Have you ever watched “Hogan’s Heroes?” It was a 1960s comedy based in Stalag 13 during WWII. I know, sounds impossible to make a comedy based in a POW camp, but the creators managed it and it was good. Do you remember the little guy, Corporal Louis LeBeau? He was the patriotic Frenchman who participated in all of Hogan’s antics and he was a gourmet chef. Lebeau was portrayed by Robert Clary. Well, recently I watched a documentary entitled, “From the Holocaust to Hollywood: The Robert Clary Story,” which details his early life, to his survival in the Holocaust, and finally to Hollywood. I had known Robert Clary was a Holocaust survivor, but this was the first time I heard specific details about his life.
Born in France, Robert Clary began his career in the entertainment business when he was fourteen, singing and performing. He was from a very large family; he was the youngest and his parents dearly loved him. In May of 1940, the Germans invaded France and life for the Jews became more than difficult. In 1942, Robert and his family were arrested and sent to various death and concentration camps, one was a sub-camp of Auschwitz and later he was imprisoned in Buchenwald. He was separated from his mother and the rest of the family; her parting words were for him to be a good boy.
Robert sang and performed in the camps, which helped him survive. Buchenwald was liberated on April 11, 1945 and he was the only one of three siblings to survive the war. When he returned to France, he resumed his career in entertainment and it led to Hollywood, which eventually led to him being cast in “Hogan’s Heroes.” He later acted in “Remembrance of Love” (a Holocaust period drama) and a number of soap operas. Robert began to speak about his experiences and he was involved with other documentaries, he even wrote a book about his life called, “From the Holocaust to Hogan’s Heroes: The Autobiography of Robert Clary.” Yes, I’m going to have to buy and read that one.
“From the Holocaust to Hollywood: The Robert Clary Story” was engaging and heart wrenching. My only criticism was that it was an hour long and I wanted more. Five stars out of five. Robert Clary is such a great storyteller and he is a fascinating individual. What struck me was how positive and forgiving he was; there was no malice. He encouraged love instead of hatred. His sense of humor is as contagious now as it was on “Hogan’s Heroes.” His nephew was introduced and their relationship was sweet; I enjoyed their playful but loving banter throughout the interviews. Other than archival footage of camps, there is nothing graphic in the documentary and there’s no foul language. It’d be ideal to use as an introduction to the Holocaust.
So, yeah, I’m going to have to buy Robert’s book and do a review on it.
Until next time!
PS. If Hollywood ever does a biopic on Robert Clary, James Madio would be perfect to portray him. He was Frank Perconte in “Band of Brothers.
Veronica Leigh 
We used to watch Hogan’s Heroes. You never know what real life stories actors have. It must have been strange for him to be in such a comedy.
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I would have thought so, but in the documentary Robert Clary was insistent that the Stalag camp/POW camps weren’t at all like concentration/death camps. And in his view, he could be part of the show. It was an interesting outlook. Years ago, I looked up the other actors involved in Hogan’s Heroes and learned that Victor Kemplerer (Col. Klink) and John Banner (Sgt. Shultz) were also Jewish and their lives had been affected by the Holocaust too. So, you’re right, you just never know.
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