William Schallert

"Schallert" redirects here. For the Austrian ski jumper, see Richard Schallert.

William Schallert
Schallert in The Twilight Zone, 1960
Born	William Joseph Schallert (1922-07-06)July 6, 1922 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	May 8, 2016(2016-05-08) (aged 93) Pacific Palisades, California, U.S.
Other names	Bill Schallert
Alma mater	University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1947–2014
Known for	Richard Diamond, Private Detective Death Valley Days The Patty Duke Show The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Spouse	Leah Waggner ​ ​ (m. 1949; died 2015)​
Children	4
20th President of the Screen Actors Guild
In office 1979–1981
Preceded by	Kathleen Nolan
Succeeded by	Ed Asner

William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and films over a career spanning more than 60 years. He is known for his roles on Richard Diamond, Private Detective (1957–1959), Death Valley Days (1955–1962), and The Patty Duke Show (1963–1966).

Early life and career

William Schallert was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Edwin Francis Schallert, a longtime drama critic for the Los Angeles Times, and Elza Emily Schallert (née Baumgarten), a magazine writer and radio host. He began acting while a student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) but left to become an Army Air Corps fighter pilot in World War II. He returned to UCLA after the war and graduated in 1946. In 1946, he helped found the Circle Theatre with Sydney Chaplin and several fellow students. In 1948, Schallert was directed by Sydney's father, Charlie Chaplin, in a staging of W. Somerset Maugham's Rain. In 1949, Schallert served as the reciter in a concert performance of Arnold Schoenberg's Ode to Napoleon in celebration of the composer's 75th birthday.

Schallert appeared in supporting roles on numerous television programs starting in the early 1950s, including four episodes (and three different characters) in Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre between 1958 and 1961. He was in three episodes of The Rifleman and five episodes of Gunsmoke : season 3, episode 16 "Twelfth Night" in 1957, season 4, episode 16 "Gypsum Hills Feud" in 1958, and as Col. Grant in season 7, episode 27 "Wagon Girls" in 1962, banker Ezra Thorpe in "The Money Store" season 14, episode 14 and Jake Spence in season 15 episode 20 "Albert". Schallert portrayed farmer Sam Becker in a 1961 episode of The Andy Griffith Show, whose newborn son is delivered by Andy. He was a Nazi doctor in a 1967 episode of The Rat Patrol. He appeared in The Partridge Family as a very humble folk-singing guitar player in "Stage Fright" in 1971. He appeared three times as Major Karl Richmond on NBC's Steve Canyon, starring Dean Fredericks in the title role.

Schallert also appeared in several films. He had roles in The Man from Planet X (1951) with Robert Clarke, The Tarnished Angels (1958) with Robert Stack, Blue Denim (1959) with Brandon deWilde, Pillow Talk (1959) with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, In The Heat Of The Night (1967) with Sidney Poitier, Speedway (1968) with Elvis Presley, The Jerk (1979) with Steve Martin, Teachers (1984) with Nick Nolte, and Innerspace (1987), in which he played Martin Short's doctor. Schallert was a founding member of the Circle Players at The Circle Theatre, started in 1946, now known as El Centro Theatre.

Among eight appearances on the syndicated western anthology series Death Valley Days, Schallert in 1955 portrayed American Civil War General Jesse Lee Reno in the episode "Reno." In the story line, two veterans of the Mexican War who served under Reno (played by Frank Griffin and Stanley Clements) honor him with the naming of the second-largest city in Nevada. He appeared as Sam Clemens in a 1962 episode, "The $275,000 Sack of Flour." He appeared in an episode of the TV series In The Heat of The Night, where he portrays a husband who kills his terminally ill wife, as Carl Tibbets, owner of a book store in Sparta. Thus he appeared in both the 1967 film as the mayor and the 1992 episode of the TV show.

Schallert starred in Philbert, an innovative 1964 television pilot for ABC, which combined live-action camera work and animation. It was created by Warner Bros. animator Friz Freleng and directed by Richard Donner. ABC backed out of the series shortly before full production was to begin, although the completed pilot was released in theaters by Warner Brothers as a short subject.

Schallert was probably best known as Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show. He also appeared as a wise teacher, Mr. Leander Pomfritt, on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and as "The Admiral" on Get Smart. On the two former shows he worked opposite actress Jean Byron. Schallert made three guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason between 1957 and 1962, including the role of Donald Graves in the series' fifth episode "The Case of the Sulky Girl," as Dr. Bradbury in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Misguided Missile," and as Len Dykes in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Melancholy Marksman." He played the role of Nilz Baris in the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"; and much later he portrayed Varani, a Bajoran musician, in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Sanctuary."

Schallert played the role of Carson Drew in the television series The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977–1979), featuring Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew. In addition to his onscreen performances, Schallert did voice-over work for numerous television and radio commercials over the years. Among these was a recurring role as "Milton the Toaster" in animated commercials for Kellogg's Pop-Tarts. He had the distinction of appearing in both the original film version of In the Heat of the Night (1967) and the later NBC TV version in 1992. He later voiced Velma's high school teacher Professor Pomfrit and recurring character Mr. B's neighbour Farmer P., who was popcorn creator Neville Poppenbacher in 2 episodes of What's New, Scooby-Doo?. In 2004, TV Guide recognized Schallert's portrayal of Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show as No. 39 on its list of "50 Greatest TV Dads."

Later career/SAG president

Schallert at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990

Schallert served as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) from 1979 to 1981, and afterwards remained active in SAG projects, including serving as a trustee of the SAG Pension and Health Plans since 1983, and of the Motion Picture and Television Fund since 1977. (His former co-star and television daughter, Patty Duke, also served as SAG president from 1985 to 1988.) During Schallert's tenure as SAG president, he founded the Committee for Performers with Disabilities, and in 1993 he was awarded the Ralph Morgan Award for service to the Guild.

Schallert continued to work steadily as an actor in later life, appearing in a 2007 episode of How I Met Your Mother, the HBO television film Recount (2008) as U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens, and the HBO series True Blood; his distinctive voice brought him work for commercial and animation voiceovers. Appearances in 2009 included a guest role on Desperate Housewives on March 15, in which he played the role of a small newspaper editor; he also appeared in an episode of According to Jim. More recently, he appeared in the January 21, 2010, pilot episode of The Deep End on ABC as a retiring CEO with Alzheimer's disease. He also made an appearance on Medium on the February 5, 2010, episode and a cameo on the June 26, 2011, season premiere of True Blood as the mayor of Bon Temps. He played Max Devore in the A&E adaptation of Bag of Bones.

In 2010, Schallert made a series of public service announcement videos with Patty Duke and other castmates from The Patty Duke Show for the Social Security Administration. His last television appearance came in 2014 on an episode of the sitcom 2 Broke Girls.

Personal life

In a 2014 interview, Schallert said that he was suffering from peripheral neuropathy, forcing him to wear leg braces while effectively "confining" him to a wheelchair. He said about his condition and the leg braces: "They help me stay balanced if I use a walker, but it’s just easier to get around in a wheelchair." While not ruling out working on stage in the future, he said: "Working in film or TV would be too difficult now. Besides, I did my share!"

Schallert was married to actress Leah Waggner (born Rosemarie Diann Waggner) from 1949 until her death in 2015. She appeared with him in various shows, including episodes of The Patty Duke Show and The Dick Van Dyke Show. They had four sons: William Joseph, Jr. (born 1949), Edwin G. (born 1952), Mark M. (born 1954), and Brendan C. Schallert (born 1961).

Schallert died on May 8, 2016, at his home in Pacific Palisades at the age of 93, six weeks after the death of his on-screen daughter Patty Duke, on March 29.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1955–1956	It's a Great Life	Travel Bureau Clerk, Telephone Man	2 episodes
1955–1962	Death Valley Days	Various characters	9 episodes
1957	Mr. Adams and Eve	Claude, Briggs	2 episodes
1957	Leave It to Beaver	Mr. Bloomgarden	Episode: "Beaver's Short Pants"
1957	The Gray Ghost	Ebans	Episode: "Russell of 'The Times'"
1957–1958	The Adventures of Jim Bowie	Justinian Tebbs, Teeters Hill	8 episodes
1957–1959	Richard Diamond, Private Detective	Charlie Kane	2 episodes
1957–1962	Perry Mason	Len Dykes, Dr. Bradbury, Donald Graves	3 episodes
1957–1963	Have Gun – Will Travel	Various characters	4 episodes
1957–1973	Gunsmoke	Various characters	7 episodes
1958	Father Knows Best	Jennings	Episode: "Betty, the Pioneer Woman"
1958	Hey, Jeannie!	Herbert	4 episodes
1958–1959	Wanted Dead or Alive	Various characters	4 episodes
1958–1959	Steve Canyon	Karl Richmond	3 episodes
1959	Maverick	Carl	Episode: "The Strange Journey of Jenny Hill"
1959	Peter Gunn	Vice President	Episode: "Pay Now, Kill Later"
1959	The Donna Reed Show	Bert Rose	Episode: "All Mothers Worry"
1959–1960	Johnny Ringo	Tom Ferris, Bogan	2 episodes
1959–1961	The Rifleman	Joe Lovering, Marshall Truce, Fogarty	3 episodes
1959–1962	The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis	Leander Pomfritt	24 episodes
1959–1963	Rawhide	Lieutenant Carter, Lieutenant Hill, Salesman	3 episodes
1960	Lawman	Reed Smith	Episode: "Reunion in Laramie"
1960	The DuPont Show with June Allyson	Lieutenant Barnes	Episode: "Slip of the Tongue"
1960	Johnny Midnight	Richard Bissell	Episode: "Registered Mail"
1960	The Twilight Zone	Policeman	Episode: "Mr. Bevis"
1960	Sea Hunt	Ken Madison	Episode: "Underwater Narcotics"
1960	Bat Masterson	Harold Dunsmore	Episode: "Deadly Diamonds"
1960	Dante	Louis Hastings	Episode: "The Jolly Roger Cocktail"
1961	Coronado 9	Alfred Bates	Episode: "The Anxious Mariner"
1961	The Andy Griffith Show	Sam Becker	Episode: "Quiet Sam"
1961	The Rebel	Charles Ashbaugh	Episode: "Mission: Varina"
1961–1962	Hennesey	Conrad Musk, Wally Shafer	2 episodes
1962	Alfred Hitchcock Presents	Lieutenant Gunderson	Episode: "Bad Actor"
1962	The Dick Van Dyke Show	Reverend Kirk	Episode: "A Word a Day"
1962	Bonanza	George Norton	Episode: "Look to the Stars"
1963	Hazel	Kemper	Episode: "Hazel's Day Off"
1963	Empire	Sully Mason	Episode: "Nobody Dies on Saturday"
1963	The Lucy Show	Mr. Cresant	2 episodes
1963–1966	The Patty Duke Show	Martin Lane, Kenneth Lane, Jed Lane	Main cast
1966	The Virginian	Harry Foley	Episode: "Dead-Eye Dick"
1966	Combat!	Major Fisher	Episode: "Headcount"
1967	The Rat Patrol	Dr. Schneidermann	Episode: "The Bring 'Em Back Alive Raid"
1967	Mission: Impossible	Harrison Selby	Episode: "The Train"
1967	Star Trek: The Original Series	Nilz Baris	Episode: "The Trouble with Tribbles"
1967–1969	The Wild Wild West	Frank Harper, Rufus Krause, Silas Grigsby	3 episodes
1968–1969	Here Come the Brides	Reverend Gaddings, Shagrue	2 episodes
1969	The Mod Squad	Bob Hughes	Episode: "Keep the Faith, Baby"
1969	Bewitched	Dr. Anton	Episode: "Samantha's Curious Cravings"
1969	Room 222	Charles Garrett	Episode: "Fathers and Sons"
1969	Land of the Giants	Dr. Arno	Episode: "The Clones"
1969–1970	Get Smart	Admiral Hargrade, Earl Kibee	4 episodes
1969–1970	Hawaii Five-O	Herbert, Craig Wilkie	2 episodes
1971	The Partridge Family	Red Woodloe	Episode: "The Red Woodloe Story"
1973	Kung Fu	Willis Roper	Episode: "The Praying Mantis Kills"
1973	The Girl with Something Extra	Mr. Everett	Episode: "No Benefit of Doubt"
1973	Hijack	Frank Kleiner	Television film
1973	Love, American Style	Louis, Steve	2 episodes
1974	The Six Million Dollar Man	Lorin Sandusky	Episode: "Eyewitness to Murder"
1974	Barnaby Jones	Mr. Freels	Episode: "Dead Man's Run"
1976	The Bionic Woman	Bill Elgin	Episode: "Claws"
1976	Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway	Harry	Television film
1976–1979	Little House on the Prairie	Russell Harmon, Snell	2 episodes
1977–1978	The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries	Carson Drew	11 episodes
1978	One Day at a Time	Mr. Morton	Episode: "Ann, the Father"
1978	Little Women	Jonathan March	2 episodes
1979	Archie Bunker's Place	Dr. Wakeford	Episode: "Edith Gets Hired"
1979	Blind Ambition	Herbert Kalmbach	4 episodes
1979	Legends of the Superheroes	Scarlet Cyclone	2 episodes
1979–1982	Lou Grant	Mark Worth, Frank Obler	2 episodes
1980–1981	The Waltons	Stanley Perkins	4 episodes
1983	Magnum, P.I.	Bob	Episode: "Basket Case"
1986	North and South	Robert E. Lee	2 episodes
1986–1988	The New Gidget	Russ Lawrence	Main cast
1987	Highway to Heaven	Grandpa Raines	Episode: "Man's Best Friend"
1987	Matlock	Elliot Franklin	Episode: "The Gift"
1988–1989	War and Remembrance	Harry Hopkins	9 episodes
1989	Midnight Caller	Paul Drude	Episode: "Baby Chase"
1989	Quantum Leap	Eugene Haller	Episode: "So Help Me God"
1990	Murphy Brown	Ken Hamilton	Episode: "The Murphy Brown School of Broadcasting"
1990	In the Heat of the Night	Carl Tibbetts	Episode: "A Final Arrangement"
1991–1992	The Torkelsons	Wesley Hodges	20 episodes
1992	Dinosaurs	WESAYSO Scientist (voice)	Episode: "Power Erupts"
1993	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Varani	Episode: "Sanctuary"
1994	Coach	Bert Wilkins	Episode: "Coach for a Day"
1994	Shake, Rattle and Rock!	Judge Boone	Television film
1998	Jumanji	Dr. Cahill (voice)	Episode: "The Plague"
1998	The Angry Beavers	Dr. Cowtiki (voice)	Episode: "The Day the World Got Really Screwed Up"
2002	The Zeta Project	Judge Linden (voice)	Episode: "The River Rising"
2007	My Name Is Earl	Dr. Rudin	Episode: "South of the Border"
2007	How I Met Your Mother	Brady	Episode: "Columns"
2008	The Suite Life of Zack & Cody	David	Episode: "Romancing the Phone"
2009	Desperate Housewives	Ken	2 episodes
2009	According to Jim	Ed	Episode: "Diamonds Are a Ghoul's Best Friend"
2010	The Deep End	Hal Douglas	Episode: "Pilot"
2011	Bag of Bones	Max Devore	2 episodes
2014	2 Broke Girls	Elevator Operator	Episode: "And the Not Broke Parents"; uncredited

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1947	Doctor Jim	George Brant
1950	Lonely Heart Bandits	Dave Clark
1951	The Man from Planet X	Dr. Mears
1951	The Red Badge of Courage	Union Soldier	Uncredited
1952	Rose of Cimarron	Gold Bullion Guard
1952	Just This Once	Secretary	Scenes deleted
1952	Storm Over Tibet	Aylen
1952	Captive Women	Carver
1952	Flat Top	Ensign Longfellow
1953	Sword of Venus	Valmont
1953	Port Sinister	Collins
1954	Down Three Dark Streets	Gas Station Attendant	Uncredited
1954	Riot in Cell Block 11	Reporter
1954	Them!	Ambulance Attendant	Uncredited
1954	The High and the Mighty	Dispatcher
1954	Gog	Eagle
1954	Shield for Murder	Assistant District Attorney
1955	Smoke Signal	Private Livingston
1955	An Annapolis Story	Tony's Instructor	Scenes deleted
1955	Top of the World	Captain Harding
1955	Hell's Horizon	Ben Morgan
1956	Raw Edge	Missionary
1956	Gunslinger	Marshal Scott Hood
1956	Written on the Wind	Reporter
1957	The Incredible Shrinking Man	Arthur Bramson
1957	The Tattered Dress	Court Clerk
1957	The Girl in the Kremlin	Jacob Stalin
1957	The Story of Mankind	Earl of Warwick
1957	The Tarnished Angels	Ted Baker
1957	Man in the Shadow	Jim Shaney
1958	Cry Terror!	Henderson
1959	Pillow Talk	Hotel Clerk
1960	The Gallant Hours	Thomas George Lanphier Jr.
1962	Lonely Are the Brave	Harry
1962	Paradise Alley	Jack Williams
1963	Shotgun Wedding	Theodore Parsons
1967	In the Heat of the Night	Mayor Schubert
1967	Hour of the Gun	Herman Spicer
1967	Will Penny	Dr. Fraker
1968	Speedway	Abel Esterlake
1969	Sam Whiskey	Mr. Perkins
1969	The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes	Professor Quigley
1970	Colossus: The Forbin Project	CIA Director Grauber
1970	Tora! Tora! Tora!	Harry Hopkins	Scenes deleted
1972	The Trial of the Catonsville Nine	Judge
1973	Charley Varrick	Bill Horton
1973	Peege	Dad	Short film
1975	The Strongest Man in the World	Professor Quigley
1976	Tunnel Vision	Francis Cody
1980	Hangar 18	Professor Mills
1981	Peter-No-Tail	Father (voice)	English version
1983	Twilight Zone: The Movie	Father	Segment: "It's a Good Life"
1984	Teachers	Horn
1987	Innerspace	Dr. Greenbush
1991	House Party 2	Dean Kramer
2007	Sweetzer	Barnaby
2009	Green Lantern: First Flight	Appa Ali Apsa (voice)	Direct-to-video

Video games

• The Bard's Tale (2004) - Additional voices

External links

• William Schallert at IMDb
• William Schallert at the TCM Movie Database
• William Schallert Interview at Elvis2001.net
• Hollywood Everyman: A Conversation with William Schallert 2010 Interview with William Schallert
• William Schallert at The Interviews: An Oral History of Television