John Banner

John Banner (born Johann Banner; January 28, 1910 &mdash; January 28, 1973) was an Austrian actor who was born and died in Vienna, Austria. He is best known for his role as Sergeant Hans Georg Schultz on the American television series, Hogan's Heroes.

Biography
Banner was born into an Austrian Jewish family. He went to college planning to become a lawyer, before leaving after two semesters and then started training to become an actor. After the Anschluss of 1938, he was captured by the Nazis and placed in a concentration camp. He was later released, as he was captured before the implementation of the Nazis' extermination policies. After his release, he emigrated to the United States as a war refugee.

After his arrival in the U.S., he worked as an emcee for a musical revue, in spite of his ignorance of the English language. He quickly picked up the language by his complete immersion in it. He was soon working as a film actor in Hollywood in 1941. But his accent and his "Nordic" looks placed him in roles playing Nazis in such films as Desperate Journey, Chetniks! The Fighting Guerillas and They Came to Blow Up America during the war years. While he was working in the Unites States, Banner's family was murdered in the concentration camps.

After the war, he continued to work in films, and in the new medium of television, as a character actor. Originally arriving thin, he eventually gain weight until he finally attained his more familiar "roly-poly" figure. He specialized in playing foreign authority characters, appearing in such films as To the Victor, The Young Lions, The Blue Angel, The Story of Ruth, Bedtime Story and Kisses for My President, as well as such television shows as Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, Father Knows Best, The Untouchables and Mr. Ed. He also had a bit part in an episode of Adventures of Superman where he played a somewhat hapless character which was a precursor to his later Sergeant Schultz character. In 1965, he was cast on Hogan's Heroes in the role of Sergeant Schultz, the head of the prison camp guards, who always said, "I know nothing! I see nothing! NOTHING!" while ignoring what the prisoners were really doing inside the camp. During the show's run, he appeared as Schultz in a The Lucy Show episode, as well as the film The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz.

After Hogan's Heroes, he appeared as a guest star in a few TV shows, including The Doris Day Show and The Partridge Family, as well as play Uncle Latzi in the short-lived TV series, The Chicago Teddy Bears.



He died on his 63rd birthday in January 1973 from an abdominal hemorrhage. He was the first Hogan's Heroes actor to die.

Filmography

 * The Chicago Teddy Bears (1971) (TV )
 * Togetherness (1970)
 * Star Spangled Salesman (1968)
 * The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz (1968)
 * Hogan's Heroes (1965) (TV)
 * 36 Hours (1965)
 * Kisses for My President (1964) (uncredited)
 * Bedtime Story (1964) (uncredited)
 * Mr. and Mrs. (1964) (TV)
 * The Prize (1963) (uncredited)
 * The Yellow Canary (1963)
 * The Interns (1962)
 * The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) (uncredited)
 * Hitler (1962)
 * One, Two, Three (1961)
 * 20,000 Eyes (1961)
 * Operation Eichmann (1961)
 * Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark (1961) (TV) (voice: English version) (uncredited)
 * The Story of Ruth (1960)
 * The Wonderful Country (1959)
 * The Blue Angel (1959)
 * Fraulein (1958)
 * The Young Lions (1958) (uncredited)
 * The Beast of Budapest (1958)
 * The Power and the Pride (1956) (uncredited)
 * Never Say Goodbye (1956)
 * The Rains of Ranchipur (1955) (uncredited)
 * Cradle Song (1955) (TV)
 * Executive Suite (1954) (uncredited)
 * The Juggler (1953)
 * Callaway Went Thataway (1951) (uncredited)
 * Go for Broke! (1951) (uncredited)
 * King Solomon's Mines (1950) (uncredited)
 * Guilty of Treason (1950)
 * The Argyle Secrets (1948)
 * To the Victor (1948)
 * My Girl Tisa (1948)
 * The Beginning or the End (1947) (uncredited)
 * Nocturne (1946) (uncredited)
 * Rendezvous 24 (1946)
 * Tangier (1946) (uncredited)
 * The Fallen Sparrow (1943)
 * This Land Is Mine (1943) (uncredited)
 * They Came to Blow Up America (1943) (uncredited)
 * Tonight We Raid Calais (1943)
 * The Moon Is Down (1943) (uncredited)
 * Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas (1943) (uncredited)
 * Immortal Sergeant (1943) (uncredited)
 * Seven Miles from Alcatraz (1942)
 * Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) (uncredited)
 * Desperate Journey (1942) (uncredited)
 * Pacific Blackout (1941)
 * It Started with Eve (1941) (uncredited)
 * Accent on Love (1941) (uncredited)
 * Spring Parade (1941) (uncredited)

Notable TV Guest Appearances

 * The Mike Douglas Show playing "Himself" in episode: "Episode dated 24 October 1972" 24 October 1972
 * The Mike Douglas Show playing "Himself" in episode: "Episode dated 17 October 1972" 17 October 1972
 * The Partridge Family playing "Max Ledbetter" in episode: "Who Is Max Ledbetter and Why Is He Saying All Those Terrible Things?" (episode # 2.24) 17 March 1972
 * Alias Smith and Jones playing "Otto" in episode: "Don't Get Mad, Get Even" (episode # 2.21) 17 February 1972
 * The Doris Day Show playing "Bruno" in episode: "Crapshooter Who Would Be King" (episode # 4.21) 7 February 1972
 * Della playing "Himself" in episode: "Episode #1.133" (episode # 1.133) 10 December 1969
 * The Leslie Uggams Show playing "Himself" in episode: "Episode dated 12 October 1969" 12 October 1969
 * Hogan Heroes playing "Sgt. Schultz/Wolfgang Brauner" in episode: "Heil Klink" (episode # 2.22) 10 February 1967
 * The Red Skelton Show playing "Himself" in episode: "Freddie's Heroes" 10 January 1967
 * The Lucy Show playing "Sgt. Schultz" in episode: "Lucy and Bob Crane" (episode # 4.22) 21 February 1966
 * The Hollywood Palace playing "Himself - Singer" (episode # 3.13) 25 December 1965
 * Kraft Suspense Theatre playing "Martin Rutke" in episode: "The Safe House" (episode # 2.26) 20 May 1965
 * Mister Ed playing "Professor Meyerhoff" in episode: "Ed the Artist" (episode # 5.24) 19 May 1965
 * Hazel playing "Mr. Mueller" in episode: "The Investor" (episode # 4.26) 25 March 1965
 * The Baileys of Balboa playing "Hans" in episode: "Sam and the Surfers" (episode # 1.16) 21 January 1965
 * The Baileys of Balboa playing "Hans" in episode: "Sam's Dream" 15 January 1965
 * The Rogues playing "Steiner" in episode: "The Real Russian Caviar" (episode # 1.15) 27 December 1964
 * The Baileys of Balboa playing "Hans" in episode: "Look Who's a Sailor" (episode # 1.11) 17 December 1964
 * The Cara Williams Show playing "Zinzer" in episode: "Cara, Girl Genus" (episode # 1.13) 16 December 1964
 * The Man from U.N.C.L.E. playing "Dr. Foster" in episode: "The Neptune Affair" (episode # 1.11) 8 December 1964
 * The Baileys of Balboa playing "Hans" in episode: "Captain Stanley" (episode # 1.9) 3 December 1964
 * The Baileys of Balboa playing "Hans" in episode: "Buck Ships Out" (episode # 1.8) 26 November 1964
 * The Baileys of Balboa playing "Hans" in episode: "Wanna Buy a Hot Turkey?" (episode # 1.7) 16 November 1964
 * Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea playing "Russian Chairman" in episode: "Hot Line" (episode # 1.9) 9 November 1964
 * The Rogues playing "Fat Man" in episode: "The Personal Touch" (episode # 1.1) 13 September 1964
 * My Three Sons playing "Paul, Chief of Protocol" in episode: "What's the Princess Really Like?" (episode # 4.27) 19 March 1964
 * The Alfred Hitchcock Hour playing "Dutch Customs Man" in episode: "Murder Case" (episode # 2.19) 6 March 1964
 * Dr. Kildare playing "Mr. Schultz" in episode: "Goodbye to Mr. Jersey" (episode # 3.21) 20 February 1964
 * The Virginian playing "August the Head Waiter" in episode: "The Fortunes of J. Jimerson Jones" (episode # 2.17) 15 January 1964
 * The Donna Reed Show playing "Cruikshank" in episode: "Moon Shot" (episode # 6.14) 19 December 1963
 * Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre playing "General" in episode: "Four Kings" (episode # 1.5) 1 November 1963
 * The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis playing "The Chief" in episode: "I Was a Spy for the F.B.O." (episode # 4.32) 8 May 1963
 * GE True playing "Hipp" in episode: "Black Market" (episode # 1.28) 21 April 1963
 * The Wide Country playing "Doctor" in episode: "The Quest for Jacob Blaufus" (episode # 1.23) 7 March 1963
 * The Virginian playing "Gus Schultz" in episode: "The Small Parade" (episode # 1.21) 20 February 1963
 * The Dick Powell Show playing "Vandever" in episode: "Safari" (episode # 1.27) 27 March 1962
 * The Untouchables playing "Franz Koenig" in episode: "Takeover" (episode # 3.17) 1 March 1962
 * Outlaws playing "Actor" in episode: "The Dark Sunrise of Griff Kincaid" (episode # 2.12) 4 January 1962
 * Thriller playing "Prof. Martin Vander Hoven" in episode: "Portrait Without a Face" (episode # 2.14) 25 December 1961
 * The DuPont Show with June Allyson playing "Actor" in episode: "Silent Panic" (episode # 2.13) 22 December 1960
 * 77 Sunset Strip playing "Carl Neumann" in episode: "The Antwerp Caper" (episode # 3.12) 2 December 1960
 * Dante playing "Baron Van Zenger" in episode: "The Bavarian Barbarians" (episode # 1.8) 28 November 1960
 * Perry Mason playing "A. Tobler" in episode: "The Case of the Nine Dolls" (episode # 4.9) 19 November 1960
 * Michael Shayne playing "Dr. Hess" in episode: "The Poison Pen Club" (episode # 1.7) 18 November 1960
 * The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis playing "Dr. von Schwering" in episode: "The Mystic Powers of Maynard G. Krebs" (episode # 1.45) 1 November 1960
 * The Roaring 20s playing "Otto Bauer" in episode: "The Velvet Frame" (episode # 1.3) 29 October 1960
 * My Sister Eileen playing "Actor" in episode: "Ruth Becomes a Waitress" (episode # 1.4) 19 October 1960
 * Markham playing "Actor" in episode: "The Cruelest Thief" (episode # 2.50) 30 June 1960
 * Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond playing "Doctor Molhaus" in episode: "The Peter Hurkos Story: Part 1" (episode # 2.30) 19 April 1960
 * This Is the Life playing "Carl Brandt" in episode: "Red Tape" 21 February 1960
 * Five Fingers playing "Middle East Minister" in episode: "The Final Dream" (episode # 1.10) 5 December 1959
 * The Third Man playing "Steiner" in episode: "Castle in Spain" (episode # 1.12) 26 March 1959
 * Disneyland playing "Office Supervisor" in episode: "The Peter Tchaikovsky Story" (episode # 5.16) 30 January 1959
 * Shotgun Slade playing "Corneilus" in episode: "Barbed Wire Keep Out" (episode # 1.5) 1959
 * Behind Closed Doors playing "Prosecutor Hoxa" in episode: "A Cover of Art" (episode # 1.10) 11 December 1958
 * The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin playing "Baron Carlisle" in episode: "Grandpappy's Love Affair" (episode # 5.9) 14 November 1958
 * Cimarron City playing "P.B. Minscher" in episode: "I, the People" (episode # 1.1) 11 October 1958
 * Man Without a Gun playing "Actor" in episode: "Headline" (episode # 1.36) 9 June 1958
 * Telephone Time playing "Actor" in episode: "War Against War" (episode # 3.26) 4 March 1958
 * Studio 57 playing "Actor" in episode: "A Source of Irritation" (episode # 4.12) 19 January 1958
 * Adventures of Superman playing "Bronsky" in episode: "The Man Who Made Dreams Come True" (episode # 5.5) 5 April 1957
 * Letter to Loretta playing "Hans" in episode: "Louise" (episode # 4.24) 10 March 1957
 * The Lineup playing "Actor" in episode: "The Bay Meadows Case" (episode # 3.21) 22 February 1957
 * The Gale Storm Show playing "Hans Schlosser" in episode: "Swiss Miss" (episode # 1.20) 15 February 1957
 * Conflict playing "Actor" in episode: "Blind Drop: Warsaw" (episode # 1.10) 22 January 1957
 * Father Knows Best playing "Artist" in episode: "Brief Holiday" (episode # 3.19) 16 January 1957
 * The Gray Ghost playing "Von Borcke" in episode: "An Eye for an Eye" (episode # 1.5) 1957
 * Navy Log playing "Actor" in episode: "The Pilot" (episode # 2.7) 28 November 1956
 * The Adventures of Hiram Holliday playing "Count Courtebiche" in episode: "Monaco Hermit Crab" (episode # 1.7) 14 November 1956
 * You Are There playing "Nazi News Dealer" in episode: "Hitler Invades Poland (September 1, 1939)" (episode # 5.6) 14 October 1956
 * Matinee Theater playing "Actor" in episode: "Some Man Will Want You" (episode # 1.197) 3 August 1956
 * Screen Directors Playhouse playing "Prefect of Police" in episode: "The Dream" (episode # 1.26) 16 May 1956
 * Hallmark Hall of Fame playing "Actor' in episode: "Cradle Song" 6 May 1956
 * Private Secretary playing "Sandor" in episode: "Cat on a Hot Thin File" (episode # 4.1) 18 March 1956
 * Four Star Playhouse playing "Koert" in episode: "Red Wine" (episode # 4.21) 8 March 1956
 * The Man Called X playing "Actor" in episode: "Truth Serum" (episode # 1.5) 24 February 1956
 * Alfred Hitchcock Presents playing "Train Conductor" in episode: "Safe Conduct" (episode # 1.21) 19 February 1956
 * Sheena: Queen of the Jungle playing "Bad Guy" in episode: "The Renegades" (episode # 1.19) 1956
 * Captain Midnight playing "Van Ronk" in episode: "The Jungle Pit" (episode # 2.9) 24 December 1955
 * Matinee Theater playing "Actor" in episode: "O'Toole from Moscow" (episode # 1.30) 12 December 1955
 * The Adventures of Ellery Queen playing "Buehler" in episode: "Night Visitors" (episode # 1.24) 1 July 1955
 * Damon Runyon Theater playing "Sgt. Heinz" in episode: "The Lacework Kid" (episode # 1.4) 7 May 1955
 * Fireside Theatre playing "Joe" in episode: "Bitter Grapes" (episode # 7.35) 26 April 1955
 * Topper playing "Ali" in episode: "Topper's Arabian Night" (episode # 2.22) 4 March 1955
 * Fireside Theatre playing "Actor" in episode: "Marked for Death" (episode # 7.26) 22 February 1955
 * Topper playing "Henri" in episode: "Topper at the Races" (episode # 2.19) 11 February 1955
 * Schlitz Playhouse of Stars playing "Morris Odvarka" in episode: "The Cool One" (episode # 4.18) 7 January 1955
 * The Whistler playing "Actor" in episode: "Fatal Fraud" (episode # 1.10) 2 December 1954
 * Captain Midnight playing "Goronov" in episode: "Secret of the Jungle" (episode # 1.10) 6 November 1954
 * The Adventures of Falcon playing "Actor" in episode: "A Very Dangerous Bedfellow" (episode # 1.25) 26 October 1954
 * Fireside Theatre playing "Josef Novak" in episode: "Member of the Jury" (episode # 7.6) 5 October 1954
 * Rocky Jones, Space Ranger playing "Bovaro" in episode: "Rocky's Odyssey: Chapter I" (episode # 1.8) 26 September 1954
 * Rocky Jones, Space Ranger playing "Bovaro" in episode: "Crash of the Moons: Chapter III" (episode #1.23) 24 July 1954
 * The Public Defender playing "Actor" in episode: "Escape" (episode # 1.20) 19 July 1954
 * Rocky Jones, Space Ranger playing "Bovaro" in episode: "Crash of the Moons: Chapter II" (episode #1.22) 17 July 1954
 * Rocky Jones, Space Ranger playing "Bovaro" in episode: "Crash of the Moons: Chapter I" (episode # 1.21) 10 July 1954
 * Fireside Theatre playing "Actor" in episode: "Bread Upon the Waters" (episode # 6.39) 8 June 1954
 * Rocky Jones, Space Ranger playing "Bovaro" in episode: "Rocky's Odyssey: Chapter III" (episode # 1.10) 30 March 1954
 * Rocky Jones, Space Ranger playing "Bovaro" in episode: "Rocky's Odyssey: Chapter II" (episode # 1.9) 23 March 1954
 * Cavalcade of America playing "Actor" in episode: "Plume of Honor" (episode # 2.17) 9 February 1954
 * Sky King playing "Griz Raetze" in episode: "Operation Urgent" (episode # 1.1) 5 April 1952
 * The Lone Ranger playing "Baron Paul von Bader" in episode: "Damsels in Distress" (episode # 1.39) 8 June 1950