Eric Braeden

He is also known for roles such as Hans Dietrich in the 1960s TV series The Rat Patrol, Dr. Charles Forbin in the 1970 film Colossus: The Forbin Project, Dr. Otto Hasslein in the 1971 film Escape from the Planet of the Apes, and John Jacob Astor IV in the 1997 film Titanic.

Eric Braeden studied at University of Montana and Santa Monica College. The recorded working language is German and English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are Western. Distinctions recorded are Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and star on Hollywood Walk of Fame.

• Name — Eric Braeden • Birth Name — Hans-Jörg Gudegast • Born — 3 April 1941 • Birthplace — Bredenbek, Free State of Prussia, Germany (present-day Schleswig-Holstein, Germany) • Occupation — Actor • Years Active — 1960–present • Education — University of Montana • Children — Christian Gudegast • Website — ericbraeden.com

Braeden was born Hans-Jörg Gudegast on April 3, 1941 in Bredenbek, Germany (near Kiel), a small village in northern Germany where his father was once mayor. When Braeden first came to America, he arrived in New York City. Then he worked in the medical laboratory of his cousin, who was a doctor, in Galveston, Texas. He was granted a track and field scholarship at the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana.

Braeden accumulated many TV and film credits during his first two decades in America, and guest-starred in 120 roles. His earliest credits were all under his birth name, Hans Gudegast. During the 1960s, he appeared in several episodes of TV's longest-running World War II drama (1962–1967) Combat!, always playing a German soldier. In 1965, he appeared in a film called Morituri starring Marlon Brando and Yul Brynner, and guest-starred in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. as T.H.R.U.S.H. agent Mr. Oakes in "The Discotheque Affair", season two, episode five. • Illustration — Braeden in The Rat Patrol, 1966 In 1966, he guest-starred as Luftwaffe Major Bentz in episode 28, "Day of Reckoning", of season two of the TV series Twelve O'Clock High (a series which was very loosely based on the classic 1949 war film with the same name) and also appeared in an episode of the 1966 espionage drama series Blue Light. His main character for the next two years was his regular starring role playing German Hauptmann (Captain) Hans Dietrich on the TV series The Rat Patrol (1966–1968), He starred in the 1969 Western 100 Rifles with Raquel Welch, Burt Reynolds, and Jim Brown (noted for the first big-screen interracial love scene between Welch and Brown), once again playing a villainous German military officer opposite Fernando Lamas. This was his last credit under his birth name. His starring role in the movie Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970), was when he first took the stage name of Eric Braeden. Lew Wasserman of Universal Pictures told him that no one would be allowed to star in an American film with a German name. After much thought, he took the name Braeden from his hometown of Bredenbek. His other movie appearances in the 1970s included the role of Dr. Otto Hasslein in Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), and that of the arrogant but formidable race-car driver, Bruno von Stickle, in Walt Disney's 1977 Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. Throughout the 1970s, he also guest-starred in a variety of television shows, including The Six Million Dollar Man, Wonder Woman, and The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and also appeared in several episodes of the long-running CBS Western series Gunsmoke. • Illustration — Braeden in July 2007 In addition to many episodic roles, Braeden also appeared as Colonel John Jacob Astor IV in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic. Braeden told Cindy Elavsky that filming the scene in Titanic, in which his character drowned, "was one of the scariest moments in this business for me."

In 1980, he was offered the role of self-made business magnate Victor Newman on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless. Initially, the role was for a 26-week run. His character imprisoned his wife's lover, and became so popular the character became a love-to-hate villain, and his contract was extended. Braeden won a Daytime Emmy Award for his work in 1998. In October 2009, Braeden and The Young and the Restless came to an impasse regarding contract negotiations, and press reports indicated he might leave the show. CBS later announced, though, that Braeden had signed a new three-year deal and would remain with the show, agreeing to a reduction in salary, which was the original issue. In February 2020, Braeden celebrated his 40th anniversary with the show.

In 1958, Braeden, under his birth name Hans-Jörg Gudegast, won the Germany National Team Championship in track and field (discus, shot put, and javelin) with the Rendsburger TSV. Braeden later went on to win the 1973 National Challenge Cup as a fullback with the Jewish American soccer club Maccabee Los Angeles, scoring the winning goal in the semifinal game and a penalty kick in the championship game against Chicago Croatian. In the 1970s/80s, he could often be seen boxing at the Hoover Street and Broadway gyms in Los Angeles. He was a tennis player and has participated in many celebrity events. He married his college sweetheart Dale Russell in 1966. Their son, Christian Gudegast, is a director who created the film Den of Thieves, starring Gerard Butler. In January 2025 Braeden lost his Pacific Palisades home, where he lived for over 45 years, in the Palisades Fire.

In April 2023, Braeden announced he was diagnosed with "high-grade" bladder cancer. He discovered his cancer diagnosis while recovering from knee-replacement surgery and while undergoing prostate-related treatment. In August 2023, Braeden revealed he was now cancer-free.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1961 — Operation Eichmann — Klaus • 1962–1964 — Combat! — Corporal Hans Gruber / Sergeant Ecktmann — 6 episodes • 1965 — Morituri — Radio Officer — Uncredited • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — Mr. Oakes — Episode: "The Discotheque Affair" • 12 O'Clock High — Major Gerhard Bentz / Captain Zoller — 2 episodes • 1966–1967 — Mission: Impossible — Andrei Fetyakov / Markus Von Frank — 2 episodes • 1966–1968 — The Rat Patrol — Captain Hans Dietrich — 58 episodes • 1966 — The Virginian — Augustin — Episodes: "No Drums, No Trumpets" • 1968 — Dayton's Devils — Max Eikhart • 1969 — 100 Rifles — Lieutenant Franz Von Klemme • 1969–1973 — Hawaii Five-O — Djebara / Klaus Marburg / Dr. Paul Farrar — 3 episodes • 1970 — The Mask of Sheba — Dr. Morgan — TV movie • Colossus: The Forbin Project — Dr. Charles A. Forbin — Lead character • The Young Rebels — Major Zanker — Episode: "The Hostages" • 1971 — Escape from the Planet of the Apes — Dr. Otto Hasslein • Mannix — Viktor Gruniev — Episode: "Woman in the Shadows" • Bearcats! — Colonel Reinert — Episode: "Dos Gringos" • 1971–1974 — Gunsmoke — Jack Sinclair / Talley / Carl Jaekel — 5 episode • 1972 — The Judge and Jake Wyler — Anton Granicek — TV movie • 1973 — McCloud — Ravik — Episode: "The Million Dollar Round Up" • Lady Ice — Peter Brinker • The Six Million Dollar Man — Findletter — TV movie • Death Race — Stoeffer — TV movie • The Adulteress — Hank Baron • 1973–1975 — Barnaby Jones — Hans / Jennings / Raven / Steven Kingston — 2 episodes • 1974 — Banacek — Paul Bolitho — Episode: "The Vanishing Chalice" • The Ultimate Thrill — Roland Parlay • Kolchak: The Night Stalker — Bernhardt Stieglitz — Episode: "The Werewolf" • The Rookies — Anton Jurzyck — Season 3, Episode 12 "The Assassin" • 1975 — Death Scream — Kosinsky — TV movie • 1976 — Cannon — Carl Bruckner — Episode: "The Quasar Kill" • 1975–1978 — Wonder Woman — Donalsen / Captain Drangel — 2 episodes • 1977 — The Mary Tyler Moore Show — Karl Heller — Episode: "The Critic" • Kojak — Kenneth Krug — Episode: "When You Hear the Beep, Drop Dead" • Code Name: Diamond Head — Ernest Graeber — TV movie • Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo — Bruno Von Stickle • 1978 — The Eddie Capra Mysteries — Leo — Episode: "Murder! Murder!" • Piranha — Dr. Robert Hoak (swimming double) — Uncredited • 1979 — CHiPs — Senator Bob Larwin — Episode: "MAIT Team" • 1980 — The Aliens Are Coming — Leonard Nero — TV movie • 1980–present — The Young and the Restless — Victor Newman • 1981 — Charlie's Angels — John Reardon — Episode: "Attack Angels" • 1986 — Airwolf — Nick Kincaid — Episode: "Birds of Paradise" • 1986 — Murder, She Wrote — Colonel Gerhardt Brunner — Episode: "One White Rose for Death" • 1990 — The Ambulance — The Doctor • Lucky Chances — Dimitri Stanislopolous — 3 episodes • 1993 — Perry Mason: Wicked Wives — David Morrison • 1994 — The Nanny — Frank Bradley Sr. — Episode: "Sunday in the Park with Fran" • 1995 — Diagnosis: Murder — Himself — Episode: "Death in the Daytime" • 1997 — Titanic — John Jacob Astor IV • 1998 — Meet the Deedles — Elton Deedle • 1999 — The Bold and the Beautiful — Victor Newman — 4 episodes (January 25–28, 1999) • 2008 — The Man Who Came Back — Reese Paxton • 2008 — How I Met Your Mother — Robin Scherbatsky Sr. — Episode: "Happily Ever After" • 2018 — Den of Thieves — "Ziggy" Zerhusen • 2026 — Beyond the Gates — Victor Newman — 4 episodes (June 2026)

Eric Braeden was recorded at birth as Hans Jörg Gudegast. The authorities additionally record the headings Hans Gudegast and Hans-Jörg Gudegast. His recorded languages were German and English.