Richard Schaal began his career as an early member of Chicago’s Second City, and later became a popular actor in television and film, appearing frequently on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoffs, Rhoda and Phyllis.
Richard Schaal began his career as an early member of Chicago’s Second City, and later became a popular actor in television and film, appearing frequently on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spinoffs, Rhoda and Phyllis.
Born in Chicago in 1928, Schaal was a pioneer of the city's sketch-comedy scene. While working in construction, he attended the very first performance of the renowned Second City troupe and was so taken with the show that he formed his own group. When some of the founding Second City members saw his work, they recruited him to join them. His everyman demeanor and knack for physical comedy marked him as an important contributor the group's sensibility.
He eventually sought work in New York and, later, Los Angeles, where he began appearing on television in the mid 1960s.
Among his most memorable roles were his portrayal of Chuckles the Clown in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, one of four roles he played during the run of that show, and regular roles on Just Our Luck, Trapper John, M.D. and Almost Grown.
His early credits also included The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Dream of Jeannie, That Girl, Banacek and The Rockford Files. He was also cast in memorable episodes of Mary Tyler Moore spinoffs Phyllis and Rhoda.
His other TV work included Love, American Style, The Partidge Family, The Doris Day Show, The Bob Newhart Show, The Rockford Files, Hawaii Five-O, The Duke of Hazzard and many others.
In addition, he had roles in several feature films, including The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming, Slaughterhouse Five and Once Bitten.
Schall was married three times. He and Rhoda star Valerie Harper — his second wife — were married from 1964 to 1978. His daughter, Wendy Schaal (from his first marriage to Lois Treacy) is an actress known for her work on the animated series American Dad! and numerous on-camera roles, including appearances in TV shows such as It's a Living, Fantasy Island, After M*A*S*H, Nearly Departed and Six Feet Under, among many others.
Schaal died November 4, 2014, in Woodland Hills, California, He was 86.
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