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Richard Schaal

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Richard Schaal
Schaal in 1975
Born(1928-05-05)May 5, 1928
Chicago, Illinois, US
DiedNovember 4, 2014(2014-11-04) (aged 86)
Los Angeles, California, US
OccupationActor
Spouses
  • Lois Treacy
    (m. 19??; div. 19??)
(m. 1964; div. 1978)
Tasha Brittain
(m. 1980; div. 1989)
ChildrenWendy Schaal

Richard Schaal (/ˈʃɑːl/; May 5, 1928 – November 4, 2014) was an American film and television actor born in Chicago, Illinois.

Career

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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

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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

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Films

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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

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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

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ "Valerie Harper: You Will Be Missed". thewritelife61. January 6, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  3. ^ Wagner, Laura (August 12, 2011). Anne Francis: The Life and Career. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8600-7.
  4. ^ "Guest TV Appearances - The William Windom Tribute Site". April 4, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
  5. ^ The Dick Van Dyke Show, "Dear Sally Rogers" (1966)
  6. ^ Northern Exposure: recurring characters, comcast.net; accessed November 7, 2014.
  7. ^ Vitello, Paul (November 6, 2014). "Richard Schaal, Actor on TV and in Clubs, Dies at 86". The New York Times. Retrieved November 7, 2014.
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