Leon Askin

Life and career

Leon Askin was born as Leo Aschkenasy into a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria-Hungary, on September 18, 1907. His parents, Malvine (née Susman) and Samuel Aschkenasy, were murdered in the Treblinka extermination camp during the Holocaust, in 1942.

Askin’s first experience with performance came during World War I, when, as a child, he recited a poem before Emperor Franz Joseph. In the 1920s, he studied acting under Louise Dumont and Max Reinhardt. In the 1930s, he directed politically charged works by playwright Jura Soyfer at Vienna’s "ABC" cabaret theater. His professional debut as an actor came in Vienna in 1926 in The Dutch Merchant.

Fleeing Austria in 1940 following persecution and physical abuse by the Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS), Askin emigrated first to France, where he was interned at the Camp des Rochères et de la Poterie in Meslay de Maine, and then to the United States. During World War II, he served as a staff sergeant in the United States Army Air Forces. After the war, he began a career in Hollywood, often cast as foreign characters with thick accents.

Askin appeared as Anton Rubinstein in a Disneyland television episode about Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. He was featured in the series Adventures of Superman—first as a diamond smuggler in the 1953 episode "Superman in Exile", and later as a South American leader in a color episode. His film work included the role of Abidor, a Syrian guide, in The Robe (1953).

Askin continued working steadily in film and television through the 1950s and 1960s. Notable appearances include Pension Schöller (1960), and a key supporting role in Billy Wilder’s political satire One, Two, Three (1961), co-starring with James Cagney.

His most iconic role came in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971), in which he portrayed the stern and blustering General Albert Burkhalter, appearing in 67 episodes. The character constantly aggravated the inept Colonel Klink and was a frequent target of manipulation by the POWs.

Askin made guest appearances on numerous television shows including:

The Restless Gun (1957, episode: "The Shooting of Jett King")

My Favorite Martian (1965, episode: "Martin of the Movies")

The Monkees (1967, episode: "The Card Carrying Red Shoes")

Daniel Boone (1969, episode: "Benvenuto... Who?")

Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers (1974, episode: "Fiddler in the House")

Happy Days (1978, episode: "Fearless Malph")

Three’s Company (1979, episode: "The Bake-Off")

Between 1977 and 1979, Askin appeared on PBS’s Meeting of Minds, portraying both Martin Luther and Karl Marx.

He also had a brief appearance as a Moscow news anchor in Airplane II: The Sequel (1982), He was cast in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974), but his scenes were ultimately cut from the final version.

Askin's credits on Broadway included portraying Mr. Prince in A Temporary Island (1948) and Second Beard in Twentieth Century (1950).

He returned to Vienna in 1994, working again in cabaret and taking roles in opera and Vienna's annual Festwochen festival.

Death

Askin died from natural causes in Vienna on June 3, 2005, at the age of 97 and is interred at Vienna Central Cemetery.

Filmography

Decorations and awards

1988: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art

1994: Silver Medal for Service to the City of Vienna

1996: Award of the title "professor"

2001: Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class

2002: Gold Medal of Honour for Services to the city of Vienna

2003: Goldener Rathausmann of Vienna to mark the 75th anniversary

2007: Naming of Leon-Askin-Platz in Vienna-Penzing

2007: A bust of Leon Askin in Türkenschanzpark (Vienna)

2007: Plaque unveiled at Hütteldorferstrasse 349 in Vienna-Penzing, to mark 100th anniversary of Askin's birth

2009: At Sechsschimmelgasse 19 in Vienna-Alsergrund a public housing block was named after him

27 May 2010: Leon-Askin-Park at Grundsteingasse in Ottakring (Vienna's 16th District) named after Askin