| 14th | Top Jewish American entertainers: 1910s |
| John Banner | |
|---|---|
 Banner as Sergeant Hans Schultz on Hogan's Heroes (circa late-1960s). |
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| Born | Johann Banner 28 January 1910 Vienna, Austria |
| Died | 28 January 1973 (aged 63) Vienna, Austria |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1940–1972 |
John Banner (born Johann Banner; 28 January 1910 — 28 January 1973) was an American film and television actor.
He is best known for his role as a World War II German soldier, the comedic Sergeant Hans Schultz on the television situation comedy Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971). Schultz was constantly encountering evidence that the inmates of his Stalag (prisoner-of-war camp) were planning mayhem, and he was aware that he would be better off if he pretended ignorance — thus his constant catch phrase "I know nothing! Nothing!" Nothing!"[1] One episode of Hogan's Heroes is titled "At Last: Schultz Knows Something".
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He was born in Vienna, Austria. In 1940, Banner, a trim 180 pounds (82 kilograms), worked with an acting troupe in Switzerland and found he could not return to his native Austria because he was Jewish. He emigrated to the United States and, though unable to speak a word of the English language, was hired as a master of ceremonies. Banner learned his words phonetically and soon mastered English. From 1942 to 1945, Banner served in the U. S. Army Air Forces.
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 played a Gestapo agent in 20th Century Fox's Chetniks! The Fighting Guerrillas (1943). He was usually cast as a Nazi spy because of his accent and Teutonic features. This was especially difficult for Banner, as his family had been wiped out in Nazi concentration camps.
In the 1950s, Banner's weight had gone up to 280 pounds (130 kilograms), and he made over 70 television appearances in the next two decades, including Mister Ed, The Lucy Show, Perry Mason, The Partridge Family, The Untouchables ("Takeover" episode; 1962) Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ("Hot Line" episode; 1964) and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ("The Neptune Affair" episode; 1964).
In 1954, he played Bavarro in the Rocky Jones, Space Ranger series. Banner played other Germans — Rudolf Höss in Operation Eichmann (1961) and Gregor Strasser in Hitler (1962).
In 1956, Banner played a train conductor in an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, appearing in a scene with future fellow co-star Werner Klemperer, who played a spy. 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. In 1971, he appeared as Uncle Latzi in the short-lived television situation comedy The Chicago Teddy Bears.
Banner was loved by all the cast of Hogan's Heroes (as told by those still alive on the recently issued DVD sets). He told TV Guide in 1967, "Schultz is not a Nazi. I see Schultz as the representative of some kind of goodness in any generation."
Banner died of an abdominal hemorrhage on his 63rd birthday in Vienna in 1973. He was buried at the cemetery in Mauer, Austria. His grave can be found under Gruppe 57 Reihe 2 Nummer 26 (because Banner's tombstone was removed)
   | Record for John Banner - John Banner (1910 - 1973) - Find A Grave Memorial |
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