William Schallert

**William Joseph Schallert**[1] (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016) was an American character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and movies over a career that spanned almost 60 years.[2]

William 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.[1] He began acting while a student at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles 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.[3][4] In 1946, he helped found the Circle Theatre with Sydney Chaplin and several fellow students. In 1948, Schallert was directed by Sydney's father, Charlie Chaplin, in a staging of W. Somerset Maugham's *Rain*.[5]

Schallert appeared in supporting roles on numerous television programs starting in the early 1950s, including four episodes (and three different characters) in *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* between 1958 and 1961. He was in three episodes of *The Rifleman* and four episodes of *Gunsmoke* : season 3, episode 16 "Twelfth Night" in 1957, season 4, episode 16 "Gypsum Hills Feud" in 1958, and as Col. Grant in season 7, episode 27 "Wagon Girls" in 1962, and banker Ezra Thorpe in "The Money Store" season 14 ,episode 14. Schallert portrayed farmer Sam Becker in a 1961 episode of *The Andy Griffith Show*, whose newborn son is delivered by Andy. He appeared in *The Partridge Family* as a very humble folk-singing guitar player in "Stage Fright" in 1971. He appeared three times as Major Karl Richmond on NBC's *Steve Canyon*, starring Dean Fredericks in the title role.[*citation needed*]

Schallert also appeared in several movies. One of his early cinematic roles was a brief uncredited performance as a police detective in *The Reckless Moment* (1949) with Joan Bennett and James Mason. He had roles in *The Man from Planet X* (1951) with Robert Clarke, *The Tarnished Angels* (1958) with Robert Stack, *Blue Denim* (1959) with Brandon deWilde, *Pillow Talk* (1959) with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, *In The Heat Of The Night* (1967) with Sidney Poitier, *Speedway* (1968) with Elvis Presley, *The Jerk* (1979) with Steve Martin, *Teachers* (1984) with Nick Nolte, and *Innerspace*(1987), in which he played Martin Short's doctor. Schallert also played (uncredited) an ambulance attendant in the early minutes of the 1950s sci-fi classic *Them!* (1954). He was a founding member of the Circle Players at The Circle Theatre, started in 1946, now known as El Centro Theatre.[*citation needed*]

Among eight appearances on the syndicated western anthology series *Death Valley Days*, Schallert in 1955 portrayed American Civil War General Jesse Lee Reno in the episode "Reno." In the story line, two veterans of the Mexican War who served under Reno (played by Frank Griffin and Stanley Clements) honor him with the naming of the second-largest city in Nevada.[6] He appeared as Sam Clemens in a 1962 episode, "The $275,000 Sack of Flour." He appeared in an episode of the TV series In The Heat of The Night, where he portrays a husband who kills his terminally ill wife, as Carl Tibbets, owner of a book store in Sparta. Thus he appeared in both the 1967 movie as the mayor and the 1992 episode of the TV show.

Schallert starred in *Philbert*, an innovative 1964 television pilot for ABC, which combined live-action camera work and animation. It was created by Warner Bros. animator Friz Freleng and directed by Richard Donner. ABC backed out of the series shortly before full production was to begin, although the completed pilot was released in theaters by Warner Brothers as a short subject.[*citation needed*]

Schallert was probably best known as Martin Lane on *The Patty Duke Show*. He also appeared as a wise teacher, Mr. Leander Pomfritt, on *The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis* and as "The Admiral" on *Get Smart*. On the two former shows he worked opposite actress Jean Byron. Schallert made three guest appearances on CBS's *Perry Mason* between 1957 and 1962, including the role of Donald Graves in the series' fifth episode "The Case of the Sulky Girl," as Dr. Bradbury in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Misguided Missile," and as Len Dykes in the 1962 episode "The Case of the Melancholy Marksman." He played the role of Nilz Baris in the *Star Trek* episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"; and much later he portrayed Varani, a Bajoran musician, in the *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine* episode "Sanctuary."

Schallert played the role of Carson Drew in the television series *The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries* (1977–1979), featuring Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew. In addition to his onscreen performances, Schallert did voice-over work for numerous television and radio commercials over the years. Among these was a recurring role as "Milton the Toaster" in animated commercials for Kellogg's Pop-Tarts.[7] He had the distinction of appearing in both the original movie version of *In the Heat of the Night* (1967) and the later NBC TV version in 1992. In 2004, *TV Guide* recognized Schallert's portrayal of Martin Lane on *The Patty Duke Show* as No. 39 on its list of "50 Greatest TV Dads."[5]