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| - He was born Leon Aschkenasky in Vienna, Austria to a Jewish family during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Leon wanted to become an actor from an early age, and appeared on stage for the first time in 1926. After an audition before Walter Bruno Iltz, he performed in Düsseldorf, Germany from 1928 until 1933 when he was removed by the National Socialists or Nazis, because he was Jewish. During his time in Düsseldorf, he mainly performed for the Dumont Playhouse. In April, 1933, he was arrested by the SA and was later beaten up by members of the SS. It was from this beating that he got the prominent scar that can be seen on his face. After his release from jail, he moved to Paris, France.
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| - He was born Leon Aschkenasky in Vienna, Austria to a Jewish family during the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Leon wanted to become an actor from an early age, and appeared on stage for the first time in 1926. After an audition before Walter Bruno Iltz, he performed in Düsseldorf, Germany from 1928 until 1933 when he was removed by the National Socialists or Nazis, because he was Jewish. During his time in Düsseldorf, he mainly performed for the Dumont Playhouse. In April, 1933, he was arrested by the SA and was later beaten up by members of the SS. It was from this beating that he got the prominent scar that can be seen on his face. After his release from jail, he moved to Paris, France. While in Paris, he, along with several other immigrants, started a political cabaret called the Künstlerclub Paris-Vienne. It was very successful. In 1935, he returned to Vienna, where he helped form the ABC Theatre, where he worked as a cabaret artist and director. In this position, he helped to launch the career of the writer Jura Soyfer, among others. As a highly versatile stage actor, he was well-known as "the man of a thousand faces." He lived happily in Vienna until the German Anschluss of 1938, returning to Paris after a narrow escape. After France's declaration of war against Germany in September, 1939, Leon, along with other refugees from the Nazi's regime, was placed in an interment camp by the French government. He was eventually released and in early 1940 moved to the United States, arriving in New York. After a rough time finding work, he began working for The Civic Theater in Washington, D.C. in the fall of that year. The Civic was closed shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Leon joined the U.S. Army, becoming a member of the Army Air Corps. During the war, Leon wrote The Orientation Digest, which provided information for soldiers who were being sent overseas, changed his last name to Askin and became a US citizen. He served in the European Theater of Operations, ending the war with the rank of Technical Sergeant. He learned after the war that his parents had died in the Treblinka extermination camp. After the war, he returned to New York, where he helped form the Veterans Memorial Stage theater group, which was made up of ex-U.S. Army actors, later being elected President of the group. He then start performing on the Broadway stage until called to Hollywood in 1952. Working first for Columbia Pictures, Leon was a film actor until his retirement in 1993, appearing in 60 films. As such, he mainly played foreign characters who spoke English with a heavy accent. Among his film work are: Road to Bali, One, Two, Three, What Did You Do in the War, Daddy?, The Perils of Pauline , The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz and Young Frankenstein. He also made guest appearances in several television shows including: Adventures of Superman, The Outer Limits, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., I Spy, Switch, Meeting of Minds (where he played both Karl Marx and Martin Luther), Three's Company and Happy Days. His greatest claim to fame, though, came when he played General der Infantrie Albert Burkhalter, who was the superior of Prison Camp Kommandant Wilhelm Klink on Hogan's Heroes. While working in American films and television, Leon, unlike other Austrian exiles, also worked in his native country of Austria and in Germany, mainly on tours. He also worked in Japan and Italy. In 1994, he returned to Vienna, where he spent the last 10+ years of his life. He remained active until his death, performing in cabaret, as well as the Volksoper and Festwochen. He was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art in 1988; the Austrian Silver Cross of Honor in 1994; the Vienna's Gold Medal of Honor in 2002; and the Austrian Cross of Honor, First Class, for Science and Art also in 2002. He was also made an honorary Professor in 1996. He died on June 3, 2005 in Vienna at the age of 97.
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