John Banner (born Johann Banner, January 28, 1910 â January 28, 1973) was an Austrian-born American actor, best known for his role as Sergeant Schultz in the situation comedy Hogan’s Heroes (1965â1971). Schultz, constantly encountering evidence that the inmates of his stalag were planning mayhem, frequently feigned ignorance with the catchphrase, “I see nothing! I hear nothing! I know nothing!” (or, more commonly as the series went on, “I know nothing, nothing!”).
In 1938, the 28-year-old Banner, who was Jewish, was forced to flee from his homeland to avoid being captured after the Anschluss (union) between Nazi Germany and Austria. This occurred while he was engaged in a tour of Switzerland with an acting company. Unable to return to Austria due to Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies of persecution, Banner emigrated to the United States as a political refugee.
In 1942, Banner enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces, underwent basic training in Atlantic City and became a supply sergeant. He even posed for a recruiting poster (before he became portly). He served until 1945.
According to fellow Hogan’s Heroes actor Robert Clary, who was a Holocaust survivor himself, “John lost a lot of his family” to the Holocaust.
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