John Schuck
Encyclopedia
Conrad John Schuck Jr. is an American
actor
, primarily in stage
, movies
and television
. He is best-known for his roles as police commissioner Rock Hudson
's mildly slow-witted assistant, Sgt. Charles Enright in the 1970s crime drama
McMillan & Wife, and as Lee Meriwether
's husband, Herman Munster
in the 1980s sitcom, The Munsters Today
. Schuck is also known for his work on Star Trek
movies and television series, often playing a Klingon character, as well as his recurring roles as Draal
on Babylon 5
and as Chief of Detectives Muldrew of the New York City Police Department in the Law & Order
programs, especially Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
.
, Massachusetts
, the son of Mary (née
Hamilton) and Conrad John Schuck Sr., an English professor at SUNY Buffalo
. He made his first theatrical appearances at Denison University
, and after graduating continued his career at the Cleveland Play House
, Baltimore's Center Stage
, and finally the American Conservatory Theater
, where he was discovered by Robert Altman
. Schuck's first appearance in film was the role of Captain Walter Koskiusko "Painless Pole" Waldowski in Altman's film M*A*S*H
. He went on to appear in several more Altman films: Brewster McCloud
, McCabe & Mrs. Miller
, and Thieves Like Us
.
From 1971-1977, he appeared as Sergeant Charles Enright in McMillan & Wife and also starred as an overseer in the miniseries Roots: The Saga Of An American Family
. In 1976, he played Gregory "Yo-Yo" Yoyonovich in the short-lived series Holmes & Yo-Yo
. He starred in ABC
's 1979 TV holiday special The Halloween That Almost Wasn't
(a.k.a. The Night Dracula Saved the World) as the Frankenstein Monster
. He was also a regular "guest celebrity" on game shows in the 1970s and 1980s, appearing as a celebrity guest on such programs in this genre as Pyramid
, Hollywood Squares
, Password Plus and Super Password
, and The Cross-Wits
. Appearing under the name "John Schuck" in the summer of 1979, he made his Broadway debut playing the role of Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks as a replacement in the original Broadway musical comedy, Annie, at the Alvin Theatre in New York City, for a special three-week engagement. In 1980, Schuck began acting out the replacement role of Oliver Warbucks as a "regular replacement" in Annie, on Broadway, for a year and a half, along with Allison Smith as Annie and Alice Ghostley as Miss Hannigan. It was around this time that he married actress Susan Bay (a cousin of director Michael Bay
, who later married Shuck's Star Trek IV co-star Leonard Nimoy
), and in 1981, the two had a son together named Aaron Bay-Schuck. They divorced in 1983. He later married West Coast artist Harrison Houlé, whose website came to contain much of the information that was known about him.
ambassador in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
. He reprised the role in 1991 in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
, becoming one of only six guest roles to appear in more than one Star Trek motion picture. (The others were the characters of David Marcus, Saavik
, Sarek
, and Fleet Admiral Cartwright.) He also guest starred in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
as Legate Parn, Star Trek: Voyager
as Chorus #3, Star Trek: Enterprise
as Antaak, and Babylon 5
as Draal
in "The Long, Twilight Struggle
" (1995). In 1994, he appeared as Ralgha nar Hhallas (callsign Hobbes) in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
, and subsequently guest-starred in several episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
as the NYPD
Chief of Detectives Muldrew.
Appearing as Conrad John Schuck, he opened in the role of Daddy Warbucks in the Broadway revival of Annie
in December 2006 and toured nationally in that role. He later appeared in the films Holy Matrimony
and String of the Kite.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, primarily in stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, movies
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He is best-known for his roles as police commissioner Rock Hudson
Rock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
's mildly slow-witted assistant, Sgt. Charles Enright in the 1970s crime drama
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
McMillan & Wife, and as Lee Meriwether
Lee Meriwether
Lee Ann Meriwether is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the 1955 Miss America pageant. She is perhaps best known for her role as Betty Jones, the crime-solving partner in the long-running 1970s crime drama, Barnaby Jones. The role earned her two Golden Globe Award nominations in...
's husband, Herman Munster
Herman Munster
Herman Munster, 5th Earl of Shroudshire, is a fictional character in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, originally played by Fred Gwynne. The patriarch of the Munster household, Herman is an entity much like Frankenstein's monster along with Lurch on the show's competitor The Addams Family.Due to the...
in the 1980s sitcom, The Munsters Today
The Munsters Today
The Munsters Today is an American sitcom that aired in syndication from 1988 to 1991. The series served as a sequel to the 1960s sitcom The Munsters.-Production:...
. Schuck is also known for his work on Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
movies and television series, often playing a Klingon character, as well as his recurring roles as Draal
Draal
Draal is a fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played first by Louis Turenne and later by John Schuck.-Overview:...
on Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
and as Chief of Detectives Muldrew of the New York City Police Department in the Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
programs, especially Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
.
Career
Schuck was born in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, the son of Mary (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Hamilton) and Conrad John Schuck Sr., an English professor at SUNY Buffalo
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, also commonly known as the University at Buffalo or UB, is a public research university and a "University Center" in the State University of New York system. The university was founded by Millard Fillmore in 1846. UB has multiple campuses...
. He made his first theatrical appearances at Denison University
Denison University
Denison University is private, coeducational, and residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. It is located in Granville, Ohio, United States, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the state capital...
, and after graduating continued his career at the Cleveland Play House
Cleveland Play House
The Cleveland Play House is a professional regional theater company located in Cleveland, OH. As of 2005, the artistic director is Michael Bloom, the eighth artistic director since its inception. In 2011 they moved operations to the Allen Theatre in Playhouse Square Center.Founded in 1915,...
, Baltimore's Center Stage
Center Stage (theater)
Center Stage is the state theater of Maryland and Baltimore's largest professional producing theater. Center Stage was founded in 1963 as a regional playhouse....
, and finally the American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech by theatre and...
, where he was discovered by Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
. Schuck's first appearance in film was the role of Captain Walter Koskiusko "Painless Pole" Waldowski in Altman's film M*A*S*H
MASH (film)
MASH is a 1970 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Robert Altman and written by Ring Lardner, Jr., based on Richard Hooker's novel MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. It is the only feature film in the M*A*S*H franchise...
. He went on to appear in several more Altman films: Brewster McCloud
Brewster McCloud
Brewster McCloud is a 1970 movie, directed by Robert Altman, about a young recluse who lives in a fallout shelter of the Houston Astrodome, where he is building a pair of wings so he can fly. He is helped by his fairy godmother, played by Sally Kellerman....
, McCabe & Mrs. Miller
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
McCabe & Mrs. Miller is a 1971 American Western film starring Warren Beatty and Julie Christie, and directed by Robert Altman. The screenplay is by Altman and Brian McKay from the novel McCabe by Edmund Naughton. The cinematography is by Vilmos Zsigmond and the soundtrack includes three songs by...
, and Thieves Like Us
Thieves Like Us (film)
Thieves Like Us is a 1974 film directed by Robert Altman, starring Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall. The film was based on the novel Thieves Like Us by Edward Anderson...
.
From 1971-1977, he appeared as Sergeant Charles Enright in McMillan & Wife and also starred as an overseer in the miniseries Roots: The Saga Of An American Family
Roots (TV miniseries)
Roots is a 1977 American television miniseries based on Alex Haley's fictional novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Roots received 36 Emmy Award nominations, winning nine. It also won a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award. It received unprecedented Nielsen ratings with the finale still...
. In 1976, he played Gregory "Yo-Yo" Yoyonovich in the short-lived series Holmes & Yo-Yo
Holmes & Yo-Yo
Holmes & Yo-Yo is an American comedy television series that aired on ABC for 13 episodes during the 1976-1977 season. The series follows Detective Holmes and his new android partner Yo-Yo, on their adventures and misadventures, as Holmes teaches Yo-Yo what it is like to be human, while trying to...
. He starred in ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's 1979 TV holiday special The Halloween That Almost Wasn't
The Halloween That Almost Wasn't
The Halloween That Almost Wasn't is a 1979 telefilm which aired regularly on the Disney Channel until the late 1990s. It revolves around Dracula trying to save Halloween from the Witch who threatens it. It won an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Individual Achievement - Children's Program" and was...
(a.k.a. The Night Dracula Saved the World) as the Frankenstein Monster
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
. He was also a regular "guest celebrity" on game shows in the 1970s and 1980s, appearing as a celebrity guest on such programs in this genre as Pyramid
Pyramid (game show)
Pyramid is an American television game show which has aired several versions. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted March 26, 1973 and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series...
, Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
, Password Plus and Super Password
Password Plus and Super Password
Password Plus and Super Password are American game shows that are revivals of the game show Password. Both Password Plus and Super Password had the same format other than some subtle changes....
, and The Cross-Wits
The Cross-Wits
The Cross-Wits is an American syndicated game show which premiered on December 15, 1975 and lasted for five seasons until its cancellation on September 12, 1980. The show was hosted by Jack Clark, with Jerri Fiala as hostess. Announcing duties were handled by John Harlan, Jay Stewart, and Jerry...
. Appearing under the name "John Schuck" in the summer of 1979, he made his Broadway debut playing the role of Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks as a replacement in the original Broadway musical comedy, Annie, at the Alvin Theatre in New York City, for a special three-week engagement. In 1980, Schuck began acting out the replacement role of Oliver Warbucks as a "regular replacement" in Annie, on Broadway, for a year and a half, along with Allison Smith as Annie and Alice Ghostley as Miss Hannigan. It was around this time that he married actress Susan Bay (a cousin of director Michael Bay
Michael Bay
Michael Benjamin Bay is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing high-budget action films characterized by their fast edits, stylistic visuals and substantial practical special effects...
, who later married Shuck's Star Trek IV co-star Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Nimoy
Leonard Simon Nimoy is an American actor, film director, poet, musician and photographer. Nimoy's most famous role is that of Spock in the original Star Trek series , multiple films, television and video game sequels....
), and in 1981, the two had a son together named Aaron Bay-Schuck. They divorced in 1983. He later married West Coast artist Harrison Houlé, whose website came to contain much of the information that was known about him.
Later career
In 1986, Schuck took the role of a KlingonKlingon
Klingons are a fictional warrior race in the Star Trek universe.Klingons are recurring villains in the 1960s television show Star Trek: The Original Series, and have appeared in all five spin-off series and eight feature films...
ambassador in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is a 1986 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fourth feature film based on the Star Trek science fiction television series and completes the story arc begun in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III: The...
. He reprised the role in 1991 in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is the sixth feature film in the Star Trek science fiction franchise and is the last of the Star Trek films to include the entire main cast of the 1960s Star Trek television series. Released in 1991 by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Nicholas Meyer and...
, becoming one of only six guest roles to appear in more than one Star Trek motion picture. (The others were the characters of David Marcus, Saavik
Saavik
Lieutenant JG Saavik is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe. She first appeared in the film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan played by Kirstie Alley. Robin Curtis took on the role after a salary dispute caused Alley to drop out of the sequel, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock...
, Sarek
Sarek
Sarek is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. He is a Vulcan astrophysicist, the Vulcan ambassador to the United Federation of Planets, and father of Spock...
, and Fleet Admiral Cartwright.) He also guest starred in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
as Legate Parn, Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
as Chorus #3, Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series. It follows the adventures of humanity's first warp 5 starship, the Enterprise, ten years before the United Federation of Planets shown in previous Star Trek series was formed.Enterprise premiered on September 26, 2001...
as Antaak, and Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
as Draal
Draal
Draal is a fictional character in the universe of the science fiction television series Babylon 5, played first by Louis Turenne and later by John Schuck.-Overview:...
in "The Long, Twilight Struggle
The Long, Twilight Struggle
"The Long, Twilight Struggle" is an episode from the second season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. Its title alludes to a speech given by John F. Kennedy of the same name.-Synopsis:...
" (1995). In 1994, he appeared as Ralgha nar Hhallas (callsign Hobbes) in Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger
Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger is the third main game in Chris Roberts' Wing Commander science fiction space combat simulation video game series, developed and released by Origin Systems...
, and subsequently guest-starred in several episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
as the NYPD
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
Chief of Detectives Muldrew.
Appearing as Conrad John Schuck, he opened in the role of Daddy Warbucks in the Broadway revival of Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
in December 2006 and toured nationally in that role. He later appeared in the films Holy Matrimony
Holy Matrimony (1994 film)
Holy Matrimony is a 1994 comedy film directed by Leonard Nimoy and starring Patricia Arquette. The film tells the story of a beautiful thief, hiding in a small, isolated religious community, who marries a young boy in order to retrieve a hidden fortune....
and String of the Kite.