Richard Schaal
Richard Schaal | |
|---|---|
 Schaal in 1975 | |
| Born | May 5, 1928 Chicago, Illinois, US |
| Died | November 4, 2014 (aged 86) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouses |
Tasha Brittain
(m. 1980; div. 1989) |
| Children | Wendy Schaal |
Richard Schaal (/ˈʃɑːl/; May 5, 1928 – November 4, 2014) was an American film and television actor born in Chicago, Illinois.
Career
[edit]In 1962, Schaal joined Chicago's famed Second City, becoming skilled in sketch and improvisational comedy.[1]
Schaal and Valerie Harper wrote "Love and the Visitor" (1970) for Love, American Style, a TV series.[2][3][4]
He was featured in a number of episodes of the 1970s sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show (where he played no fewer than four different characters: Howard Arnell, his brother Paul, Chuckles the Clown and Dino), The Bob Newhart Show (as three characters: Don Fezler, Don Livingston and Chuck Brock), Rhoda (as Charlie Burke) and Phyllis (23 episodes as Leo Heatherton). His earliest appearance with Mary Tyler Moore was in the 1966 Dick Van Dyke Show episode "Dear Sally Rogers" (billed as Dick Schaal).[5] In both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, the actor played alongside his then-wife, actress Valerie Harper. In 1983, he had a recurring role in Just Our Luck.
Personal life
[edit]Schaal was born on May 5, 1928, in Chicago, the son of Victor Cornelius Schaal, a machinist, and Margaret Schaal (née Margaret Semple Waddell), a telephone operator.
Schaal was married three times, first to Lois Treacy, second to actress Valerie Harper, and third to Tasha Brittain.[6] With Treacy, he had one child, American actress Wendy Schaal.
Schaal died November 4, 2014, in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California at age 86. No cause of death was provided. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.[7][1]
Partial filmography
[edit]Films
[edit]| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming | Oscar Maxwell |
| 1969 | The Virgin President | Hugh Mugababy |
| 1969 | The Cube | The Man in the Cube |
| 1972 | Slaughterhouse-Five | Howard W. Campbell Jr. |
| 1973 | Steelyard Blues | Zoo Official Mel |
| 1974 | A Knife for the Ladies | Ainslie |
| 1979 | Americathon | Jerry |
| 1980 | The Hollywood Knights | Nevans |
| 1982 | O'Hara's Wife | Jerry Brad |
| 1985 | Once Bitten | Mr. Kendall |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | The Dick Van Dyke Show | Stevie Parsons | Episode: "Dear Sally Rogers" (as Dick Schall) |
| 1967 | That Girl | Lost & Found Man | Episode: "Gone with the Breeze" (as Dick Schall) |
| 1969 | I Dream of Jeannie | Marvin Oglethorpe | Episode: "Jeannie and the Secret Weapon" (as Dick Schaal) |
| 1970 | The Mary Tyler Moore Show | various, including Chuckles the Clown | 4 episodes |
| 1973 | The Partridge Family | Michaelangelo Rezo | Episode: "Me and My Shadow" |
| 1974 | The Rockford Files | Leonard Blair | Ep: "Caledonia, It's Worth a Fortune!" |
| 1975–1976 | Phyllis | Leo Heatherton | Main cast (season 1) |
| 1976 | Rhoda | Charlie Burke | Ep: "Man of the House" |
| 1983 | Just Our Luck | Chuck | Main cast |
| 1988–1989 | Almost Grown | Dick Long | Main cast |
References
[edit]- ^ a b Staff (November 6, 2014) "Richard Schaal dies at 86; character actor was a Second City pioneer", Los Angeles Times accessed November 7, 2014.
- ^ "Valerie Harper: You Will Be Missed". thewritelife61. January 6, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- ^ Wagner, Laura (August 12, 2011). Anne Francis: The Life and Career. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8600-7.
- ^ "Guest TV Appearances - The William Windom Tribute Site". April 4, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
- ^ The Dick Van Dyke Show, "Dear Sally Rogers" (1966)
- ^ Northern Exposure: recurring characters, comcast.net; accessed November 7, 2014.
- ^ Vitello, Paul (November 6, 2014). "Richard Schaal, Actor on TV and in Clubs, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
External links
[edit]- Richard Schaal at IMDb
- Richard Schaal at the Internet Broadway Database
- Richard Schaal at Find a Grave
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