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Richard Marner, born Alexander (Sacha) Molchanoff (27 March 1921 - 18 March 2004) was a Russian-born British actor. He was probably best known for his role as Colonel Kurt Von Strohm in the British sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!. Born in Petrograd, Soviet Russia, Molchanoff was the eldest son of Colonel Paul Molchanoff, of the Semionovsky regiment, one of two that were set up for children of children who had played with Peter the Great of Russia. In 1924, his entire family left Russia and went to Finland and then Germany, before ending up in London, where Alexander's grandmother, Olga Novikov (known... MORE

Richard Marner, born Alexander (Sacha) Molchanoff (27 March 1921 - 18 March 2004) was a Russian-born British actor. He was probably best known for his role as Colonel Kurt Von Strohm in the British sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!. Born in Petrograd, Soviet Russia, Molchanoff was the eldest son of Colonel Paul Molchanoff, of the Semionovsky regiment, one of two that were set up for children of children who had played with Peter the Great of Russia. In 1924, his entire family left Russia and went to Finland and then Germany, before ending up in London, where Alexander's grandmother, Olga Novikov (known in the family as "Babushka London") lived in Harley Street. After being educated at Monmouth School in Wales, Molchanoff became an assistant to the Russian tenor Vladimir Rosing, where he performed at Covent Garden. During World War II he joined the RAF, and was posted to South Africa with the Air Training Corps. After being invalided out, he changed his name to Richard Marner, and began his long successful career as a stage and film actor. One of Marner's early stage roles - as Dracula, with Howard Dean - is still regarded by some as the definitive interpretation of the role. In 1967, well before LESS