-01-29
Having to leave Melbourne in a hurry to avoid various marriage proposals, two song-and-dance men sig
Secret of the Incas
1954-06-06
Harry Steele (Charlton Heston) is a tourist guide determined to make his fortune by finding the Sunb
What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?
1966-08-31
A by-the-book Captain is ordered to capture a strategic village in Italy. The Italian soldiers are w
The Robe
1953-09-16
Drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio, wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixi
Do Not Disturb
1965-12-22
American Mike Harper, sent to do business in England, moves there with his wife, Janet. But she soon
Entscheidung
1959-11-15
Guns for San Sebastian
1968-03-20
Leon Alastray is an outlaw who has been given sanctuary by Father John, whom he then escorts to the
Genesis II
1973-03-23
A scientist who has been preserved in suspended animation wakes up to find himself in a primitive so
Doctor Death: Seeker of Souls
1973-10-01
John Considine plays the flamboyant Dr. Death, a thousand-year-old magician who has mastered he art
Knock on Wood
1954-04-06
Ventriloquist Jerry Morgan has failed with another love affair. The reason: when the relationship re
Frightmare
1981-09-09
Drama students decide to pay tribute to their favorite horror star by stealing his body from his cry
Death Knocks Twice
1969-11-25
When private detective Bob Martin looking for a stolen diamond necklace, he also has a clever serial
South Sea Woman
1953-06-27
Marine Sergeant James O'Hearn is being tried at the San Diego Marine base for desertion, theft, scan
Savage Island
1985-09-01
Women who have been captured and sold as slave labor to a South American emerald mine hatch a plan f
Carolina Cannonball
1955-01-28
Judy and her grandpa run a trolley between a train depot and a ghost town in Nevada, near the Califo
Valley of the Kings
1954-07-21
Hard-boiled archeologist Mark Brandon is searching for ancient tombs in Egypt when he is approached
OcchioPinocchio
1994-12-25
A man with cognitive problems lives and works in a hospice. One day an American banker discovers tha
Spy Chasers
1955-07-31
Slip and the gang foil foes of the exiled, incognito king of Truania.
Bis dass das Geld euch scheidet…
1960-09-26
Germany at the time of the economic miracle: the boorish and equally rude Jupp Grapsch has made a sm
Desert Legion
1953-05-08
A commander in the Foreign Legion romances a mysterious and exotic princess.
The Caper of the Golden Bulls
1967-05-24
Peter Churchman stopped robbing banks a long time ago and is now living as a wealthy and respected c
Mistress of the World - Part I
1960-04-14
Professor Johansson has made a huge scientific breakthrough; a device that will create a huge magnet
Pension Schöller
1960-07-14
Weit ist der Weg
1960-11-03
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
1962-09-06
Dr. Mabuse has been locked away for years in an insane asylum. Suddenly crimes start occurring and n
Sherlock Holmes and the Deadly Necklace
1962-11-30
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson embark on a search for Cleopatra's ancient necklace, which has been s
Rebel Flight to Cuba
1959-11-05
Peter escapes a firing squad and leaves the island of San Quinto on a commercial flight to Bermuda.
Die Fernsehsaga – Eine steirische Fernsehgeschichte
1995-01-01
Fear of Heights
1994-10-15
An unusual love story between a farmer from a small village and a 25-year-old recently released pris
Perahim - die zweite Chance
1974-05-13
After eleven years of solitary confinement, Perahim, convicted of murdering a police officer, is rel
Blind Justice
1961-10-05
A man is accused of murdering his wife. The state prosecutor assumes he did the deed to spend more t
Der Traum des Mr. Borton
1960-07-06
Always Trouble with the Bed
1961-08-11
A German police man thinks his wife is a call girl.
The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
1968-01-03
A beautiful East German Olympic hopeful pole-vaults over the Berlin Wall to freedom.
Mistress of the World - Part II
1960-04-26
Karin is now continuing her father's research and is also caught in the cross hairs of the mysteriou
Deadly Love
1995-01-01
Following the failure of the marriage of the influential publisher Helmreich and his wife, Helmreich
The Peter Tchaikovsky Story
1959-01-30
The story of young Tchaikovsky through the premiere of his "Sleeping Beauty" ballet.
Kubanisch rauchen
1999-08-19
Paul and Bernd take over a small upscale antique store together. On one nightly excursion, Bernd int
Verurteilt 1910
1974-09-07
First Strike
1985-05-10
A U.S. Navy submarine captain tries to prevent the Soviets from trying to launch World War III.
Airplane II: The Sequel
1982-12-10
A faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the sun, and man-with-a-past
Black Flamingos - Sie lieben euch zu Tode
1998-07-01
An unhappy young photographer is about to make his debut as a journalist. He is to write an obituary
The Last Blitzkrieg
1959-01-30
The fanatical son of a Nazi General leads a squad of German commandos, disguised as American Troops,
Lulu
1962-06-07
A 14-year-old girl is caught while trying to pick a doctor's pocket. The doctor ends up taking her i
The Veils of Bagdad
1953-10-06
Antar is sent by Suleiman, head of the Ottoman Empire, to Bagdad to prevent Hammam, Pasha of Bagdad,
The World's Greatest Athlete
1973-02-14
Stuck with a feeble sports department, college coach Sam Archer (John Amos) faces the ax unless he c
Hammersmith Is Out
1972-05-12
The Faust legend retold (loosely) and applied to a mentally disturbed patient in a hospital run by a
The Maltese Bippy
1969-06-18
A man buys a house and comes to believe that not only is the house haunted by werewolves, but a fami
Double Trouble
1967-04-05
When singer Guy Lambert goes on tour in Europe, he is pursued by two beautiful women, bumbling jewel
Lucrezia
1968-07-07
Fabrizio finds refuge from thugs in a convent, and passion in the arms of Lucrezia Borgia.
Die gelbe Nachtigall
1975-03-31
Fanny Hobichler, a young promising actress, moves to Vienna in the 1920s in order to pursue her big
Die Bräute
1998-07-29
Adele and Sibylle, the two brides of narrow-gauge crooks Heinz and Hermann , are fed up with being j
Ene mene muh – und tot bist du
2001-08-10
A small retirement home on the edge of Vienna where the city's oldest residents live. Patients over
Die Irre von Chaillot
1959-12-17
God's Police Patrol
1968-09-14
The Confiscation of Confession and 10 million Marks bring the young accident priest Wolf into an adv
Towarisch
1961-05-04
Glück auf Raten
1996-02-13
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!
1965-03-24
During the Cold War, John Goldfarb crashes his spy plane in the Middle East and is taken prisoner by
Der Mann im Manne
1959-09-05
Hitler Stole My Ideas
1994-01-01
Using archive film material never seen before, Hollywood veteran Leon Askin portrays Adolf Lanz (187
Der Schinderhannes
1958-12-17
1802: The adventurous life story of Hans Bückler, known as “Schinderhannes”, who fights against the
A Fine Pair
1968-09-27
A detective gets involved with the beautiful daughter of an old friend. The daughter turns out to be
Odd Jobs
1986-03-01
Five college buddies start their own moving business only to find themselves tangling with sleazy co
Assignment: Paris
1952-09-04
Paris-based New York Herald Tribune reporter Jimmy Race (Andrews) is sent by his boss (Sanders) behi
Going Ape!
1981-04-10
When his father - who owned a circus - dies, Oscar inherits 5 million dollars - and 3 orangutans. Ho
Leon Askin - (Über)Leben und Schauspiel. Private Anmerkungen
1997-01-01
"The art of the stage actor and even of a stage director is evanescent. Nothing remains of it but a
China Venture
1953-09-07
American soldiers undertake a mission to capture a Japanese admiral who has survived an air crash in
The Perils of Pauline
1967-08-02
Pauline becomes involved in a series of adventures around the world and is aided by her ever present
Three Lives
1953-09-17
A short film made for the United Jewish Appeal, reuniting the main players behind The Sniper, writer