About Richard Schaal
Lived 1928 – 2014 (aged 86). Richard Schaal was an American actor, television actor and film actor.
Richard Schaal (; May 5, 1928 – November 4, 2014) was an American film and television actor born in Chicago, Illinois.
Career In 1962, Schaal joined Chicago's famed Second City, becoming skilled in sketch and improvisational comedy. He was featured in a number of episodes of the 1970s sitcoms The Mary Tyler Moore Show (where he played no fewer than four different characters: Howard Arnell, his brother Paul, Chuckles the Clown and Dino), The Bob Newhart Show (as three characters: Don Fezler, Don Livingston and Chuck Brock), Rhoda (as Charlie Burke) and Phyllis (23 episodes as Leo Heatherton). His earliest appearance with Mary Tyler Moore was in the 1966 Dick Van Dyke Show episode "Dear Sally Rogers" (billed as Dick Schaal). In both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rhoda, he played alongside his then-wife, Valerie Harper. In 1983, he had a recurring role in Just Our Luck.
Personal life and death Schaal was born on May 5, 1928, in Chicago, the son of Victor Cornelius Schaal, a machinist, and Margaret Semple Waddell, a telephone operator.
Schaal was married three times, first to Lois Treacy, second to actress Valerie Harper, and third to Tasha Brittain. With Treacy, he had one child, American actress Wendy Schaal.
Schaal died November 4, 2014, in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, at age 86. No cause of death was provided. He was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles.
Partial filmography Films Year Title Role1966 The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming Oscar Maxwell 1969 The Virgin President Hugh Mugababy 1969 The Cube The Man in the Cube 1972 Slaughterhouse-Five Howard W. Campbell Jr. 1973 Steelyard Blues Zoo Official Mel 1974 A Knife for the Ladies Ainslie 1979 Americathon Jerry 1980 The Hollywood Knights Nevans 1982 O'Hara's Wife Jerry Brad 1985 Once Bitten Mr. Kendall
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Important facts
Family & relationships
People in Richard Schaal's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Richard Schaal's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Richard Schaal?
American actor, comedian (1928-2014)
When was Richard Schaal born?
Richard Schaal was born on 7 May 1928 in Chicago.
When did Richard Schaal die?
Richard Schaal died on 4 November 2014 in Woodland Hills.
What was Richard Schaal's occupation?
Richard Schaal was an actor, television actor and film actor.
What nationality was Richard Schaal?
Richard Schaal was American.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Richard Schaal. https://biography.guide/richard-schaal/
MLA: "Richard Schaal." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/richard-schaal/.
Chicago: "Richard Schaal." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/richard-schaal/.
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