Actor Robert Clary died Wednesday at the age of 96.
The French-born actor was well-known for his portrayal as a prisoner of war in the television series Hogan’s Heroes. Clary drew inspiration from his own life, as he was a Holocaust survivor and the only one in his family of fourteen children to survive Auschwitz. He was interned there from the age of 16 to 18.
Clary was the last living Hogan’s Heroes actor. He died in his home in Los Angeles.
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“In ‘Hogan’s Heroes,’ Robert Clary played a French POW. In reality, he was born to a Jewish family in France in 1926 and survived several concentration camps,” the U.S. Holocaust Museum wrote of Clary on Twitter Thursday.
“Singing, entertaining, and being in kind of good health at my age, that’s why I survived.”
In “Hogan’s Heroes,” Robert Clary played a French POW. In reality, he was born to a Jewish family in France in 1926 and survived several concentration camps. He died yesterday at 96. pic.twitter.com/YgrGrjYdQn
— US Holocaust Museum (@HolocaustMuseum) November 17, 2022
“RIP to Robert Clary, a cheery actor who survived unimaginable hardships,” reporter Helen Kennedy tweeted.
My god, LeBeau was in Buchenwald. I had no idea.
RIP to Robert Clary, a cheery actor who survived unimaginable hardships. He was the last of the original Hogan’s Heroes cast. https://t.co/0QbirsrK4p pic.twitter.com/9JOdofsM9Q— Helen Kennedy ? (@HelenKennedy) November 16, 2022
“May his memory be for a blessing,” Cal State Law Professor Orin Kerr wrote. His own father, who also survived concentration camps, was a fan of Clary’s program, according to Kerr. “The Nazis were presented as buffoons who were outsmarted every time and were the butt of every joke. That always made dad smile.”
May his memory be for a blessing. FWIW, my dad, who was a concentration camp survivor, used to love watching Hogan’s Heroes. The Nazis were presented as buffoons who were outsmarted every time and were the butt of every joke. That always made dad smile. https://t.co/asicByAYkS
— Orin Kerr (@OrinKerr) November 17, 2022
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The Twitter account of the television series The Young and the Restless sent condolences to Clary’s friends and family in a tweet. Clary made a cameo in the debut episode of the series.
The #YR Family sends our condolences to the family and loved ones of Robert Clary known to the Y&R audiences as “Pierre” on our debut episode! pic.twitter.com/6FRuIDbWg9
— Young & The Restless (@YRInsider) November 17, 2022
Clary was married to Natalie Cantor for 32 years before she died in 1997.
