Ronald Ralph Schell (December 23, 1931) is an American actor, voice actor and stand-up comedian, who appeared in Season 2's Mork in Wonderland as the parallel world of Mirth's version of Bob Hope, Bob Faith.
Biography[]
Schell was born December 23, 1931.in Richmond, California. His father worked for a naval supply center and his mother was a waitress. His natural affinity for comedy came early. He was a notorious class clown who was often expelled from school as a youth.
A semi-pro baseballer in his early years, his first choice of careers was to play professional baseball. He got as far as the semis before enlisting in the Air Force, where he performed as an emcee and comic in variety shows. In later years he played with a softball team "The Reruns" which included comedians John Byner, Martin Mull as pitchers, In right field there was Harvey Korman, second base was Jack Riley and Fred Willard left field, with Steve Yagger as shortstop. His hobby is collecting caps from minor league teams throughout the nation. [1]
Ronnie studied at San Francisco State University and formed a nightclub comedy duo. He turned solo and perfected his routine at the popular nightclub The Purple Onion, as well as performing at San Francisco's legendary "Hungry I" nightclub. During his college senior year in 1958, he received a major boost when he toured as an opening act for the highly The Kingston Trio. This break led to the gradual rise of a family-oriented comedy career that earned him the eventual title of "America's Slowest-Rising Comedian."
Janet Rodeberg (6 December 1968 - present) ( 2 children) Long married to Janet Rodeborg (December 6, 1968) they have two sons and the couple continues to live in the Los Angeles area where, for years, Ronnie served as the honorary mayor of Encino.
Career[]
He got his first screen credit as Ron Shell in Harbor Command (1958) and in the same year appeared as a contestant on Groucho Marks quiz show You Bet Your Life, where he did an extended beatnik riff, and told Grouch of his desire to get into showbiz. Continuing to work as a stand up, he performed on The Bob Newhart Show (1962), The Tonight Show Starring Jack Paar (1962), The Lively Ones (1963), before TV finally opened its doors to him in 1964 and an acting career was born when Ronnie won the regular role of Jim Nabors' Marine bunk mate "Duke Slater" on the highly popular comedy series Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964).
Betwixt and between was a recurring role on That Girl (1966) playing Marlo Thomas' acting agent. He left the Pyle show after a few years when he was handed a series lead of his own as a disc jockey on the sitcom Good Morning World (1967) which co-starred pre-Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967) ditz Goldie Hawn. Unfortunately, the show was canceled before it could make any kind of enduring star impact. He then returned to Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. as a corporal for its fifth and final season. Schell played Duke Slater as an urban, streetwise character, compared to Pyle's rural, bucolic character, as portrayed by Jim Nabors. Returning as a corporal, Slater acted more as a mediator between Pyle and Sgt. Carter, portrayed by Frank Sutton, than as a buddy to Pyle.
Schell lent his voice to "Jason" on the animated series Battle of the Planets and co-starred as "Mr. Brown" on The Mouseketeers at Walt Disney World.
His other television guest credits include The Andy Griffith Show, The Patty Duke Show, Phil of the Future, Yes, Dear, The Wayans Bros., Step by Step, Coach, The Golden Girls, 227, Saved by the Bell, Empty Nest, Mr. Belvedere, Santa Barbara, Trapper John, M.D., Too Close for Comfort, The Brian Keith Show, The New Temperatures Rising Show, The Love Boat, Love, American Style, Alice, One Day at a Time, Charlie's Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard, Sanford and Son, Emergency!, Happy Days, Adam-12, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, That Girl, Black Sheep Squadron, and Jessie.
Television[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-1967,1968-1969 | Gomer Pyle: USMC | Duke Slater | Main cast
92 episodes |
| 1967-1968 | Good Morning World (American TV series) | Larry Clarke | Main cast
26 episodes |
| 1976 | Emergency! | Jasper | S5Ep16 |
| 1978 | Battle of the Planets | Jason | 85 episodes |
| 1978 | Yogi's Space Race | Additional Voices (voice) | 7 episodes |
| 1979 | Mork & Mindy | Mork in Wonderland, Part 2 | Bob Faith |
| 1983 | Shirt Tales | Rick the Raccoon (voice) | Main Character |
| 1987 | DuckTales | Additional Voices (voice) | Episode: "The Right Duck" |
| 1988 | Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School | Colonel Calloway (voice) | Television movie |
| 1988 | Mr. Belvedere | Contest Judge | Episode: "Marsha's Secret" |
| 1989 | Saved By The Bell | Principal Elliot Stingwell | Episode: "Save That Tiger" |
| 1990 | The Golden Girls | Thomas | Episode: "Triple Play" |
| 1991 | Out of This World | Pinky Starr | Episode: "Mayor Evie" |
| 1991 | Yo Yogi! | Calvin Klunk (voice) | 9 episodes |
| 1992 | The Legend of Prince Valiant | Master Fezzick (voice) | Episodes: "The Road Back" and "The Fist of Iron" |
| 1992 | Rugrats | Fish / Clerk (voices) | Credited as Ronald Schell
Episode: "Visitors from Outer Space/The Case of the Missing Rugrat" |
| 1995-1996 | Coach | Dr. Howard / Customer | Episodes: "Turtle World" and "Grimmworld" |
| 1997-1999 | Recess | Mayor Fitzhugh (voice) | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | What's New, Scooby-Doo? | Additional Voices (voice) | Episode: "Space Ape at the Cape" |
| 2004 | Yes, Dear | Cliff Marshall | Episode: "Dead Aunt, Dead Aunt" |
| 2004 | Phil of the Future | 75-Year-Old Phil | Episode: "Age Before Beauty" |
| 2004-2007 | The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy | Real Estate Agent, Toadblatt (voices) | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Megas XLR | Mac (voice) | Episodes: "Bad Guy" and "S-Force S.O.S." |
| 2008 | Easy to Assemble | Ronnie Schell | Episodes: "Actors Anonymous" and "Gotcha!" |
| 2011 | Jessie | Ranger Bill | Episode: "Zuri's New Old Friend" |
| 2012 | Retired at 35 | Sal | Episode: "Poker Face" |
| 2014-2015 | You'll Be Fine | Harry | 3 episodes |
| 2017 | Heaven's Waiting Room | Vic | Unknown episodes |
| 2018 | Kaplan's Corner | Ronnie | Episode: "Marvin's Ghost" |
Short, compact, extremely easy-going and quite likable in nature, Ronnie moved easily into featured roles for Disney including The Strongest Man in the World (1975), The Shaggy D.A. (1976), Gus (1976), The Cat from Outer Space (1978) and The Devil and Max Devlin (1981).
Film[]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Strongest Man in the World | Referee | |
| 1976 | Gus | Joe Barnsdale | |
| 1976 | The Shaggy D.A. | TV Director | |
| 1978 | The Cat from Outer Space | Jake (voice) / Sgt. Duffy | |
| 1979 | Love at First Bite | Guy in Elevator | |
| 1980 | How to Beat the High Cost of Living | Bill Pike | |
| 1981 | The Devil and Max Devlin | Greg Weems | |
| 1986 | The Check Is in the Mail... | Dr. Brannigan | |
| 1987 | Dutch Treat | Lou Winters | |
| 1987 | Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers | Freako, Demonstrator Ghost (voices) | |
| 1990 | Jetsons: The Movie | Rudy 2 (voice) | |
| 1991 | Rover Dangerfield | Eddie (voice) | |
| 1993 | Fatal Instinct | Conductor | |
| 1993 | Dorf Goes Fishing | DIP Host | Direct-to-video |
| 1994 | Revenge of the Red Baron | Lou | |
| 1997 | The Good Bad Guy | Chief Harrison | |
| 1997 | Venus Envy | Simon Sayes | |
| 2000 | Family Jewels | Bill Taller | |
| 2000 | The View from the Swing | Man in Diner | |
| 2001 | Recess Christmas: Miracle on Third Street | Mayor Fitzhugh (voice) | Direct-to-video |
| 2002 | The Biggest Fan | Mr. Wastedberg | |
| 2006 | Pennies | Mr. Tinker | Short film |
| 2010 | Soupernatural | Bob | |
| 2017 | The Candle | Grandpa Joe | Short film |
Mork & Mindy[]
Ronnie appeared in the Season 2 opener Mork in Wonderland, alongside Jerry Vernon and Johnny Haymer as the manic parallel trio of Bob Faith, Jerry Looney and Danny St. Tommy, Mirth's equivalent of Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis and Danny Thomas, three dimwitted members of the guerilla outfit 'The Sillies', the revolutionary group run by Mindy's parallel 'Mandy' whose intent it its to overthrow the tyrannical Exidon, who has banned humor and taken control of the planet's power output.
Ronnie sported a prosthetic 'ski nose' ala Hope's real nose, and his pork pie style hat, along with carrying a golf club, his character showing a weakness for performing in front of groups of military personnel.