June 12 (UPI) — Actor and Air Force Veteran Ronald Schell died Friday of natural causes in Los Angeles, his publicist confirmed. He was 94.
Schell began performing standup at the Purple Onion nightclub in San Francisco, Calif. while a senior at San Francisco University. He continued to perform in Las Vegas through his death.
Credited as Ronnie Schell, he played Duke Slater on the military comedy Gomer Pyle, USMC. When his series with Goldie Hawn, Good Morning World, only lasted one season, he returned to Pyle with Duke promoted to corporal.
He appeared on That Girl as Ann Maire’s (Marlo Thomas) agent, Harvey Peck. Additional TV credits include The Patty Duke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Love, American Style, The Dukes of Hazzard, 227, Saved By the Bell and Phil of the Future.
On film, Schell appeared in The Shaggy D.A., The Devil and Max Devlin, Fatal Instinct and Revenge of the Red Baron. He voiced the title feline in The Cat from Outer Space and provided voices for animated films like Rover Dangerfield and Jetsons: The Movie and on shows The Smurfs, DuckTales and Scooby-Doo.
In commercial work, Schell was a spokesman for San Francisco’s BART. The city also inducted Schell into its Hall of Fame.
He won a CLIO award for Kemp’s Ice Cream commercials. He has also appeared on stage.
Schell is survived by his wife Janet, children Gregory and Christina and granddaughter Chiara.
Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson performs on the “Men of Soul Tour” at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on November 14, 2010. Bryson, a singer-songwriter whose hits included the Disney classics “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World,” died at the age of 75 on June 2. Photo by Michael Bush/UPI | License Photo
