John Schuck

Of English and German heritage, lumbering, oval-faced 'John Schuck' (qv) was born Conrad 'John Schuck' (qv), Jr. in Boston, Massachusetts on February 4, 1940, the son of an English professor who taught at, among others, both Princeton College and SUNY Buffalo while John was growing up. Following graduation from Denison University, where he appeared in a number of plays, John turned to regional theatre work ("Marat/Sade," etc.), including the Cleveland Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, and American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.Discovered at ACT for film by 'Robert Altman' (qv), the director featured him as Captain Walter "Painless Pole" Waldowski, the virginal army camp dentist, in the classic Korean War film _MASH (1970)_ (qv), giving him a memorable "deflowering" scene with sexy 'Jo Ann Pflug' (qv). Altman continued to use John in _Brewster McCloud (1970)_ (qv), _McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)_ (qv) and, most assuredly, in _Thieves Like Us (1974)_ (qv), arguably his best movie role as a bank robber on the lam.On 70's television, in addition to guest spots on such programs as "Gunsmoke," "Mission: Impossible," "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," "Room 222," "Bonanza," "Ironside" and "Love, American Style," "Schuck won a regular part as an inept but altruistic sergeant alongside 'Rock Hudson' (qv)'s police commissioner for six seasons on _McMillan & Wife (1971)_ (qv). Following this, however, he found himself somewhat stereotyped as simple-minded, lovable lugs such as the robot on the silly short-lived comedy _Holmes and Yoyo (1976)_ (qv), as buddy Murray in the revamped series _The New Odd Couple (1982)_ (qv) and as Herman Munster on _The Munsters Today (1987)_ (qv), a revisit to the ghoulish 1960s television family. He also kept his name alive on such popular games shows as "The $25,000 Pyramid," "Hollywood Squares" and "Password."More challenging guest role work has come to him on occasion with television series such as _NYPD Blue (1993)_ (qv), _Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)_ (qv), _Star Trek: Voyager (1995)_ (qv) and _Babylon 5 (1993)_ (qv) and in the historically acclaimed TV movie _Roots (1977)_ (qv). In the popular films _Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)_ (qv) and _Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)_ (qv), John appeared in various roles and earned himself a place in the hearts of Trekkie fans all over the nation. Other film roles over time have included _Blade (1973)_ (qv), _Just You and Me, Kid (1979)_ (qv), _Earthbound (1981)_ (qv), _Finders Keepers (1984)_ (qv), _Outrageous Fortune (1987)_ (qv), _The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988)_ (qv), _My Mom's a Werewolf (1989)_ (qv) and _Dick Tracy (1990)_ (qv).The musical stage also took a shine to him. An accomplished singer, John appeared semi-regularly (from 1979 until 2006) as the bald-domed, gruff-speaking Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks in the hit musical "Annie," not only on Broadway but on tours and in smaller theater venues. He also garnered success playing Frank Butler in "Annie Get Your Gun" with 'Bernadette Peters' (qv) on tour. Other roles over time have included the musicals "The Sound of Music", "Peter Pan", "The Most Happy Fella" and "She Loves Me." He co-starred in the original premiere of "Grumpy Old Men" in 2011 and then returned to Broadway in 2013 as a replacement in the Gershwin musical "Nice Work If You Can Get It."Into the millennium, on TV John played a police captain on an episode of "Diagnosis Murder," had a recurring role as a Chief of Detectives in _Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)_ (qv), and had another recurring role as shop keeper Carl in the skateboarding adventure series _Zeke and Luther (2009)_ (qv). He also appeared in the films _Closer to God (2014)_ (qv) and _All Light Will End (2018)_ (qv).A sailor on the sly, 'John Schuck' (qv) is father to son Aaron via his first marriage (1978-1983) to former actress 'Susan Bay Nimoy' (qv). He married his current wife, painter Harrison Houlé, in 1990.::Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net