David Schramm

David Michael Schramm (August 14, 1946 – March 28, 2020) was an American actor. He was best known for playing the role of Roy Biggins, the curmudgeonly rival airline owner in the TV series Wings. His father was a bookie.

In 1980, Schramm performed in Howard Sackler's Goodbye Fidel at the Ambassadors Theatre.

In 1985, he assumed the role of the sinister, rat-faced General D. in Raggedy Ann: The Musical Adventure (then-titled Rag Dolly) at the New York State Theatre Institute and remained with the cast the following year, when the show played for packed houses in Russia.

In 1988, Schramm appeared at the Pasadena Playhouse opposite Rebecca DeMornay in a production of Born Yesterday.

Early television work Schramm appeared in the television movie, The Dreamer of Oz: The L. Frank Baum Story (1990), and the miniseries, Kennedy (1983), in which he portrayed Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

Wings Schramm gained national recognition for portraying the blustery, cantankerous airline owner Roy Biggins, in the sitcom Wings, which aired from 1990 to 1997.

From October 31 to December 21, 2003, Schramm appeared in the New York Theatre Workshop's production of The Beard of Avon. He played the role of John Heminge.

In June 2008, Schramm was part of the cast of the Berkshire Theatre Festival's production of George Bernard Shaw's Candida, in which he played Candida's father, Mr. Burgess. On August of that same year he played Pozzo in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot at the same festival.

From November 18 to December 14, 2008, Schramm portrayed the role of Richard Harkin in Conor McPherson's The Seafarer at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The production was directed by Anders Cato, whom Schramm previously collaborated with in Waiting for Godot and Candida.

From October 29, 2009, to January 17, 2010, Schramm appeared in the revival of Finian's Rainbow at the St. James Theatre in New York City, portraying the role of Senator Rawkins.

In February 2012, it was announced that Schramm would appear in a stage production of Reginald Rose's Twelve Angry Men at the George Street Playhouse. The show had its premiere on March 13, 2012.

In June–July 2012, Schramm portrayed Falstaff in William Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C. "This is my first time doing Merry Wives. I'm having a great time. The director (Stephen Rayne) is absolutely stellar. He's intelligent and experienced and really knows the era. We've set the play at the end of the first World War, sort of in the Downton Abbey era. It works very well as a time period for the play. And it looks great. We're meticulously putting it together. This play really demands a lot from everybody. There's so much to try and do. But we're all pulling together," said Schramm in a 2012 interview. Schramm also revealed that it was his first time at the Shakespeare Theatre.

In June 2015, it was reported that Schramm was suffering from vocal problems and under doctor's orders, he had to withdraw from performing in the Barrington Stage Company's production of Richard Strand's Butler. Director Joseph Discher cast understudy Wally Dunn as Schramm's replacement for the title role.

Schramm's final stage performance was in the York Theatre Company's revival of Enter Laughing: The Musical in 2019.

Personal life Schramm resided in New York and had homes in Chatham and Riverdale.

Filmography