Bernard Fein

Bernard Fein
Born
Bernard Jeremiah Fein

(1926-11-13)November 13, 1926
New York City, U.S.
DiedSeptember 10, 1980(1980-09-10) (aged 53)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
OccupationsActor, producer, screenwriter, director
Years active1946 – 1974
Known forCo-creating Hogan's Heroes
Spouse(s)Kay Kurtz
m. 1957
Children1

Bernard Jeremiah Fein (November 13, 1926 – September 10, 1980), also known as Bernie Fein, was an American actor, television producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for co-creating and associate producing the 1960s television sitcom Hogan's Heroes; a show which he also occasionally wrote for, including the pilot episode. He directed only one film, the 1974 movie View from the Loft.

Early life and career

A native of New York City, born on November 13, 1926, Fein was the son of immigrant furniture maker Irving Fein, later of Albany.

Fein started his career via radio, landing a role in the Schenectady-produced radio drama, The FBI in Action.

Fein's first big break came in 1955 when he landed the recurring role of Pvt. Gomez on Sergeant Bilko which he portrayed through 1959. He appeared regularly as a guest actor on numerous programs from 1959 through 1967 on such shows as The Untouchables, Sea Hunt, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Law and Mr. Jones, and Sam Benedict, as well as Lawman, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone and The F.B.I..[citation needed] He also appeared in a handful of films during this time including The Facts of Life and Robin and the 7 Hoods, among others.[citation needed]

Fein is portrayed by Kyle S. More in the 2022 Paramount+ miniseries, The Offer,[citation needed] and by Greg Grunberg later that year in the motion picture, The Fabelmans.

Personal life and death

On May 16, 1957, Fein married actress Kay Kurtz in New York City. They had two sons, Geoffrey and Adam.

Fein died in Los Angeles, on September 10, 1980, at age 53. He was survived by his wife and sons.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1942Spy SmasherSloanUncredited
1955–1959Sergeant BilkoPrivate Gomez137 episodes
1959Twilight ZoneMr. PenellTV series
1959Keep in StepPrivate GomezTV movie
1960The Rise and Fall of Legs DiamondFrenchy La MarrUncredited
1960The Music Box KidBiggie Gaines
1960The Facts of LifeUncredited
1961Man-TrapFat Man
1961The Murder MenUncredited
1961Pocketful of MiraclesUncredited
1964Robin and the 7 HoodsCharlie Bananas
1969Body FeverBig Mack(final film role)

Notable TV guest appearances

Writer

Director

Producer

References

  1. 1 2 "Obituaries: Geoff Fine". The Record-Herald and Indianola Tribune. February 27, 2019. p. A4. Retrieved December 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Geoff Stuart Fein, son of Bernard Fein and Kay (Kurtz) Fein Pattison was born October 2, 1958 in New York, New York [...] Geoff 's father, Bernard Jeremiah Fein preceded him in death. Geoff leaves to cherish his memory; [...] mother and step-father, Kay & Harley Pattison of California, [...] brother, Adam & Val Fein and their daughter, Ally
  2. ↑ Seal, Mark (2025). Leave The Gun, Take The Cannoli : The Epic Story Of The Making Of The Godfather. New York: Gallery Books. p. 59. "Ruddy’s next move was even more audacious: He teamed up with Bernie Fein, a comic actor on the 1950s The Phil Silvers Show—who once worked as a professional “laugher” embedded in audiences at comedy shows to encourage the crowd with his riotous laughs—to write a pilot for a half-hour sitcom. [...] Fein took a flight to New York and sat next to a man reading the Nazi prison camp escape novel, Von Ryan’s Express. Back in LA, he and Ruddy felt they had struck upon an idea they felt was sitcom gold: Change the setting from an American prison to a Nazi prisonerof-war camp during WWII."
  3. ↑ Misurell, Ed (February 15, 1959). "Bernie Gives Acts Yaks, Cashes in on Belly Laughs; BERNIE FEAIN, LAST OF THE PROFESSIONAL LAUGHERS, SHOWS BIRTH OF BOFF ..." Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph. King Features. p. E4. Retrieved December 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ Talese, Gay (February 27, 2019). "$IDE-$PLITTER; Comedians won't admit he exists, but they pay Bernie to prompt their audiences with big laughter". The Record-Herald and Indianola Tribune. New York Times News Service. p. A4. Retrieved December 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. In 1955 he made his Hollywood debut as a laugher at sneak previews. He also was hired to play a snickering newspaper man in 'Greenwich Village Story,' to leap with joy in 'Miracle In the Rain,' and to titter behind Gregory Peck at a Westport train station in 'The Man In the Gray Flannel Suit.'
  5. ↑ "'View from Loft' Wraps Filming in Yugoslavia". The Hollywood Reporter. January 10, 1975. p. 4. ProQuest 2931982079. Zagreb, Yugoslavia – 'View from the Loft,' a U.S.-German film of which Maurice A. Krowitz is executive producer, has completed production. Bernard Fein directed mystery drama which stars Jennifer Linden, Michael Medwin and Faith Brook.
  6. 1 2 "Man About Town". Anderson Daily Bulletin. July 18, 1958. p. 4. Retrieved December 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Born and reared in New York, Mr. Fein got his start in the entertainment field at the age of 19 when he obtained a role in a radio program, 'The FBI in Action,' which ran for four years.
  7. ↑ "New York, New York City, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:WCH5-PMMM : Sat Apr 12 17:40:13 UTC 2025), Entry for Bernard Fein and Fur Toy Novelty Company, 14 Nov 1944.
  8. 1 2 3 Johnson, Sue Scott (July 8, 1972). "Man About Town". Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 1. Retrieved December 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Born and reared in New York, Mr. Fein got his start in the entertainment field at the age of 19 when he obtained a role in a radio program, 'The FBI in Action,' which ran for four years.
  9. 1 2 "Kay Kurtz Weds – Mrs. Bernard Fein". Anderson Daily Bulletin. May 31, 1957. p. 9. Retrieved December 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Miss Kay Kurtz, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Beecher Kurtz, 504 W. 10th St., became the bride of Bernard Fein, son of Irving Fein, of Albany, NY., on Thursday, May 16, in the rectory of St. Thomas Church in New York City
  10. ↑ Sylvester, Robert (August 19, 1951). "Dream Street Beat". Anderson Daily Bulletin. p. 25. Retrieved December 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. Bernie Fein, merchandising expert with the Peerless Paper Products in Albany, N. Y., is an enthusiastic amateur actor with an interest in the Delmar Musical Comedy Playhouse near Albany.
  11. ↑ Johnson. "Op. cit.,". p. 2. Retrieved December 24, 2025 – via Newspapers.com. For a period the aspiring young husband 'worked like mad as an actor.' He accepted more 'bad guy' parts in such TV shows as 'The Untouchables' 'RoarIng Twenties,' 'The Alaskan,' ' The Law and Mr. Jones, 'Sam Benedict,' 'Man from U.N.C.L.E.,' and 'Sea Hunt.'
  12. ↑ Crow, David (November 24, 2022). "Den of Geek! The True Story Behind That Amazing The Fabelmans Cameo". The Hollywood Reporter. p. 18. ProQuest 2739564788. During the final minutes of The Fabelmans, college-age Sam Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) comes face-to-face with one of his idols, the irrepressible and cantankerous John Ford. And for film lovers who squint, you might recognize behind the eyepatch and gnashed cigar the faint visage of another all-time great film director, David Lynch! That's right, the director of The Elephant Man and Mulholland Drive is playing the guy who made The Searchers in a Steven Spielberg movie. Now there's an unlikely triumvirate! The scene occurs after Sammy's dropped out of college to pursue a career in the film industry. He gets his start by being hired as the 'assistant to an assistant to an assistant' of Hogan's Heroes co-creator Bernard Fein (who himself constitutes a kind of cameo for Felicity star Greg Grunberg). Old Bernie is the one who calls Ford 'the greatest director' of all-time and takes Sam across the hall.
  13. ↑ "Obituaries". The Hollywood Reporter. September 16, 1980. p. 18. ProQuest 2598213155. Bernie Fein, 53, actor-writer, died Sept. 10 in Los Angeles after an extended illness. [...] His wife Kay and sons Geoffrey and Adam survive.