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 , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

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 , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

'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 , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, 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

, 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

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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 {{US-tv-actor-1920s-stub