Newkirk Hogan's Heroes

[patches]

Cue the Theme song if you please LOL

 

Good shot of his Blue USAF Garrison Cap masquerading and a RAF Sidecap LOL, trying to find a full upper shot of him to see if he has a Blue USAF IKE as well LOL.

[Allan H.]

Patches,

 

His entire uniforms was USAF, cap, Ike, trousers. The costume shop simply sewed a couple of buttons to the front. You will also note that for being an RAF soldier in a POW camp, that he doesn't have any OR "shite 'awks" sewn to the shoulder, not does he have an aviator's brevet on the chest. 

 

Allan

[patches]

12 hours ago, Allan H. said:

Patches,

 

His entire uniforms was USAF, cap, Ike, trousers. The costume shop simply sewed a couple of buttons to the front. You will also note that for being an RAF soldier in a POW camp, that he doesn't have any OR "shite 'awks" sewn to the shoulder, not does he have an aviator's brevet on the chest. 

 

Allan

Thanks, USAF LOL Hey How are those Lance Corporal chevrons look LOL

[Allan H.]

Here are a couple more photos of Corporal Newkirk- It should be noted that in later episodes. the costume department did indeed add the formation signs to the tunic.

 

I read that the uniform jacket was a bit snug, so Richard Dawson had to wear it unbuttoned. 

 

Allan

[Dune Panther]

Although it is hard to tell from the image I am including below (but much more readily seen when viewed on a hi def TV screen), Newkirk is wearing a USAF overcoat, in the USAF cut, shade and with the silver USAF insignia buttons still on it. I do not believe that was ever corrected over the duration of the series. And I doubt that anyone working on the show (1965-71) would have believed there would still be any interest in it all these decades later.

 

The costume section of the series sourced the uniforms from Western Costume Company (a Hollywood institution that remains in business), and in order to keep costs down a lot of then-surplus US uniforms were used when considered practicable.

 

And the camouflage worn by the Germans in certain episodes were actually US Army & USMC WWII surplus, original pieces not worth all that much back then but certainly commanding a high price nowadays.     

 

 

 

   

[Dune Panther]

I caught the first episode/pilot of Hogan's Heroes (The Informer, Season 1, Episode 1) on TV once again this evening. This was the only episode of the series to appear in B&W. After the pilot did well enough and resulted in the series being authorized for its first full season (and subsequent others), the pilot became episode 1 and all following episodes were shot and broadcast in color. B&W was chosen for the pilot because it was cheaper than color was to produce and there was no guarantee that the concept of a WWII POW camp comedy would ever be a success. It was very controversial at that time, back in 1965.

 

Something I never paid close attention to in this very first episode was Newkirk's (Richard Dawson's) uniform. And instead of the surplus USAF uniform outfitted with some RAF insignia seen in the color episodes, the one being worn by Newkirk in the B&W first episode looks like it may be a genuine RAF battledress from WWII. The side cap Newkirk is wearing also looks like genuine RAF and is cut differently from the USAF substituted version mentioned earlier in this thread. Perhaps those among us with more knowledge of RAF uniforms than I have will be able to tell? I am including an image below (apologies for it not coming out better).

 

A further difference is the greatcoat Newkirk is seen wearing in some scenes in the pilot, and once again it looks more like genuine RAF than the later USAF version he wore in the color episodes. So I stand corrected on that.

 

An educated guess as to why Newkirk was outfitted in perhaps a genuine RAF uniform is that the costumes changed between the pilot and the series being picked-up for several reasons. The RAF uniform was likely an off-the-rack rental (from Western Costume Company) not exclusively Richard Dawson's, but when the series was authorized a new budget was allocated and a dedicated set of costumes provided to Dawson and others. Another factor is that Dawson and the rest of those playing RAF parts on the show all needed uniforms that matched one another, something far easier to accomplish by outfitting the RAF parts in surplus USAF uniforms that were far cheaper and very abundant then (in Hollywood), rather than genuine RAF ones that were likely more scarce and would have cost the production company more to use over time, or to have reproduced. They likely figured that nobody would know the difference between the two.

 

So the plot thickens... 

[patches]

Right you are, It a British one, though the buttons are Blackend, kinda like the  Army Rifles type and one with the greatcoat, does look RAF right, with no shoulder straps.

[Dune Panther]

Many thanks, Patches! 👍