JOHN BANNER
Name: John Banner
Born: 28 January 1910
Died: 28 January 1973
John Banner (January 28, 1910, Vienna – January 28, 1973, Vienna) was a Jewish
Austrian actor. Ironically, he is best known for his role as a World War II
German soldier, the comedic Sgt. Hans Schultz on the television situation comedy
Hogan's Heroes. Schultz was constantly encountering evidence that the inmates of
his Stalag prison camp were planning mayhem, and he was aware that he would be
better off if he pretended ignorance: thus his constant catchphrase "I know
nothing! Nothing!" One episode of "Hogan's Heroes" is titled "At Last:
Schultz Knows Something".
Banner was born in Vienna, Austria. Because of his Jewish heritage, he was
transported to a concentration camp before being released out of occupied
Germany. Fortunately for him, Banner's time in the concentration camp was during
the early stages of Nazi rule, when Jewish extermination policies were not yet
fully implemented.
In 1938, Banner, a trim 180 pounds, worked with an acting troupe in Switzerland
and found he could not return to his native Austria because he was a Jew. He
went to America and though unable to speak a word of English was hired as a
Master of Ceremonies. Banner learned his words phonetically and soon mastered
the English language.
Before Banner came to acting, he studied law for two semesters. His feature film
credits include over 40 films and his first was Pacific Blackout. He was usually
cast as a Nazi spy because of his accent and teutonic features. This was
especially hard for Banner whose family had been wiped out in Nazi Concentration
Camps.
In the 1950's Banner's weight had gone up to 280 pounds, and he made over 70
television appearances in the next two decades, including Mr. Ed, The Lucy Show,
Perry Mason, The Partridge Family, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (The Neptune Affair
1964). In 1954 he played Bavarro in the Rocky Jones, Space Ranger series. Banner
had previously played other Germans, Rudolph Hess in Operation Eichmann (1961)
and Gregor Strasser in Hitler in 1962. He also had a small role in a color
episode of Adventures of Superman, playing a somewhat hapless character that to
some extent anticipated his Sgt. Schultz characterization. Banner was loved by
all the cast of Hogan's Heroes (as told by those still alive on the recently
issued DVD sets) and without effort became the main character of every scene he
played in. He told TV Guide in 1967 that he saw Schultz as a representative of
goodness in every generation.
Banner died of an abdominal hemorrhage on his 63rd birthday in Vienna. He was
buried at the cemetery in Mauer in Liesing, the 23rd Bezirk of Vienna. His grave
can be found under Gruppe 57 Reihe 2 Nummer 26.
Name: John Banner
Born: 28 January 1910
Died: 28 January 1973
John Banner (January 28, 1910, Vienna – January 28, 1973, Vienna) was a Jewish
Austrian actor. Ironically, he is best known for his role as a World War II
German soldier, the comedic Sgt. Hans Schultz on the television situation comedy
Hogan's Heroes. Schultz was constantly encountering evidence that the inmates of
his Stalag prison camp were planning mayhem, and he was aware that he would be
better off if he pretended ignorance: thus his constant catchphrase "I know
nothing! Nothing!" One episode of "Hogan's Heroes" is titled "At Last:
Schultz Knows Something".
Banner was born in Vienna, Austria. Because of his Jewish heritage, he was
transported to a concentration camp before being released out of occupied
Germany. Fortunately for him, Banner's time in the concentration camp was during
the early stages of Nazi rule, when Jewish extermination policies were not yet
fully implemented.
In 1938, Banner, a trim 180 pounds, worked with an acting troupe in Switzerland
and found he could not return to his native Austria because he was a Jew. He
went to America and though unable to speak a word of English was hired as a
Master of Ceremonies. Banner learned his words phonetically and soon mastered
the English language.
Before Banner came to acting, he studied law for two semesters. His feature film
credits include over 40 films and his first was Pacific Blackout. He was usually
cast as a Nazi spy because of his accent and teutonic features. This was
especially hard for Banner whose family had been wiped out in Nazi Concentration
Camps.
In the 1950's Banner's weight had gone up to 280 pounds, and he made over 70
television appearances in the next two decades, including Mr. Ed, The Lucy Show,
Perry Mason, The Partridge Family, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (The Neptune Affair
1964). In 1954 he played Bavarro in the Rocky Jones, Space Ranger series. Banner
had previously played other Germans, Rudolph Hess in Operation Eichmann (1961)
and Gregor Strasser in Hitler in 1962. He also had a small role in a color
episode of Adventures of Superman, playing a somewhat hapless character that to
some extent anticipated his Sgt. Schultz characterization. Banner was loved by
all the cast of Hogan's Heroes (as told by those still alive on the recently
issued DVD sets) and without effort became the main character of every scene he
played in. He told TV Guide in 1967 that he saw Schultz as a representative of
goodness in every generation.
Banner died of an abdominal hemorrhage on his 63rd birthday in Vienna. He was
buried at the cemetery in Mauer in Liesing, the 23rd Bezirk of Vienna. His grave
can be found under Gruppe 57 Reihe 2 Nummer 26.