THE DAY RICHARD DAWSON MADE SERGEANT SCHULTZ COMPLETELY LOSE HIS COOL

The interviewer leaned forward, the studio lights reflecting off his glasses as he looked at Richard Dawson. Richard sat there, looking every bit the elder statesman of Hollywood,…

THE DAY THE SCHULTZ UNIFORM FINALLY GAVE UP THE GHOST

The interviewer, a young man in a sharp suit, leans forward and places an old, cracked leather belt on the coffee table between them. John Banner looks at…

THE DAY NEWKIRK LOST HIS COOL ON THE HOGAN’S HEROES SET

The studio lights were a bit softer than they used to be back in the sixties, and Richard Dawson sat back in the armchair with that familiar, mischievous…

THE DAY COLONEL KLINK MET HIS MATCH IN THE REAL WORLD

I remember sitting in a small, dimly lit studio for one of those late-career retrospectives, the kind where the host treats you like a museum exhibit that can…

THE DAY SERGEANT SCHULTZ LITERALLY SAW ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ON SET

The studio lights were bright, and the audience was already leaning in, hanging on every word. It was 1971, and John Banner was sitting across from a talk…

THE DAY THE MONOCLE JOINED THE SERGEANT FOR BREAKFAST

Werner Klemperer leaned back in his chair, the stage lights reflecting off his polished shoes. He wasn’t wearing the uniform, of course, but after twenty years, people still…

HOW JOHN BANNER TRULY SAW NOTHING ON THE HOGAN’S HEROES SET

The interviewer reaches under the table and produces a heavy, dull-grey helmet with the distinct markings of a Sergeant in the Luftwaffe. John Banner’s eyes immediately widen. He…

RICHARD DAWSON AND THE CASE OF THE STUCK SCHULTZ

I remember sitting on a stage in a drafty convention hall back in the late seventies, just a few years after the show had gone into heavy syndication….

THE DAY JOHN BANNER ACCIDENTALLY ATTACKED RICHARD DAWSON WITH STRUDEL

The interviewer leans back in the plush chair, the studio lights reflecting off his glasses. He looks over at Richard Dawson, who is sitting with that effortless, cool…

THE DAY SERGEANT SCHULTZ ACTUALLY SAW SOMETHING DELICIOUS

The studio lights were always a bit too bright for a man of my vintage, but that afternoon in the late sixties felt particularly heavy. I remember sitting…