Howard Caine

{{Infobox person

| name = Howard Caine

| image = Howard Caine Banjo.jpeg

| caption = Caine in 1978

| birthname = Howard Cohen

| birth_date = {{birth date|1926|01|02}}

| birth_place = Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1993|12|28|1926|01|02}}

| death_place = North Hollywood, California, U.S.

| resting_place = Eden Memorial Park Cemetery

| occupation = Film and television actor

| yearsactive = 1953–1988

| spouse = {{Marriage|Valerie Elson|1991}}

}}

Howard Caine (born Howard Cohen; January 2, 1926 – December 28, 1993) was an American character actor, probably best known as Gestapo Major Wolfgang Hochstetter in the television series Hogan's Heroes (1965–71). He also played Lewis Morris of New York in the musical film 1776 and Everett Scovill, a thinly disguised portrait of Charles Manson's attorney Irving Kanarek, in the television movie Helter Skelter. He was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Early life

Howard Caine was born on January 2, 1926, in Nashville, Tennessee, into a Jewish family. At the age of 13, Cohen moved with his family to New York City, where he began studying acting. He served in the United States Navy during World War II, from 1944 to 1946, fighting the Japanese in the Pacific Theatre. After the war, Caine studied drama at Columbia University, where he graduated summa cum laude.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

Career

Caine appeared on Broadway in Wonderful Town, Inherit the Wind, Lunatics and Lovers, and Tiger at the Gates. He succeeded Ray Walston as "Mr. Applegate" in the original production of Damn Yankees. He was featured in such films as From the Terrace (1960), Pay or Die (1960), as the husband of the character portrayed by Judy Garland in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), {{film year|Brushfire}} (1962), The Man from the Diner's Club (1963), {{film year|Pressure Point|1962}} (1962), and Alvarez Kelly (1966).{{cite news| title=Howard Caine Dies; 'Hogan's' Actor, 67| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/04/obituaries/howard-caine-dies-hogan-s-actor-67.html| work=The New York Times| date=January 4, 1994}} He co-starred with Godfrey Cambridge and Estelle Parsons in {{film year|Watermelon Man}} (1970). Caine appeared in more than 750 live and filmed television programs, including the western series The Californians, Two Faces West, and The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters but is best remembered for his recurring role (37 episodes) as Major Wolfgang Hochstetter on the popular 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971). Prior to that he appeared on that show in two other roles, in the season one episode "Happy Birthday, Adolf" and the season two episode "The Battle of Stalag 13".

From his early childhood in Tennessee, Caine had always been fascinated with the Appalachian five-string bluegrass banjo and began mastering it in the mid-1960s. From the summer of 1970 until his death in 1993, he took trophies at 29 prominent banjo and fiddle contests in the southland for both Best Traditional Banjo and Traditional Singing. He was also a popular folk singer and appeared at a number of prominent folk clubs and folk festivals.{{cite journal| title=Howard Caine (Major Hochstetter) An Interview with Lyle Caine| url=https://banjonews.com/2010-05/howard_caine_(major_hochstetter).html#!| last=Piekiel| first=Bob| journal=Banjo Newsletter| date=May 2010| accessdate=July 17, 2017}}

Death

Caine died of a heart attack on December 28, 1993, five days short of his 68th birthday.{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19931230&id=eDYdAAAAIBAJ&pg=4758,4500388| title=Actor Howard Caine dies of heart attack at 67| agency=Associated Press| work=The Tuscaloosa News| date=December 30, 1993| accessdate=July 17, 2017}}

Partial credits

class="wikitable"

align="center"

! Year

! Title

! Role

! Genre

! Notes

1953

|Marty

|Bartender

|TV play

1957

|The Californians

|Schaab

|TV series

|8 episodes, 1957–1958

1959

|Peter Gunn

|Rafael Blanco

|TV series

|Episode: "The Briefcase"

1959

|Lawman

|Newt Whittaker

|TV series

|Episode: "Warpath"

rowspan=5 | 1960

|Alfred Hitchcock Presents

|Pawnbroker Employee

|TV series

|Season 6 Episode 1: "Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat"

From the Terrace

|Creighton Duffy

|Film

Pay or Die

|Enrico Caruso

|Film

Pete and Gladys

|Burke

|TV series

|Episode "Pete Takes Up Golf"

Gunsmoke

|Brady

|TV series

|"Big Tom"

rowspan=3|1961

|Alfred Hitchcock Presents

|Mr. Dahl

|TV series

|Season 7 Episode 7: "You Can't Be a Little Girl All Your Life"

Two Faces West

|Jethro

|TV series

|Episode: "The Vials"

Judgment at Nuremberg

|Hugo Wallner

|Film

rowspan=7|1962

|My Three Sons

|Police Sergeant

|TV series

|Episode: "Chip Leaves Home"

Brushfire

|Vlad

|TV film

Straightaway

|Carson

|TV series

|Episode: "Full Circle"

Leave It to Beaver

|A Crooked Dairy Foreman

|TV series

|Episode: "Eddie, the Businessman"

87th Precinct

|Meinig

|TV series

|Episode: "Idol in the Dust"

Pressure Point

|Tavern Owner

|TV film

Fair Exchange

| Assorted roles

| TV series

| 4 episodes

rowspan=4|1963

|The Man from the Diner's Club

|Claude Bassanio

|TV film

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis

|R.J. Crumley

|TV series

|Episode: "The Call of the, Like, Wild"

The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters

|The Indian, "Afraid-of-His-Horse"

|TV series

|Episodes: "The Day of the Pawnees, Part 1" and "Part 2"

The Twilight Zone

|Nick Bloss

|TV series

|Episode: "He's Alive"

rowspan=3|1965

|The Alfred Hitchcock Hour

|Mr. Setlin

|TV series

|Season 3 Episode 22: "Thou Still Unravished Bride"

Get Smart

|Dr. Fish

|TV series

|Episode: "The Day Smart Turned Chicken"

My Favorite Martian

|The Sultan, English

|TV series

|Episode: "The Bottled Martin"

1965-1971

|Hogan's Heroes

|Major Wolfgang Hochstetter, Major Keitel, Colonel Feldcamp

|TV series

|39 episodes: |37 as Maj. Hochstetter, 1 as Major Keitel in "Happy Birthday, Adolf" (1966) and 1 as Colonel Feldcamp in "The Battle of Stalag 13" (1966)

rowspan=3|1966

|Death Valley Days

|Various roles

|TV series

|3 episodes

Alvarez Kelly

|McIntyre

|Film

The Doomsday Flight

|L.A. dispatcher

|TV film

rowspan=3|1967