From Patty Duke Show to Star Trek
Posted on February 28, 2015 by bob in Tinseltown Talks
If you have watched television since the 1950s, there’s no avoiding William Schallert. His distinctive, mellow voice and
Schallert on The Patty Duke Show.
comfortingly familiar face have appeared on series ranging from “Father Knows Best” to “Desperate Housewives” and everything in between (see www.william-schallert.com).
“I’ve never added up the total, but I did work a lot!” said Schallert from his home in Pacific Palisades, Calif.
The tally of his TV appearances is close to 300, with another 100 feature films, the first being an uncredited role in “The Foxes of Harrow” in 1947 which Schallert still vividly recalls.
“I had one line as a banker delivering a message to the New Orleans stock exchange: ‘Gentlemen, gentlemen, the bank of the United States in Philadelphia has closed its doors!’”
Schallert says the scene was memorable because it called for another actor to shoot himself, but was unable to coordinate firing the gun with the gunshot sound produced by crew backstage.
“They couldn’t see each other, so the shot would go off sometimes before or sometimes after the trigger was pulled. It got to be hysterical,” laughed Schallert. “But they kept me over and I ended up getting three day’s pay for one. So I figured this was a great way to make a living!”
In the beginning, Schallert says roles came slowly, but by 1959 he was hot.
“I worked 57 times that year, then got a recurring role on ‘Dobie Gillis,’ and of course as the father on ‘The Patty Duke Show’ in 1963,” he said. However, the uncertainty of series work could be unsettling.
“I knew the show (Patty Duke) was coming to an end, and was concerned what would happen,” he said. “Fortunately I started doing voiceover work in commercials and that really paid the bills for the next 20 years.”
Schallert has been invited to sci-fi conventions due to roles in ’50s film classics such as “The Man from Planet X,” “Them,” and “The Incredible Shrinking Man.” He also guest starred in ‘The Trouble with Tribbles,’ one of the most popular “Star Trek” episodes.
One of his favorite TV guest roles was in “Get Smart,” where he appeared in several episodes as the very elderly and unsteady Admiral Hargrade who would fall over at the slightest touch – an irony not lost on the 92-year-old Schallert, now coincidentally the exact age as his character during the 1968 season.
“The admiral was a charming character and looking back as an actor, I still think the ways I made him tumble over were funny,” he said.
“But now I am the age his character was supposed to be, and the actual falling down part isn’t funny anymore! Falls can become serious health issues for seniors.”
While Schallert says he has experienced some falls, his main health issue is his legs.
With Don Adams on “Get Smart.”
“I have peripheral neuropathy and wear braces,” he said. “They help me stay balanced if I use a walker, but it’s just easier to get around in a wheelchair.”
Despite the physical limitation, Schallert doesn’t entirely rule out working in the future.
“Although I’m more or less retired, if someone offered me a stage role and it was something I could manage, I’d probably do it,” he says. “But working in film or TV would be too difficult now. Besides, I did my share!”
Nick Thomas teaches at Auburn University at Montgomery, Ala., and has written features, columns, and interviews for more than 500 magazines and newspapers.
