From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes: The Autobiography of Robert Clary (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although best known to TV viewers as LeBeau on TV's Hogan's Heroes (1965-1971), Robert Clary has written a new memoir, From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes: The Autobiography of Robert Clary, offering a much more sobering view of WWII, as he recounts his 31 months in German concentration camps as a Jewish Parisian teenager. After liberation, he began singing in nightclubs and, as a prot‚g‚ of Eddie Cantor, won a position in the revue New Faces of 1952, which also featured newcomers Eartha Kitt, Paul Lynde and fledgling writer Mel Brooks. Decades later, his popularity among daytime viewers as a regular on soaps The Young and the Restless and Days of Our Lives helped promote his recording career. Although flatly written at times, Clary's tale of survival is inspirational.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

A truly exciting journey filled with heartache, bravery, and comic joy. I couldn't put it down. -- Mel Brooks

Robert Clary has lived two lives, and written two books­one horrific, one jaunty. They're both fascinating. . . . This is brave writing. -- Tony Randall

There are many stories of survivors, but not many as riveting as the one that Robert Clary tells. -- Carl Reiner, Director, actor, and writer

[Robert Clary's book] records a victory of compassion over hatred, laughter over despair, artistic expression over agression. -- Gene Reynolds, Director

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Madison Books; 1 edition (November 25, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568332289
• ISBN-13: 978-1568332284
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,008,285 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A memoir that stands-out from the rest, March 10, 2002

By	Larry Mark "editor of MyJewishBooks.com" (nyc) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

In recommend this book as a standout memoir for those interested in Holocaust studies, Showbiz lives, and inspiring tales. Born in France, Clary survived the Nazi death camps. The book describes Clary's two lives: survival of several Nazi camps, and a career in showbiz afterwards. The last and 14th child of his Polish born Jewish father (and mother), Robert Max Widerman was raised on the Ile St Louis at 10 Rue de Deux Ponts in Paris. After some neighbors complained to the Vichy French police that Jews still were living in the building, the French police deported Robert and 12 members of his immediate family on 9/23/1942. Of those deported, only Robert survived. The book details Clary's arrest in 1942 at the age of 16 and his 31-month-long incarceration in three Nazi concentration camps in Drancy, Upper Silesia, and Poland, as well as Buchenwald, where he was liberated by the Allies on April 11, 1945 (he put on a show for the troops). Would you believe that Clary got his stage name at Buchenwald, and not in some cigar filled Hollywood agent's office? Clary details how a friend "lost" his file at Buchenwald, which saved him from sure death on the death march of the prisoners. After the war, Clary went back to singing inParis and was discovered by Harry Bluestone while entertaining in a dance hall in 1947. A meeting with Merv Griffin led to an introduction to Eddie Cantor's daughter Natalie, whom he married. He went on to be discovered on Broadway in "New Faces of 1952", and then become famous as the character Corporal Louis Lebeau on Hogan's Heroes. This is an inspirational story of how he survived these two lives.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Biography Worth Reading, November 7, 2002

By	Miriam Silver (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews

"From the Holocaust to Hogan's Heroes", is a fascinating account of Robert Clary's experiences growing up amid the backdrop of the Nazi occupation of France. Robert proves to be a remarkably 'lucky' individual who has had to face extra-ordinary circumstances and yet has not allowed the scars of Genocide to prevent him from finding personal joy, while allowing that joy to touch others. His exuberance and boyish charm punctuates the pages of his book as he recounts his innocent childhood, the horrific 31 months in Nazi prison camps from the age of 16, and the eventual realization that almost every member of his beloved family had been literally wiped out. His remarkable flight out of purgatory leads him to a renewed zest for living and to his own personal success on stage, television and pictures. His personal insights of the personalities that he met along the way, as well as his jaunt on Hogan's Heroes, keeps you from putting the book aside. Robert Clary literally leaves you wanting more.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A powerful, highly recommended biographical journey, May 6, 2002

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

From The Holocaust To Hogan's Heroes is the autobiography of Robert Clary (born Robert Max Widerman in Paris in 1926), who is perhaps most famous for his portrayal of Corporal Louis Lebeau in the widely syndicated television comedy series Hogan's Heroes. But unlike his jovial television character, Robert Clary's personal experience with World War II was much more horrific - he was among those deported to the Nazi concentration and extermination camps at age 16 in 1942, and although he barely survived, his parents, two sisters, two half-sisters, and two nephews did not. From The Holocaust To Hogan's Heroes is a powerful, highly recommended biographical journey that enfolds the reader in a strong life with the will to survive and pass on personal knowledge of the past's abominations to the present generation.