Kenneth Washington, a veteran television actor and the last surviving main cast member of the CBS series Hogan’s Heroes, passed away on July 18 at the age of 88, according to a report by Variety.
After landing his first screen test, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. His work includes roles in television films such as J. Edgar Hoover, Money on the Side, and Our Family Business.
He also appeared in a variety of popular TV shows, including Star Trek, I Dream of Jeannie, My Three Sons, The Name of the Game, Petticoat Junction, Marcus Welby, M.D., Adam-12, and Dragnet 1967, the report noted.
Washington joined the series in its final season, playing Sergeant Richard Baker, a communications expert who replaced the character Sergeant Kinchloe (previously played by Ivan Dixon). He was the only Black actor in the main cast at that time and the last cast member to join before the show ended in 1971.
Washington married Alice Marshall in 2001. She is a former editor-in-chief at Wave Newspapers in South Los Angeles and previously served as film reviews editor at Variety.
He is survived by his wife, Alice; his brother, Johnnie; his sister, Aaliyah Akbar; his three children: Kim Lee, Kenneth Jr., and Quianna Stokes-Washington — along with three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
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