Topic: Werner Klemperer

Werner Klemperer (March 22, 1920 – December 6, 2000) was a comedic and dramatic actor, best known for his role as Colonel Klink on the CBS television sitcom, Hogan's Heroes.

Born in Cologne to a musical family, Klemperer was the son of the renowned conductor Otto Klemperer (1885-1973) and Johanna Geisler (1888-1956), a soprano. He had a younger sister named Lotte (1923-2003). Klemperer was musically talented, being a violinist and an accomplished concert pianist. He broadened his acting career by performing as an operatic baritone and a singer in Broadway musicals. He can be seen playing in the violin section of the New Philharmonia Orchestra on the EMI Classics DVD "Otto Klemperer — Beethoven Symphony No. 9." at a concert performed on November 8, 1964, at London's Royal Albert Hall.

His family being Jewish, Klemperer fled the Nazis with his family in 1935; they made their way to Los Angeles, where his father had a conducting post. Klemperer began acting in high school and enrolled in acting courses in Pasadena before joining the United States Army to serve in World War II.