Cynthia Lynn

My mother was the most loving person you would ever meet. She would do anything she could for anybody and loved her family with all her heart. She will be deeply missed. Heaven is lucky to have her.

FROM PEOPLE MAGAZINE
Cynthia Lynn, one of the last surviving cast members of the 1965-71 sitcom Hogan’s Heroes, died Monday in Los Angeles after suffering from hepatitis, reports Variety. She was 76.

Born Zinta Valda Zimilis, in Riga, Latvia – she came to the U.S. with her family after World War II – the attractive blonde played Colonel Klink’s secretary Fraulein Helga, with the braided hair, during the first season before making appearances later in the series’ run.

Other shows on which she appeared included Surfside 6, Dr. Kildare, Mission: Impossible, The Odd Couple and The Six Million Dollar Man. Her last role was reportedly in 1975 on an episode of Harry O.

On the big screen she costarred with Marlon Brando in 1965’s Bedtime Story. According to the Hollywood Reporter, after Brando’s death in 2004, Lynn’s daughter, Lisa Brando, publicly claimed that Brando was her father.

On her Facebook page, Lisa Brando posted the following message on Wednesday morning: “We just set up a way for friends and fans to be able to donate to help raise funds for my mothers memorial service. Thank you all so very, very much for all your love and support during the most difficult time in my life. I don’t know how I will get thru this but I can truly feel the outpouring of my friends love for me and the love of my mothers fans. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Lisa XOXO”

FROM WIKIPEDIA
Early Life
Lynn was born in Latvia and fled with mother in 1944 and eventually went to the United States in 1950.
Career
Lynn is most notable for her portrayal of Fraulein Helga in Hogan’s Heroes during the first season (1965-66). She returned to the series in the 1968 episode, “Will the Blue Baron Strike Again”, for a background part, and again in the 1971 episode, “Easy Come, Easy Go”, as Eva, another background part. She last acted in 1975 in an episode of Harry O.

She wrote an autobiography titled Escape to Freedom with co-author Edward Ansara.
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 Brando, whose father was Marlon Brando. She also has a son, Anthony Tutini, from another father, Lee Tutini Sands.