Holocaust survivor and actor Robert Clary died at the age of 96. His granddaughter Kim Wright verified to The Hollywood Reporter that he died at his Los Angeles home on Wednesday, November 16.
The French-born American actor rose to notoriety thanks to his performance in the CBS sitcom Hogan’s Heroes. He proceeded to thrill audiences with cameos on other shows such as Days of Our Lives and The Bold and the Beautiful.
In Hogan’s Heroes, Robert Clary portrayed Corporal Louis LeBeau.
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Robert Clary was most recognized for his part in the comedy Hogan’s Heroes as Corporal Louis LeBeau. Louis was born in France and stated on the show that his father owned a painting studio in Paris. Emile, a cousin who hunted big game, was also a hunter.
His family and a culinary school taught Louis how to cook and play the piano. He even dated a woman before World War II began, but they never married. One episode said he had a girlfriend, while another said he was married.
Clary’s character could have joined the French army between the Munich Crisis in 1938 and France declaring war on Nazi Germany in September 1989. He was thereafter sent to the French Air Force.
Hogan’s Heroes aired on CBS for six seasons and 168 episodes from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971. Out of a total of twelve nominations, it received two Emmy Awards.
Here’s all you need to know about Robert Clary, from surviving the Holocaust to becoming a well-known actor.
Robert Clary was born on March 1, 1926, as the youngest of 14 children. When he was 12 years old, he began singing on a French radio station and later studied painting in Paris.
Clary was sent to the Nazi prison camp in Ottmuth in Upper Silesia because he was Jewish 1942. He was tattooed with the number A5714 on his left forearm and taken to Buchenwald. Every Sunday, he and an accordionist entertained a group of SS soldiers.
Clary attributed his survival to his singing, entertainment, and being in outstanding physical shape for his age. He went on to say that he was immature and young and that he didn’t understand his situation.
Clary claimed that the Germans starved them for eight days and forced them to sleep on top of each other. He was rescued from Buchenwald in April 1945. His entire family was deported to Auschwitz, and he was the sole survivor.
When he returned to Paris after WWII, he discovered that three of his siblings had not been stolen and had survived France’s Nazi occupation. Clary was well-known for his performances on shows such as The Martha Raye Show, Appointment with Adventure, The Gisele MacKenzie Show, The Munsters Today, Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful.
In 2001, Robert Clary’s autobiography, From the Holocaust to Hogan’s Heroes, was published. Robert Clary taught about the Holocaust while traveling to Canada and the United States.
In 1965, he married Natalie Cantor Metzger, daughter of comedian and actor Eddie Cantor. Natalie appeared in several films, including It Takes Two, It’s Your Bet, and This Is Your Life. She died in December 1997 in Los Angeles, California.
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