*Actor, director and producer Ivan Dixon, best known for his role as Kinchloe on the 1960s television series "Hogan's Heroes," died Sunday at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC after a hemorrhage and of complications from kidney failure. He was 76.      

       Dixon's acting career was launched on Broadway in such plays as "The Cave Dwellers" and "A Raisin in the Sun." On film, he appeared in "Something of Value," "A Raisin in the Sun," "A Patch of Blue," "Nothing But a Man" and the cult favorite "Car Wash."      

       His most famous role was U.S. Staff Sgt. James Kinchloe on TV's "Hogan's Heroes," a satire set in a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II. Kinchloe, in charge of electronic communications, could mimic German officers on the radio or phone.

Ivan Dixon on 'Hogan's Hereos'

       Actor Sidney Poitier said he befriended Dixon when the actor worked as his stunt double in the 1958 movie "The Defiant Ones."      

       "As an actor, you had to be careful," Poitier said in a statement. "He was quite likely to walk off with the scene."

       Dixon earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the CBS Playhouse special "The Final War of Olly Winter." The actor also directed hundreds of episodic shows, including "The Waltons," "The Rockford Files," "Magnum, P.I." and "In the Heat of the Night."

       Born April 6, 1931, in New York City, Dixon graduated in 1954 from North Carolina Central University in Durham. His honors include four NAACP Image Awards, the National Black Theatre Award and the Paul Robeson Pioneer Award from the Black American Cinema Society.       

       In addition to his daughter Doris Nomathande Dixon, survivors include his wife of 53 years, Berlie Dixon of Charlotte, and a son, Alan Kimara Dixon of Oakland, Calif. Two sons, Ivan Nathaniel Dixon IV and N'Gai Christopher Dixon, died previously. At Dixon's request, the family said, no memorial or funeral is planned.