John Banner (28 January 1910 – 28 January 1973), born Johann Banner in Vienna, was a Jewish Austrian American actor. He is best known for his role as a World War II German soldier, the comedic Sergeant Schultz on the television situation comedy Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971). 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 ignora...
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John Banner (28 January 1910 – 28 January 1973), born Johann Banner in Vienna, was a Jewish Austrian American actor. He is best known for his role as a World War II German soldier, the comedic Sergeant Schultz on the television situation comedy Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971). 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 catch phrase "I know nothing! Nothing!" One episode of Hogan's Heroes is titled "At Last: Schultz Knows Something."
Banner was born in Vienna, Austria.
In 1938, Banner, a trim 180 pounds (80 kg), worked with an acting troupe in Switzerland and found he could not return to his native Austria because he was a Jew. He emigrated to the United States 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. From 1942 to...
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