Richard Schaal (; May 5, 1928 – November 4, 2014) was an American
film and
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
.
Career
In 1962, Schaal joined
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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's famed
Second City, becoming skilled in
sketch and
improvisational
Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...
comedy.
He was featured in a number of episodes of the
1970s sitcoms ''
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Mo ...
'' (where he played no fewer than four different characters: Howard Arnell, his brother Paul,
Chuckles the Clown and Dino), ''
The Bob Newhart Show
''The Bob Newhart Show'' is an American sitcom television series produced by MTM Enterprises that aired on CBS from September 16, 1972, to April 1, 1978, with a total of 142 half-hour episodes over six seasons. Comedian Bob Newhart portrays a p ...
'' (as three characters: Don Fezler, Don Livingston and Chuck Brock), ''
Rhoda'' (as Charlie Burke) and ''
Phyllis
Phyllis is a feminine given name which may refer to:
People
* Phyllis Bartholomew (1914–2002), English long jumper
* Phyllis Drummond Bethune (née Sharpe, 1899–1982), New Zealand artist
* Phyllis Calvert (1915–2002), British actress
* P ...
'' (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). In both ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' and ''Rhoda'', the actor played alongside his then-wife, actress
Valerie Harper
Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She is best remembered for her role as Rho ...
. In 1983, he had a recurring role in ''
Just Our Luck''.
Personal life
Schaal was born on May 5, 1928, in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, the son of Victor Cornelius Schaal (1896–1981), a machinist, and Margaret Schaal (née Margaret Semple Waddell; 1897–1983), a telephone operator.
Schaal was married three times, first to Lois Treacy, second to actress
Valerie Harper
Valerie Kathryn Harper (August 22, 1939 – August 30, 2019) was an American actress. She began her career as a dancer on Broadway, making her debut as a replacement in the musical ''Li'l Abner''. She is best remembered for her role as Rho ...
, and third to Tasha Brittain.
''Northern Exposure'': recurring characters
comcast.net; accessed November 7, 2014. With Treacy, he had one child, American actress Wendy Schaal.
Schaal died November 4, 2014, in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
at age 86. No cause of death was provided. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.[Staff (November 6, 2014]
"Richard Schaal dies at 86; character actor was a Second City pioneer"
''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' accessed November 7, 2014.
Partial filmography
Films
Television
References
External links
*
*
Richard Schaal
at Find a Grave
1928 births
2014 deaths
Male actors from Chicago
American male film actors
American male television actors
20th-century American male actors
Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills)
American people of Dutch descent
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