Robert Clary facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Robert Clary
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Clary in 1953
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| Born |
Robert Max Widerman
March 1, 1926 |
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| Years active | 1951–2001 |
| Known for | Corporal LeBeau in Hogan's Heroes |
| Spouse(s) |
Natalie Cantor Metzger
(m. 1965; |
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Robert Clary (born Robert Max Widerman; March 1, 1926) is a French-American actor, singer, author, artist, and speaker. He is most famous for playing Corporal Louis LeBeau in the TV show Hogan's Heroes from 1965 to 1971. He also had regular roles in the soap operas The Bold and the Beautiful (1990 to 1992) and Days of Our Lives (1972 to 1987).
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Robert Clary's Early Life and Survival
Robert Clary was born in 1926 in Paris, France. He was the youngest of 14 children. Sadly, 10 of his siblings died during the Holocaust. When he was 12, he started singing professionally on French radio. He also studied art in Paris.
In 1942, because he was Jewish, he was sent to a Nazi concentration camp called Ottmuth. This camp was in a part of Poland that was controlled by the Nazis. He was given an identification number, "A5714," tattooed on his arm. Later, he was moved to another camp called Buchenwald concentration camp.
Singing to Survive
At Buchenwald, Robert Clary sang for SS soldiers every other Sunday. An accordion player would join him. He later said that singing and staying healthy helped him survive. He explained that he was very young and didn't fully understand the terrible situation he was in. He wondered if he would have survived if he had known more.
Clary wrote about his experiences, saying that the prisoners were treated very poorly. He described how they were pushed into a shower room to sleep when they first arrived at Buchenwald. He had heard rumors about gas chambers that looked like showers, so he was scared. But it was just a place to sleep. For the first eight days, they had no food. He said the whole experience was like a nightmare. He sometimes had dreams about those days, waking up scared. However, he chose not to hold grudges, saying it was a waste of time.
On April 11, 1945, Robert Clary was freed from Buchenwald. Twelve other members of his close family were sent to Auschwitz concentration camp, and Robert was the only one who survived. When he returned to Paris after World War II, he found out that three of his 13 siblings had not been taken away and had survived the Nazi occupation of France.
Robert Clary's Entertainment Career
After the war, Robert Clary returned to entertainment. He started singing songs that became popular in France and the United States. His first recordings were made in 1948 and were released in the U.S. by Capitol Records. He moved to the U.S. in October 1949.
One of his first American TV appearances was on The Ed Wynn Show in 1950. Later, he met Merv Griffin and Eddie Cantor. This led to him meeting Cantor's daughter, Natalie Cantor Metzger. They became very close friends for 15 years before marrying in 1965. Eddie Cantor also helped Clary get a spot on The Colgate Comedy Hour. In the mid-1950s, Clary appeared on The Martha Raye Show and Appointment with Adventure.
Broadway and Film Roles
Robert Clary's talent for comedy was quickly noticed on Broadway. He appeared in popular musicals like New Faces of 1952, which was also made into a film in 1954.
In 1952, he acted in the film Thief of Damascus. In 1958, he was a guest star on The Gisele MacKenzie Show. He also appeared on The Munsters Today in 1989. In 1959, he played the main role of Henri Toulouse-Lautrec in a play called Monsieur Lautrec in Britain.
Playing LeBeau on Hogan's Heroes
In 1965, Robert Clary, who is 155 cm (5 ft 1 in) tall, was offered the role of Corporal Louis LeBeau on a new TV show called Hogan's Heroes. He took the role when the show's first episode was approved. The series was set in a German prisoner of war (POW) camp during World War II. Clary played a French POW who was part of an Allied team working secretly from inside the camp.
POW Camps vs. Concentration Camps
People sometimes asked Robert Clary if he felt strange doing a comedy show about Nazis and camps, given his past. He explained that Stalag 13, the camp in the show, was a POW camp, not a concentration camp. He said there was a huge difference. Prisoners of war were not gassed or executed. He wanted people to understand that while soldiers suffered in POW camps, it was very different from what people went through in concentration camps.
Robert Clary became one of the last two main actors from Hogan's Heroes who were still alive, along with Kenneth Washington. He is now the last surviving original main cast member.
Later Life and Activities
After Hogan's Heroes ended in 1971, Robert Clary stayed close friends with other cast members like Werner Klemperer, John Banner, and Leon Askin. Their lives were also affected by the Holocaust. After the show, he appeared in a few films about World War II, including the TV movie Remembrance of Love, which was about the Holocaust. Clary also acted in the soap operas Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful.
In 1975, Clary was in the film The Hindenburg. He played Joseph Späh, a real person who was a passenger on the airship's last trip.
For many years, Robert Clary traveled across Canada and the United States, giving talks about the Holocaust. He is also a painter, creating art from photos he takes during his travels.
In 2001, Robert Clary published his life story in a book called From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes: The Autobiography of Robert Clary.
Films
- Ten Tall Men (1951) — Mossul
- Thief of Damascus (1952) — Aladdin
- New Faces (1954) — various songs and characters
- A New Kind of Love (1963) — Frenchman at restaurant
- The Hindenburg (1975) — Joseph Späh
- Remembrance of Love (1982) — played himself as an Auschwitz survivor
Television
- Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971) — Corporal Louis LeBeau
- The High Chaparral (1967–1971) — Lucien Chariot
- Days of Our Lives (1972–1973, 1975–1983, 1986–1987) — Robert LeClair
- The Young and the Restless (1973–1974) — Pierre Roulland
- Fantasy Island (1978) — Ipsy Dauphin in "Escape/Cinderella girls"
- The Bold and the Beautiful (1990–1992) — Pierre Jourdan
