Kenneth Washington, a veteran of film, stage, and television, passed away on July 18 at the age of 88. He was the last living cast member of the iconic CBS sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, which aired during the 1960s and was set in a World War II POW camp. Washington joined the show in its sixth and final season in 1970, playing Sergeant Richard Baker, stepping into the role left vacant by Ivan Dixon, who portrayed Staff Sergeant James Kinchloe in previous seasons.
Though Kenneth joined the show as a lead, the cancellation after just one season didn’t give his character time to grow. Still, his presence in Hogan’s Heroes helped cement his legacy as a trailblazer for Black actors in American television. The series was honored at the first-ever NAACP Image Awards in 1967 for its inclusion of Black performers in prominent roles.
Throughout his career, Washington made guest appearances on numerous popular shows, including My Three Sons, Dragnet, Petticoat Junction, The FBI, The Rockford Files, Police Story, and even the third season of the original Star Trek in 1969.
His most notable film appearance was as a technician in Westworld (1973), written by Michael Crichton. Aside from Hogan’s Heroes, his longest recurring TV role was Officer Miller on Adam-12, appearing in eight episodes between 1968 and 1969.
Born in Ethel, Mississippi, he was raised in California. As a young man, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. Later in life, he earned a degree from Loyola Marymount University and returned there to teach a course on Black actors in cinema. He also taught speech and oral interpretation at Southwest College in Los Angeles.
Washington is survived by three children from his first marriage to Alyce Hawkins. In 2001, he married his second wife, Alice Marshall — a respected journalist and former editor-in-chief of Wave Newspapers and film reviews editor at Variety.