<Tr> <Th> Years active </Th> <Td> 1954--2005 </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Spouse (s) </Th> <Td> Gisela Johnson (m . 1968) </Td> </Tr> <P> Arthur Stanton Eric "Arte" Johnson (born January 20, 1929) is an American comic actor who was a regular on television's Rowan & Martin's Laugh - In . His best - remembered character was that of a German soldier with the catchphrase "Verrrry interesting", sometimes followed by, "but stupid" or "but not very funny ." </P> <P> Johnson was born January 20, 1929, in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and is the son of Abraham Lincoln and Edythe Mackenzie (Golden) Johnson . His father was an attorney . Johnson attended the University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign, where he worked at the campus radio station and the UI Theater Guild with his brother Coslough "Cos" Johnson, and graduated in 1949 . </P>

Who played the german soldier on laugh in