Posted on 03/18/2008 7:19:13 PM PDT by lunarbicep
Actor, director and producer Ivan Dixon, best known for his role as Kinchloe in the television series "Hogan's Heroes," has died in Charlotte at the age of 76.
Dixon died Sunday at a Charlotte hospital after suffering a hemorrhage, said Whitney Stauffer of Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles.
Actor Sidney Poitier said the two men became friends after Dixon was his stunt double in the 1958 movie, "The Defiant Ones."
"As an actor, you had to be careful," Poitier said through Stauffer. "He was quite likely to walk off with the scene. And I was very careful."
Dixon began his acting career on Broadway in plays that included "The Cave Dwellers" and "A Raisin in the Sun." On film, he appeared in "Something of Value," "A Raisin in the Sun," "A Patch of Blue," "Nothing But a Man" and the cult favorite, "Car Wash."
But he was probably best known for the role of U.S. Staff Sgt. James Kinchloe on "Hogan's Heroes." Kinchloe, who's in charge of electronic communications, can mimic German officers on the radio or phone.
Dixon earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the CBS Playhouse special, "The Final War of Olly Winter."
In addition to acting on television, he also directed hundreds of episodic shows, including "The Waltons," "The Rockford Files," "Magnum P.I." and "Heat of the Night."
Born April 6, 1931, in New York City, Dixon graduated in 1954 from North Carolina Central University in Durham.
Dixon's awards include four NAACP Image Awards, National Black Theatre Award and the Paul Robeson Pioneer Award from the Black American Cinema Society. He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Directors Guild of America, Screen Actors Guild of America, and the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Berlie Dixon; son, Alan Kimara Dixon and daughter, Doris Nomathande Dixon. Two sons, Ivan Nathaniel Dixon IV and N'Gai Christopher Dixon, are deceased.
At Dixon's request, Stauffer said no memorial is planned.
That is true. My past Bosses have been black going back to 1992. Very successful and no games.
From imdb.com ... Robert Clary played the character Cpl. Louis LeBeau on Hogan’s Heroes. From the trivia section, “Has a tattoo on his left foream, ‘A5714,’ from his time in a German concentration camp during WWII.” That’s not trivial trivia.
I didn’t know Clary was a Holocaust survivor. John Banner (Schultz)was Jewish too. I read somewhere that Werner Klemperer specifically wanted Klink to be written as a buffoon. He always wanted Hogan to “win”, because he didin’t want Klink to be considered a sympathetic character.
But...he’s not a corporal.
He’s a PFC (Praying For Corporal). LOL!!!!!
One Ping only...?
Wow. I didn’t know that guy who played the general was Jewish too. He lived to be 97!
Only man ever to assemble a fully functioning gonkulator. RIP Big Guy.
Most of the crew was Jewish ... Sgt. Shultz was an Austrian Jew, the French guy in Hogan’s crew was Jewish and was in a Nazi concentration camp - Col. Klink ( Klemperer) was Jewish and his father a famous conductor - Werner Klemperer ....
Sad news. I love that show.
Married for 53 years. That right there is a notable achievement.
May a loving God forgive all his sins and welcome him into His Kingdom.
Hmm..if he had been a very unsympathetic character, the show would not have been a sitcom.
There was an episode featuring messages from an Allied spy “Nimrod” — I’ll have to maybe get the DVD with that episode — but I recall a strong hint that Nimrod knew Klink — thus Klink was actually an Allied agent as well, and just pretending to be a buffoon.
Apparently, this was not the last episode of the series — and future episodes did not give that impression.
I loved that show!
He and his wife were married 53 years. How cool is that?
I can still remember Klink saying, "Colonel HOOOOOgan.... to the COOOOOOler". hahahaha... Great Show.
I loved that show!
He and his wife were married 53 years. How cool is that?
Same here. That was back in the days when sitcoms were actually funny and worth watching (My, how times have changed, and NOT for the better).
Great show. RIP, Ivan Dixon.
My computer has the hiccups, sorry.
ping
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