At one time jokingly self-billed as “The World’s Slowest-rising Comedian,” Ronnie Schell is rising no more. The actor/comedian passed away Friday in Los Angeles. He was 94.
A native of northern California, Schell played semi-pro baseball and then served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He first caught the showbiz bug at iconic Bay-area clubs The Purple Onion and the hungry i. That was back in the late ’50s where Schell shared stages with the likes of The Kingston Trio (for whom he and a comedy partner served as an opening act) and Phyllis Diller.
Around the same time he broke into television as a contestant on You Bet Your Life with host Groucho Marx. As part of that appearance, Schell showed off his ability to indulge in a little Beatnik patter.
Guest roles in shows such as The Patty Duke Show and The Andy Griffith Show followed before Schell landed a regular gig opposite Jim Nabors as army pal Duke Slater on Gomer Pyle, USMC.
He left Gomer Pyle to headline his own series where he shared top billing with Montreal-born Joby Baker, Billy De Wolfe and newcomer Goldie Hawn on the radio station sitcom Good Morning World — a series co-created by The Dick Van Dyke Show writer-producer Bill Persky. I interviewed Pesky for brioux.tv: the podcast in 2021, and that led to a delightful podcast conversation a year later with Ronnie Schell.
That series only lasted one season. Fortunately, Schell was able to bounce back onto Gomer Pyle for one final season. He went on to a string of Disney movies in the ’70s and ’80s starring the likes of Don Knotts, Tim Conway, and Phil Silvers. He even snuck into a scene in “Love at First Bite.”
advertisement
One reason I really wanted to talk with him, however, was for his contribution to a character big in Canadian television — Hockey Night in Canada‘s Peter Puck. Schell had previously made inroads as a voice actor in other Hanna-Barbera animated series, including versions of The Flintstones, The Smurfs and Scooby-Doo, and eventually amassed dozens of animation credits.
He was hired in 1973 to voice Peter Puck and told that the character was developed in order to explain hockey rules to American audiences watching NHL games (NBC carried the sport stateside at that time). Schell had to do some homework before playing the character — he too did not know an icing from an off side.
The actor kept working, appearing in everything from episodes of Sanford and Son, Charlie’s Angels, Alice, and Too Close for Comfort. He was in both Love, American Style and The New Love, American Style! Empty Nest, The Golden Girls and Coach were among his later live action sitcom credits.
The affable actor leaves behind his wife of 58 years, Janet Rodelberg, and their two songs Greg and Chris.
