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Werner Klemperer
MAIN
PHOTOS
VIDEOS
NEWS
CREDITS
BIOGRAPHY
AWARDS
FANSITES
FORUM
BIRTHDAY
March 22, 1920
Cologne, Germany
DIED
December 06, 2000
RECENT CREDITS
Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez
(FILM)
Apr. 14, 1993
Law & Order
(TV)
Jan. 7, 1992
Ship of Fools
(FILM)
Jul. 28, 1965
Dark Intruder
(FILM)
Jan. 1, 1965
Judgment at Nuremberg
(FILM)
Dec. 1, 1961
View all
Werner Klemperer Credits
BIOGRAPHY
Actor Werner Klemperer seemed destined for a career as a classical musician in his native Germany; his father was legendary orchestra conductor Otto Klemperer, and his mother was an opera singer. Otto Klemperer fled the....
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Actor Werner Klemperer seemed destined for a career as a classical musician in his native Germany; his father was legendary orchestra conductor Otto Klemperer, and his mother was an opera singer. Otto Klemperer fled the Nazis in 1933 and secured a job with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, then sent for his wife and children. Trained in piano, trumpet and violin, young Werner never lost his love of music, but decided in the early '40s to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse. A naturalized American citizen, Klemperer worked in Maurice Evans' special services unit in World War II, which gave Werner invaluable training before all sorts of audiences. Completely bald in his mid 20s, Klemperer had little problem securing theatrical work as older continental types, yet he yearned to broaden his range. To do this, he completely surpressed his German accent, the better to play such all-American character roles as the timorous press agent in the 1957 Cary Grant film Kiss Them for Me (1957). The capture of fugitive Nazi official Adolph Eichmann in 1960 sparked a renewal of interest in war films, and soon Klemperer found himself playing Eichmann (whom he vaguely resembled) in the 1961 quickie Operation Eichmann. He also essayed a suitably slimy role as a former Nazi jurist on trial for war crimes in 1961's Judgment at Nuremberg. Try though he might to break free of the stereotype, Klemperer was stuck in Teutonic roles, so he resigned himself to recultivating his German accent and worked steadily throughout the '60s. A low-comedy variation of Klemperer's standard character made him an international TV favorite: the actor played the heel-clicking, imperious and incredibly stupid Colonel Klink on the popular sitcom Hogan's Heroes from 1965 through 1970. In the '70s, Klemperer returned to his musical roots as a sometimes performer at the Metropolitan Opera, and as a lecturer/narrator for dozens of American symphony orchestras. Having spent most of his professional career chilling the audience's marrow as the archetypal Nazi officer, Werner Klemperer was the soul of geniality as the jovial narrator of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf at regional kiddie concerts of the '80s and '90s.
~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Recently Worked With...
Lola Pashalinski
Cabinet of Dr. Ramirez
Released: Apr. 14, 1993
Chris Noth
Law & Order
Aired: Jan. 7, 1992
Heinz Rühmann
Ship of Fools
Released: Jul. 29, 1965
Richard Venture
Dark Intruder
Released: Jan. 1, 1965
Eric Braeden
Operation Eichmann
Released: Mar. 1, 1961
Alan Baxter
Judgment at Nuremberg
Released: Jan. 1, 1961
Mary Forbes
Houseboat
Released: Nov. 19, 1958
Raymond Burr
Perry Mason
Aired: Mar. 22, 1958
José Ferrer
The High Cost of Loving
Released: Mar. 1, 1958
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The Goddess
Released: Jan. 1, 1958
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