Kenneth Washington, best remembered for his groundbreaking role on Hogan’s Heroes, has passed away at the age of 88. He was the final surviving main cast member of the iconic WWII-era sitcom.
His death was confirmed on July 18, as first reported by Variety. No cause of death was disclosed.
Washington’s cousin, Derek Olivia, paid tribute to him in a touching Facebook post. “Yesterday we had to say goodbye to my big cousin Kenneth Washington,” he wrote. “Kenneth was surrounded by friends and family who loved him. Rest in eternal peace.”
Washington joined Hogan’s Heroes in its sixth and final season in 1970, portraying Sergeant Richard Baker. His casting made history, marking one of the earliest regular roles for a Black actor on a network comedy series. The show, which followed Allied POWs in a Nazi camp during WWII, ended the following year.
Before and after his time on Hogan’s Heroes, Washington built a strong résumé with appearances on classic shows like Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie, My Three Sons, Marcus Welby, M.D., and The Rockford Files. He was also the first and only Black guest star on Petticoat Junction in 1963 — a notable milestone in TV history.
On the big screen, he had a role in the 1973 sci-fi favorite Westworld and appeared in TV movies like J. Edgar Hoover, Money on the Side, and Our Family Business. His final screen credit came in 1989 with a guest role on A Different World, sharing the screen with Jasmine Guy and Lisa Bonet.
After stepping away from acting, Washington pursued higher education and earned his degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He later became a professor, teaching courses on speech, oral interpretation, and the portrayal of Black actors in film — both at Loyola Marymount and Southwest College.
Washington was married twice. His first marriage to Alyce Loretta Hawkins lasted from 1959 to 1969. In 2001, he married journalist Alice Marshall, known for her editorial work at Wave Newspapers and Variety.
He is survived by his wife, his brother Johnnie, sister Aaliyah Akbar, his children Kim Lee, Kenneth Jr., and Quianna Stokes-Washington, along with three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
With Washington’s passing, an era of classic TV officially closes. The last remaining main cast member before him, Robert Clary, died in 2022 at the age of 96.
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Washington was preceded for 5 seasons on Hogan’s Heroes by regular black actor Ivan Dixon… and both often matched up to a string of black female actresses…