Robert
Clary (born March 1, 1926 as Robert Max Widerman) is a French-born
American actor, published author, and lecturer.
Early
life and career
Clary
was the youngest of 14 children. At the age of 12, he began a career
singing professionally. In 1942, he was deported to the Nazi concentration
camp, Buchenwald with 12 other members of his immediate family.
Clary was the only survivor [1]. When he returned to Paris after
the war, he was ecstatic when he found that some of his siblings
had not been taken away and survived the Nazi occupation of France.
Clary
returned to the entertainment business and began making songs that
not only became popular in France, but in America as well. He came
to the United States in October of 1949. One of Clary's first American
stints was a French language comedy skit on The Ed Wynn Show in
1950. Clary later met Merv Griffin and Eddie Cantor. This eventually
led to Clary meeting Cantor's daughter, Natalie Cantor Metzger (whom
he later married in 1965). Cantor later got Clary a spot on the
Colgate Comedy Hour. His comedic skills were quickly recognized
by Broadway, where he appeared in several popular musicals including
New Faces of 1952 (which was later produced as a film in 1954).
LeBeau
on Hogan's Heroes
In
1965, Clary was offered the role of Corporal Louis LeBeau on a new
series called Hogan's Heroes. He later went on to fully accept the
role when the pilot sold.
After
his stint on Hogan's Heroes, Clary appeared in a handful of feature
films with World War II themes including the made-for-television
film, Remembrance of Love about the Holocaust. Clary also made notable
appearances on Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless.
Robert
appeared in the 1975 movie The Hindenburg which dramatized a fictional
plot to blow up the Nazi airship after it arrived at the Lakehurst,
New Jersey Air Station. His character was a showman/escape artist
who hoped to use the airship in one of his shows. |