Werner Klemperer
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
Though rarely active as a conductor, Werner Klemperer has worked as such and once conducted at The White House.
Klemperer's father, Otto, born and raised Jewish, had become a Christian to advance his career, which was common in the 19th and 20th Century (before World War II) in most of Europe. Werner, though of Jewish descent, was not raised in the Jewish faith. Still, due to the Nuremberg laws, all the Klemperers were at risk in Nazi Germany. Otto later returned to the Jewish faith before his death in Switzerland.
Biography
An actor who fled Nazi Germany with his family at age 13 because of the his father's Jewish birth, the USA-raised Werner Klemperer (like so many other emigres from fascism) ironically spent a good part of his acting career playing Nazis. Klemperer is perhaps best recalled as the monocled, vain, and rather foolish Colonel Klink from the CBS sitcom, "Hogan's Heroes" (1965-1971), for which he won two Emmy Awards as Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy. Yet his resume contains such "serious" roles as Nazis in feature films like "Operation Eichmann" (1961), which cast him as the administrator of the Final Solution Adolf Eichmann, "Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961), in which he was one of the Nazi war criminals, and "Ship of Fools" (1965), as the compliant Lt. Heebner.
A talented musician who often drew parallels between performing comedy and playing an instrument, Klemperer devoted much of his career to narrating concerts with leading world orchestras. His work in that capacity was preserved for posterity with TV appearances like "The Mostly Mozart Festival" (PBS, 1990) and "Barenboim Conducts Strauss" (PBS, 1993) and in various recordings (e.g., with the Milwaukee Symphony in a 1994 performance of Berlioz's "Lelio").
This son of former Los Angeles Philharmonic conductor Otto Klemperer was raised in Southern California and received training at the Pasadena Playhouse where he made his professional debut in "The Trojan Horse." After military service in the US Army during WWII (during which he toured the Pacific in productions of "Macbeth" and "Arsenic and Old Lace"), Klemperer made his Broadway debut in 1947's "Heads of Tails." Eight years later, he was playing opposite Tallulah Bankhead in "Dear Charles." Following his TV success, Klemperer played "Cyrano de Bergerac" on stage in Los Angeles (1973), but perhaps enjoyed his greatest triumph in the 1988 revival of "Cabaret" earning a Tony nomination for his turn as the boarder Herr Schultz.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Life Events
1933
Immigrated to USA
1942
Served as a military policeman in the US Army during WWII; later transferred to special service unit in which he acted in and directed plays
1947
Made Broadway debut in "Heads or Tails"
1955
Appeared with Tallulah Bankhead in the Broadway play "Dear Charles"
1956
Made feature film debut in "Death of a Scoundrel"
1956
Made TV debut in episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (CBS)
1961
Played title role in "Operation Eichmann"
1965
Appeared in "Ship of Fools"
1965
Played Colonel Klink on "Hogan's Heros" (CBS)
1969
Made TV movie debut, "Wake Me When the War Is Over" (ABC)
1986
Had recurring role on "Mr. Sunshine" (ABC)
1988
Narrated "Views of a Vanishing Frontier" for "The American Experience" (PBS)
1998
Hosted radio show which featured broadcasts of the Vienna Philharmonic
Videos
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Though rarely active as a conductor, Werner Klemperer has worked as such and once conducted at The White House.
Klemperer's father, Otto, born and raised Jewish, had become a Christian to advance his career, which was common in the 19th and 20th Century (before World War II) in most of Europe. Werner, though of Jewish descent, was not raised in the Jewish faith. Still, due to the Nuremberg laws, all the Klemperers were at risk in Nazi Germany. Otto later returned to the Jewish faith before his death in Switzerland.
"He's always humming and moving his hands, conducting this music only he can hear." --wife Kim Hamilton to People, September 9, 1996.
