The very definition of "that guy," when I was growing up, my parents could never remember William Schallert's name. It was always, "Hey, it's Patty Duke's daddy." That's pretty much what so many obits are calling him today, too, but he was also Nancy Drew's father, Dobie Gillis's teacher, and if he missed appearing at least once on any classic sixties series, I don't know what it would have been. STAR TREK, THAT GIRL, BEWITCHED, MARCUS WELBY, MD. While his output slowed down as he approached the age of 90, he never stopped working, appearing memorably in TRUE BLOOD in the past decade and a classic, surprisingly blue, performance on STU'S SHOW!
R.I.P.
William Schallert will always be the longsuffering Mr. Leander Pomfritt on DOBIE GILLIS, trying in vain to educate those young barbarians like Maynard G. Krebs. I appreciated your including a photo of Schallert and the late, great Bob Denver. Schallert could also play a convincing action hero, like in his guest starring role in THE WILD WILD WEST two-parter "The Night of the Winged Terror," where he was pinch-hitting for the ailing Ross Martin. With so many of his appearances immortalized on DVD, Schallert will live forever.
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