William Schallert
Born: 1922-07-06 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died: 2016-05-08
Known For: Acting
Biography
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). 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. After graduating from UCLA, Schallert began his acting career in the theater. He appeared in several productions at the Circle Theatre in Los Angeles, including a staging of W. Somerset Maugham's Rain in 1948, which was directed by Charlie Chaplin. Schallert made his television debut in 1951, and he quickly became a familiar face on the small screen. He appeared in numerous guest roles on shows such as The Adventures of Superman, The Twilight Zone, and The Dick Van Dyke Show. He also had recurring roles on The Patty Duke Show, The Nancy Drew Mysteries, and The Torkelsons. In addition to his work on television, Schallert also appeared in several films, including The Bridges of Toko-Ri (1954), The Apartment (1960), and The Sting (1973). Schallert died in Pacific Palisades, California, in 2016, at the age of 93. He was survived by his wife, Leah Waggner, and their four children.
Filmography
2011
- Bag of Bones as Max Devore
2010
- The Deep End as Hal Douglas
2009
- Green Lantern: First Flight as Appa Ali Apsa (voice)
2008
- True Blood as Maire Norris
- Recount as Justice John Paul Stevens
2007
- Sweetzer as Barnaby
2005
- How I Met Your Mother as Brady
- Medium as J. Donald Kessinger
- My Name Is Earl as Dr. Rudin
- The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as David
- Close to Home as Harold Jensen
2004
- Desperate Housewives as Ken
- Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-Screen as Self
2002
- What's New, Scooby-Doo? as Professor Pomfrit (voice)
2001
2000
1999
- Family Law as Manager
- Harvey as Judge Gaffney
- The Patty Duke Show: Still Rockin' in Brooklyn Heights as Martin Lane
1997
- The Angry Beavers
- The Second Civil War as Secretary of Defense
- To Dance with Olivia as Judge Shelton
1996
- Pacific Blue as Walter
- A Century of Science Fiction as Self
- Harvey as Judge Gaffney
1994
- ER as Mitchell Jennings
- Rebel Highway as Judge Patrick Eugene Boone
- The Good Life as Judge Milligan
- Shake, Rattle and Rock! as Judge Boone
1993
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Varani
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as Al
- Beethoven's 2nd as Steve - M.C. at Pet & Owner Burger Binge (uncredited)
- Sex, Shock & Censorship in the 90's as Judge
- Matinee as Dr. Grabow (uncredited)
1992
- Melrose Place as Dr. Curtis
- Fish Police as Additional Voices (voice)
1991
- Dinosaurs as Wesayso Scientist (voice)
- The Torkelsons as Wesley "Boarder" Hodges
- House Party 2 as Dean Kramer
- Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love as Sheriff
- Held Hostage: The Sis and Jerry Levin Story as Landrum Bolling
1990
- Dream On as Judith's Father
- The Incident as Wallace
1989
- Quantum Leap as Judge Eugene Haller
- Coach as Bert Wilkins
- Cross of Fire as Reverend
1988
- Murphy Brown as Ken Hamilton
- War and Remembrance as Harry Hopkins
- Bring Me the Head of Dobie Gillis as Mr. Pomfritt
1987
- A Year in the Life as Larry
- Innerspace as Dr. Greenbush
- The Smurfs: 'Tis the Season to Be Smurfy as Willem (voice)
1986
- Matlock as Judge Elliot Franklin
- The New Gidget as Russ Lawrence
- Houston: The Legend of Texas as Narrator (voice)
- Under the Influence as Cade
1985
- The Twilight Zone as (segment "Shadow Play")
- North and South as Gen. Robert E. Lee
- Gidget's Summer Reunion as Russ Lawrence
1984
- Highway to Heaven
- Gremlins as Father Bartlett (uncredited)
- The Duck Factory as Skip's Father
- Teachers as Horn
- Amazons as Congressman Stanford Barstow
1983
- Scarecrow and Mrs. King
- Twilight Zone: The Movie as Father
- Through Naked Eyes as Terry Parrish
- Grace Kelly as Father Tucker
1982
- St. Elsewhere as Olan Standley
- Hotel
- Matt Houston
1981
1980
- Magnum, P.I. as Bob
- Hangar 18 as Professor Mills
1979
- Ike as Gen. Mark Clark
- Blind Ambition as Herbert Kalmbach
- The Jerk as Judge M.A. Loring
- Legends of the Superheroes as Retired Man/Scarlet Cyclone
- Ike as Gen. Mark Clark
- Legends of the Super Heroes as Retired Man
- Doomsday Chronicles as Host
1978
- Grandpa Goes to Washington
- Little Women as Jonathan March
- Confessions of the D.A. Man
- The Stableboy's Christmas as The Innkeeper
1977
- Lou Grant as Larry Hill
- The Hardy Boys / Nancy Drew Mysteries as Carson Drew
- CHiPs as Rev. Warmer
- Tail Gunner Joe as Gen. Zwicker
1976
- The Bionic Woman
- All's Fair
- The Nancy Walker Show as Teddy Futterman
- Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway as Harry
- Tunnel Vision as Francis X. Cody
1975
- Switch as Wayne Buford
- Ellery Queen
- The Strongest Man in the World as Prof. Quigley
- Promise Him Anything as Silver
1974
- Little House on the Prairie as Snell
- The Six Million Dollar Man as Lorin Sandusky
- The Manhunter
- Remember When as Dick Hodges
- Death Sentence as Tanner
1973
- Barnaby Jones as Mr. Freels
- Police Story
- Charley Varrick as Bill Horton
- Partners in Crime as Oscar
- Hijack! as Frank Kleiner
1972
- The Waltons
- Banacek as Leo Osburn
- Delphi Bureau as Maury Stapleton
- Man on a String as William Connaught
- The Trial of the Catonsville Nine as Judge
- Kung Fu as Willis Roper
1971
- Funny Face
- The Man and the City
- Escape as Senator Lewis Harrison
1970
- The Partridge Family as Red Woodloe
- Colossus: The Forbin Project as CIA Director Grauber
1969
- Hawaii Five-O as Defense Counsel Herbert
- Marcus Welby, M.D. as Brian Cullen
- Room 222
- The Debbie Reynolds Show
- The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes as Professor Quigley
- Sam Whiskey as Mr. Perkins
1968
- The Mod Squad
- Land of the Giants as Dr. Arno
- Here Come the Brides
- Speedway as Abel Esterlake
1967
- Ironside
- The Guns of Will Sonnett as Lawyer
- Judd, for the Defense
- In the Heat of the Night as Mayor Schubert
- Hour of the Gun as Judge Herman Spicer
- Will Penny as Dr. Fraker
1966
- Star Trek as Nilz Baris
- Mission: Impossible as Dr. Harrison Selby
- That Girl
- The Rat Patrol as Dr. Schneidermann
- CBS Playhouse as Mr. Meridian
- Pistols 'n' Petticoats
1965
- Get Smart as Admiral Hargrade
- The F.B.I. as Paul Ganz
- The Wild Wild West as Rufus Kraus
1963
- The Patty Duke Show as Martin Lane
- Shotgun Wedding as Preacher Parsons
- Philbert (Three's a Crowd) as Griff M.
1962
- The Virginian as Harry Foley
- The Lucy Show as Mr. Cresant
- Combat! as Maj. Fisher
- Sam Benedict as Neil Carlson
- Stoney Burke
- Ensign O'Toole as Douglas Harper
- The Lloyd Bridges Show as The Ballad Singer
- Lonely are the Brave as Harry
- Paradise Alley as Jack Williams
1961
- Dr. Kildare as Inspector
- The Dick Van Dyke Show as Mr. Kirk
- Hazel as Kemper
- The New Breed as Gilbert Condon
- 87th Precinct
- Gunslinger as Lieutenant Gilmore
- Alcatraz Express
1960
- The Andy Griffith Show as Sam Becker
- Thriller as Prof. John MacFarland ('Friend of the Dead')
- Surfside 6 as Marty Kemp
- Stagecoach West as Aeneas Longbridge
- Coronado 9 as Alfred Bates
- The Gallant Hours
1959
- The Twilight Zone as Policeman
- Rawhide as The Salesman
- The Untouchables as Edward Garth
- One Step Beyond as Doctor Sanders
- The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
- The DuPont Show with June Allyson as Lt. Barnes
- The Rebel as Charles Ashbaugh
- Black Saddle as Chet Mallet
- Lock-Up
- Johnny Ringo as Mr. Ferris
- Wichita Town
- Philip Marlowe
- Pillow Talk as Hotel Clerk
- Day of the Outlaw
- Blue Denim as George - Bank Vice President (uncredited)
- The Beat Generation as Father Dinelli
1958
- The Rifleman
- Wanted: Dead or Alive as Hotel Clerk
- Lawman
- Bat Masterson as Dr. Harold Dunsmore
- 77 Sunset Strip
- Peter Gunn
- Sea Hunt
- The Texan
- Steve Canyon as Major Karl Richmond
- Some Came Running as Al (Jewelry Store Clerk) (uncredited)
- Torpedo Run as Captain of the Bluefin
- Cry Terror! as Henderson, Bank Representative
1957
- Perry Mason as Graves
- Wagon Train as Miles Van Vander
- Maverick
- Have Gun, Will Travel
- Leave It to Beaver as Mr. Bloomgarden
- Sugarfoot as Cole
- Richard Diamond, Private Detective as Johnny Prescott (uncredited)
- The Incredible Shrinking Man as Doctor Arthur Bramson
- The Tarnished Angels as Ted Baker
- Man in the Shadow as Jim Shaney
- The Girl in the Kremlin as Jacob Stalin
- Circle of the Day as Reporter
- The Monolith Monsters as Weatherman
- The Hired Man as Mr. Clay
- The Tattered Dress as Court Clerk
- Man on Fire as Charles (uncredited)
1956
- Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre as Yarbrough
- The Adventures of Jim Bowie
- Friendly Persuasion as Young Husband (uncredited)
- Written on the Wind as Reporter
- The Lone Ranger as Clive - Secretary (uncredited)
- Forbidden Area as TV Announcer
- Massacre at Sand Creek as Defense Attorney
- Raw Edge as Missionary
- Gunslinger as Marshal Scott Hood
1955
- Matinee Theater
- Gunsmoke as Eben Hakes
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents as Lt. Gunderson
- Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe as Ted Richards
- Smoke Signal as Private Livingston
- Top of the World as Harding
- Bobby Ware Is Missing as Police Radio Dispatcher (uncredited)
- Hell's Horizon as Capt. Ben Morgan
1954
- Lassie
- Climax! as David
- The Whistler
- Them! as Ambulance Attendant
- The High and the Mighty as Dispatcher
- Riot in Cell Block 11 as Reporter
- Down Three Dark Streets as Ben
- The Raid as Rebel Soldier (uncredited)
- Black Tuesday as Collins (uncredited)
- Captain Kidd and the Slave Girl as Priest (uncredited)
- Tobor the Great as Johnston - a Reporter
- Gog as Engle
- Shield for Murder as Asst. Dist. Atty. Andy Tucker
1953
- Letter to Loretta as Roy Smith
- General Electric Theater as Red Myers
- Commando Cody: Sky Marshal of the Universe as Ted Richards
- The Jazz Singer as Assistant Stage Manager (uncredited)
- Port Sinister as Collins
- Sword of Venus as Valmont
1952
- Four Star Playhouse as Airline Clerk
- The Ford Television Theatre as Union Official
- Singin' in the Rain as Messenger on Screen (uncredited)
- Mr. & Mrs. North
- Death Valley Days as Ellis Higby
- Paula as Reporter
- Flat Top as Ens. Longfellow
- Hoodlum Empire as Inquiry Clerk
- Rose of Cimarron as Gold Bullion Guard
- Captive Women as Carver, the Mutate traitor
- Storm Over Tibet as Aylen
1951
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Dr. Janeway
- The Red Badge of Courage as Union Soldier (uncredited)
- The People Against O'Hara as Intern with Ambulance (uncredited)
- M as Rorschach Test Subject (uncredited)
- The Man from Planet X as Dr. Mears
- Bannerline as Cass
1950
- The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as Pete
- Lux Video Theatre as Sam Carter
- Lonely Heart Bandits as Dave Clark
1949
- Mighty Joe Young as Gas Station Attendant (uncredited)
- The Reckless Moment as Police Lieutenant (uncredited)
1947
- Doctor Jim as George Brant