Cynthia Lynn (born Zinta Valda Ziemelis; April 2, 1937 – March 10, 2014) was a Latvian-American actress.

Early life

Lynn was born in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, as Zinta Valda Ziemelis. At age eight, she and her mother, Alisa, fled the country prior to the Soviet re-occupation of Latvia in 1944 during World War II, eventually arriving in the United States in 1950.

Career

Lynn portrayed "Fräulein Helga",

Colonel Klink The following is a list of characters from '' Hogan's Heroes'', an American sitcom television series which starred Bob Crane, Werner Klemperer and John Banner, and featured Robert Clary, Richard Dawson, Ivan Dixon, and Larry Hovis. It ran for s ...

's original secretary in ''

Hogan's Heroes ''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom set in a Nazi German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, the longest broadcast ...

'' during the first season (1965–1966). The role was played by Sigrid Valdis as "Hilda" in the next five seasons. Lynn returned to the series in the 1968 and 1971 episodes "Will the Blue Baron Strike Again" and "Easy Come, Easy Go", respectively. Her last acting role was in 1975 in an episode of '' Harry O''. She also appeared in such television series as '' Gidget Grows Up'', '' Mission: Impossible'', '' The Odd Couple'', '' Love American Style'', and '' The Six Million Dollar Man''. Lynn wrote an autobiography, ''Escape to Freedom'', in 2000, with the assistance of Edward Ansara.

Personal life

Lynn was romantically involved with actor

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

. After Brando's death in 2004, Lynn's daughter, Lisa, claimed that her mother and Brando's short-lived affair resulted in her birth in 1964. Lynn had also been in a romantic relationship with ''Hogan's Heroes'' costar Bob Crane.

Death

Lynn died on March 10, 2014, at age 76, from multiple organ failure after being stricken with hepatitis. She is survived by her daughter, Lisa, and son, Tony.

Filmography

References

External links

*
AllMovie.com profile
accessed April 16, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, Cynthia 1937 births 2014 deaths American memoirists American television actresses Latvian emigrants to the United States Latvian World War II refugees Deaths from hepatitis Infectious disease deaths in California American women memoirists Deaths from multiple organ failure 21st-century American women