'Hogan's Heroes' star Werner Klemperer dead at 80

Klemperer, left, with "Hogan's Heroes" star Bob Crane

NEW YORK -- Werner Klemperer, a refugee from Nazi Germany who played the bumbling German prison-camp commandant Col. Klink on the TV series, "Hogan's Heroes," has died. He was 80.

Klemperer died of cancer Wednesday at his home in New York, said his publicist, Bernie Ilson.

Klemperer fled Germany in the 1930s with his father, Otto, a distinguished conductor. He eventually won two Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Klink on the 1960s sitcom about Allied prisoners of war during World War II.

He also received a Tony nomination in 1988 as a feature actor in a musical for his role in Hal Prince's revival of "Cabaret." Klemperer's film credits included "Death of a Scoundrel" (1956), "The Goddess" (1958), "Judgment at Nuremburg" (1961) and "Ship of Fools" (1965).

Klemperer also appeared as a narrator with nearly every major symphony orchestra in the United States. His repertoire included such works as Beethoven's "Egmont" and "Fidelio," Stravinsky's "L'Historie du Soldat" and "Oedipus Rex."

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For more TV news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

See related sites about TV

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.