Kinchloe/Baker

So, what would account for Kinchloe's replacement? Kinch could have been killed on a mission, but that's a bit of a bummer, and additionally it would subject the entire operation to scrutiny, so I'm guessing that's not what happened.

I like to think he was transfered to another Stalag where he started a new sabotage operation; but due to the state of race relations in the US in 1970, there was no way they were going to air a show about it. It was one thing to depict a black man in a position where he showed his competence, bravery, loyalty, and intelligence without fail (see also Barney on "Mission: Impossible"), but in 1970 it would have been quite another thing to put him in charge. It's a shame, I totally would have watched "Kinchloe's Commandos".

Dixon was a great actor. Too bad he was underutilized by this show, but he was probably grateful for the work.

Yes, most HH fans seem to prefer Ivan Dixon/Kinchloe over Kenneth Washington/Baker. And no wonder, ID had been with the show longer (since the beginning) and was generally the more high-profile actor of the two. Plus, even with many noting the lack of "Kinchloe-centered" plots, he did get the lead in a few episodes...I don't think Baker ever did (that he was only on the one season partially explains this).

That being said, it's to KW's credit that he did all he could to make Richard Baker a separate character from Kinch. This viewer got the impression that Baker was never quite as secure as Kinchloe in the group (perhaps just as actor Washington wasn't as secure as actor Dixon, not being as tenured either on HH or in show business) and certainly not Hogan's "chief of staff/operations." Can you imagine Washington/Baker doing a "boxing episode" as Dixon/Kinch did with that commanding presence in the ring? So Washington made Baker almost work "twice as hard" at the radio in order to earn the character's (and actor's) place within HH.

I did like Kenneth Washington's acting in the couple of other television shows I've seen him in. STAR TREK, "That Which Survives," one of my favorite episodes, his character like many others was killed off quick yet he still managed to give some substance as he tried to save himself (and the ship). PETTICOAT JUNCTION, even more so, as "By The Book" Blake he was able to be "in the right" of the show's plot over the show's "hero" Mike Minor. As the story showed, Blake's by-the-book persona was the result of legitimate concerns.

My own responses to often debated questions, "Ivan James Kinchloe" would be the full version after Ivan Dixon and real life military man Iven Kincheloe. "James" could have been a middle name with "Samuel" a sort of confirmation name. As for what happened to him, I agree with the speculation that he was transferred to another stalag. This would have preserved Klink's "perfect record" ("no escapes") and avoided killing off the character. Kinch may well have then escaped from the other stalag or just been repatriated in a late prisoner exchange (wasn't he belatedly declared 4-F in an episode?).