I watched an interview with Robert Clary. He said that John Banner was a joy to be around and that he and his wife practically adopted the whole cast. He said she fed them and had them over for supper every chance she got. He said that they were just the sweetest, most sincere people you'd ever meet.
@@rmedley22 I've seen him in an episode of 'The Lone Ranger' where he was much thinner which I think predates Hogan's Heroes so I know you're right. In one of the seasons of Hogan's Heroes he'd actually lost some weight and they padded his clothes to make up the difference. I also heard that his wife would frequently kidnap the cast members in order to feed them and everybody loved both of them like surrogate family. I guess they were just a joy to be around.
One thing that a lot of people don't know which, in my opinion makes his character _just that much better_ is that John Banner was extremely intelligent. When he came to America after the fall of Austria, he didn't speak a word of English. At first he'd memorize his lines phonetically. People said he somehow knew the emotion behind the lines despite not understanding what he was saying. Then when he bumped into people without the translator, he started using the lines he memorized to say things in English. They said that after only a few months of that, he simply spoke English. If you look up his roll as a German business man in 'The Lone Ranger', he could speak English with very little accent if he wanted to.
Not only that but I think it goes to show something that people often forget and that not everyone who was in the armies of Nazi Germany was on the same level of Hitler and fully believing in the ideals of the SS.
Him, Klink, LeBeau’s actor and a few more actually survived Nazi Germany, fled here a few joined the us military and helped the cause. Afterwards they starred in this show. I find it inspiring how these people escaped the Nazis to get the chance to portray their enemy and as bumbling, overconfident and stupid. That’s the icing on the cake they got to make the Nazis look so stupid it’s one of the most satisfying parts of the show. Godbless the whole cast for giving us all so many nostalgic memories
John Banner such a class act. in 1938 he was lucky enough to be performing in Switzerland when the Nazis annexed his home country of Austria-Hungary and he was able to escape to the United States, he eventually assimilated and eventually started dreaming in English.
@Asher Tye It is? What exactly, escaping the Nazis or getting used to and well enough to his new home to starting to dream in it's language? To me it sounds he was comparatively lucky.
Here in Melbourne,Victoria,Australia few years ago they named a harness race horse after Sergeant Schultz famous saying "Iseenothing"...it won some good races and a favourite with punters all around Australia.....May your soul rest in peace John Banner (Sergeant Schultz)
It happened to me too, but in Italy. I'm American, but I lived in Italy for a few years as a teen. I knew I'd mastered the language when I started dreaming in Italian.
The sad thing is when CBS did it's rural purge which included shows like Hogan's, Heroes, Green Acres, The Beverly Hillbillies the shows where still doing very well in terms of ratings. Robert Clary who played Labeau said that Hogan's Heroes could have gone on for another couple of seasons. He said the show would have ended with them being liberated.
+The Gun nut This NAZI with the Hitler mustache was one of the most loved characters on television in the '60s. Even after the "Holocaust" programming began in 1978, people still loved Sergeant Schultz.
I have referred to Sergeant Schultz so many times my mom thought he was a Sergeant in the army with me. In a way he was my first Sergeant who taught me it is wise to ignore certain behaviors (in the civilian world).
Considering how many times Schultz turned a blind eye to their exploits(and even helped put on occasion) he was as much one Hogan's "heroes" as any of the POWs.
I'm sure someone has probably already noted below, but, interestingly, John Banner, Werner Klemperer, Leon Askin (General Burkhalter) and even Howard Caine (Major Hochstetter) were all Jewish and all served in the U.S. Army during World War II. Much gratitude to all these gentlemen for their talent, comedic brilliance and their service.
There was another where he is talking to Hochstetter and tells him that Colonel Hogan ordered him to....and Hochstetter interrupts him saying "Hogan!?!?, since when is he running this camp? Schultz says 'uhh...two years ago...I think in November` LOL...classic!
I vaguely recall an episode where a US Army belt buckle ("US" on the buckle) was discovered outside Stalag 13, and Klink, showing the badge to Schultz, was struggling to make him understand its significance. Pardon the very rough paraphrasing here; it's been many years: Klink: "Do you know what this means?!" Schultz: "Unten sowden?" Klink: "No! It's in English!" Schultz: "Us?" Klink: "Nooo!"
@@hlcepeda I know exactly what you are talking about and you're right, it was very funny! But it was a button that said U.S. and it was major hochstetter who brought it & showed Klink. Klink was the one who said those lines you quoted and then Schultz came in and when asked what it said, replied "us". Lol
lol..sorry man I didn't mean to do that!!! I was impressed that you remembered it as well as you did! I'm sure you can watch the episode online, all we have to do is find out which episode it was and then find it!
John Banner you left us too early but you gave us so much joy. This show was before my time but as a German American, my dad introduced it to me, I see nothing I hear nothing I know NOTHING!
I have always thought that Schultz actually did know everything that was going on and was secretly helping them the whole time by “seeing, hearing, and knowing NOTHING!”
I think it was also a matter of self preservation. If it was known that he knew of Hogan's shenanigans, the Nazis would have done awful things to Schultz.
Recently, actually just within the past few minutes to be exact, I got the same impression. Sergeant Schultz never wanted to be a participant in the German Army during World War 2. He actually came across, as privately being on the side of Colonel Hogan and his men. He could be bribed very easily, and I personally think that he went along with them, partly out of a weakness for what they bribed him with, but also because he hated War, and may have actually wanted to see the Allies win the War! He had to pretend that he was an enemy, but he wasn't, really. He got along with the Men of Colonel Hogan's company, far better than he did Colonel Klink! For all we know, he may have actually hated Colonel Klink, hated the German Uniform, hated the German Army, and who knows what else!
Yes, and as others have said, he knew the score and how the wind was blowing.. Also, I always suspected he believed it was better to be made a fool of, than to be believed to be by his superiors if he reported it.. Knowing Hogan was always 3 steps ahead of him..
@@ronaldshank7589 there is one episode that he stated being a social democrat... has was never a nazi or bought the nazi idea... he was just a german conscripted to serve... never really loyal...
I read an online story that months before he died he was waiting at an airport for a flight. He was recognized and drew a crowd. He was extra pleasant, signed autographs and told stories until it was time for his flight.
@@The_Dudester My dad told me not long ago that Schultz is his favorite character, because he was probably the most realistic of them all. He didn't want to be there, he just wanted to go home with his wife and eat :)
Shultz was awarded a medal for his treatment of POW's and his toy company had a major buisness expansion to the U.S. where the boys helped him reopen the shop.
I think he cared, but he didn't want to rock the boat and he didn't much care for the Nazis. I expect like a lot of Germans at the time he was secretly shocked and appalled at what his country was doing, felt powerless to do anything about it, and just did what he had to so he could survive the war.
As often happens in sitcoms, his character evolved over time. At first he was unaware what was happening under his nose, but towards the end it was apparent he was quite aware but looked the other way. His attitude towards his wife also changed. Sometimes he is shown as a loving husband, other times he talks disparaging of his wife, and at other moments he is shown womanizing in town.
Schultz wasn’t an idiot. Before the war, he owned the biggest toy company in Germany. I think he knew what was happening, didn’t want any part of it, and was just trying not to get sent to the Russian front
Hogan leaving and Schultz yelling; “And stay out” always cracks me up laughing. One of the best shows made, and I love the fact that all the German actors were of Jewish descent.
I like the episode where Schultz handed Carter his rifle so he could tie his boot and then started to walk away without it Carter reminded him of it and Schultz told him don’t worry the rifle wasn’t loaded
Sgt. Schultz was one of John Banner's few comic roles. For most of his career, he played dramatic character roles and even heavies on occassion, including a turn as Ernst Rohm! A versatile actor, indeed.
The 'I see NOTHING' part might confuse younger people but that was so brilliant. They had him tied into their schemes just enough to where if he ratted them out, he'd be shot right along side them. So he literally HAD to cover for them to save his own skin.
I think one thing we can all agree on about WWII, the Germans did have the best looking uniforms. John Banner was a national treasure. Amazing that someone who was affected by the War would play the part. All the man wanted was to make it through the war in one piece.
Oh Schultzy, you may be the sadistic, tough as nails Sergeant of the Guard for the roughest and most inhumane stalag in all of Germany, but I just want to hug ya, ya big ol' teddy bear.
The scenes with the dogs, is always a "Crack Up"!! "Say Hello To Your Uncle Schultzie"!! And the dog would growl at him, and he would have the most frightened look on his face!! A classic scene, because "Cujo" hated him, but would lick Le Beau's face!! A real crack up!!
Same here, I watch some with my parents and I figured why doesn’t I give these a try. Seinfeld, Hogan’s Heroes, M.A.S.H and many others are so funny. It is the politically charged world today where it hard to find good quality stuff, so I say onto you man get a shovel and let’s go digging.
i got extremely sick and tired of comedy shows these days because its all shit so when i was 10 my dad gave me Gilligan island, hogans heroes, maxwell smart and M*A*S*H*.... i will never ever look back
John Banner, a great actor and a wonderful man. He was very much responsible for some of the success of Hogan's Heroes. Sergeant Schultz is a very lovable character. RIP John Banner.
Shultz was probably the smartest guard there. He knew that as long as he did his job and "saw nothing, NOTHING", he would stay at Stalag 13 and away from the dangerous front.
what a very talented and funny actor John Banner was. I was introduced to Hogan's heroes by my dad as he was a child when this show was being broadcast. I would have liked if Hogan's heroes had a final episode with the men revealing their operation and the men help Schultz and klink aqquited of any charges.
Actually, there IS an epilogue to the show that tells what happened to everybody. I've forgotten a lot of the details, but here's what I remember: After the Allies arrived to liberate the camp, Hogan invited the secretary to come back to the States with him. They walked out the front gate, together. They ended up getting married. Hogan became a General, working at the Pentagon, but he missed doing missions, and he retired. He eventually became an Ohio Senator. Shortly after the war, he testified that Schultz was a good man; and he went on record saying that Klink "was the hardest, toughest commander in Germany, but remarkably fair." Schultz was freed; Klink served a very brief period in prison (2 or 3 months), then was freed. I don't remember exactly what he did after that, but I believe he became a businessman. Schultz owned a huge toy factory, which he went back to, and became very rich. The most remarkable thing of it all, though, was that Senator Hogan received a package in 1953, from Klink: it had a map, and a book. The map was an (incomplete) map of the tunnels beneath the camp! Klink said he'd been aware of Hogan's operations, but had done nothing because he *opposed* the Nazis. He had presented the *appearance* of being a bumbling fool, in order to avoid having to serve the Nazi agenda. He said that the book was one he had written about his time as Commandant of Stalag 13, and Hogan and his operations featured prominantly in the story. So: everything turned out to have a happy ending for everybody involved. :)
@@whuzzzup I'd be very interested in learning the source of that story too. Seems to me if Klink had been so sharp as to pull the wool over even Hogan's eyes (and presumably over Burkhalter's and Hochstetter's), he would have joined the conspiracy early on.
Klemperer wouldn't have played that. His one condition to doing the show was that Klink and the other krouts couldn't be heroic or win at any time. They had to be foolish bad guys.
Great vid and a nice tribute to a great actor and a good man. There was one scene that I remember that would have made a nice addition though. It's the one where the prisoners convince Klink that Newkirk needs to be taken into town to get some dental work and Schultz accompanies him. But he stops at a pub to pick up radio parts (the real reason they needed to get out) and he gets Schultz drunk. There are a couple of hilarious scenes in that one.
