- Born
- Birth nameConrad John Schuck III
- Height6′ 0½″ (1.84 m)
- Of English and German heritage, lumbering, oval-faced John Schuck was born Conrad John Schuck, 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, the director featured him as Captain Walter "Painless Pole" Waldowski, the virginal army camp dentist, in the classic Korean War film M*A*S*H (1970), giving him a memorable "deflowering" scene with sexy Jo Ann Pflug. Altman continued to use John in Brewster McCloud (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) and, most assuredly, in Thieves Like Us (1974), 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's police commissioner for six seasons on McMillan & Wife (1971). 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), as buddy Murray in the revamped series The New Odd Couple (1982) and as Herman Munster on The Munsters Today (1987), 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), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), Star Trek: Voyager (1995) and Babylon 5 (1993) and in the historically acclaimed TV movie Roots (1977). In the popular films Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), 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), Just You and Me, Kid (1979), Earthbound (1981), Finders Keepers (1984), Outrageous Fortune (1987), The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking (1988), My Mom's a Werewolf (1989) and Dick Tracy (1990).
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 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), and had another recurring role as shop keeper Carl in the skateboarding adventure series Zeke and Luther (2009). He also appeared in the films Closer to God (2014) and All Light Will End (2018).
A sailor on the sly, John Schuck is father to son Aaron via his first marriage (1978-1983) to former actress Susan Bay Nimoy. He married his current wife, painter Harrison Houlé, in 1990.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
- SpousesHarrison Houlé(1990 - present)Susan Bay Nimoy(April 9, 1978 - 1983) (divorced, 1 child)
- RelativesPeter Schuck(Sibling)
- His stage role of Daddy Warbucks in "Annie", with a fully shaved head.
- His gregarious smile and garrulous nature.
- Is the first actor ever to use the F-word in a major motion picture (M*A*S*H (1970)).
- Currently resides in Venice, California with his second wife Harrison and has two stepsons, in addition to his son from his first marriage to Susan Bay Nimoy.
- Has a double connection to the Star Trek (TOS) franchise, appearing in two of the films, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), plus his first wife, Susan Bay Nimoy remarried to Star Trek co-star, Leonard Nimoy after her divorce from John.
- After the fifth season of McMillan & Wife (1971), his contract expired and he thought the series would be canceled, so he accepted an offer from producer Leonard Stern to take the lead in Stern's series Holmes and Yoyo (1976). When "McMillan & Wife" returned in a scaled-down version as "McMillan" (also produced by Stern), Schuck's character returned to that series as well, appearing briefly in each episode (it was explained that the character, Sergeant Charles Enright, had received a promotion and a transfer away from the Commissioner's office, but still dropped in on his old boss).
- Has made guest appearances on both of the longest running prime time dramas in US television history: Gunsmoke (1955) and Law & Order (1990).
- It's much more fun to come in and do the other stuff. A) You don't have to work as hard, but B) the parts are much more interesting. I would much rather play the character roles I do than the leading guy. As long as you're able, you can keep working. Longevity is terrific.
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