William Joseph Schallert

 William Joseph Schallert (July 6, 1922 – May 8, 2016)

Schallert was a character actor who appeared in dozens of television shows and movies over a career that spanned almost 60 years. He began acting while a student at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles but left to become an Army Air Corps fighter pilot in World War II. He returned to UCLA after the war and graduated in 1946. In 1946, helped found the Circle Theatre with Sydney Chaplin and several fellow students. In 1948, Schallert was directed by Sydney's father, Charlie Chaplin, in a staging of W. Somerset Maugham's Rain. Schallert appeared in supporting roles on numerous television programs starting in the early 1950s, including four episodes (and three different characters) in Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre between 1958 and 1961. He was in three episodes of The Rifleman and four episodes of Gunsmoke. Schallert portrayed farmer Sam Becker in a 1961 episode of The Andy Griffith Show, whose newborn son is delivered by Andy. He appeared in The Partridge Family as a very humble folk-singing guitar player in "Stage Fright", in 1971. He appeared three times as Major Karl Richmond on NBC's Steve Canyon, starring Dean Fredericks in the title role. Schallert was probably best known as Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show. He also appeared as a wise teacher, Mr. Leander Pomfritt, on The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis and as "The Admiral" on Get Smart. On the two former shows he worked opposite actress Jean Byron. Schallert made three guest appearances on CBS's Perry Mason between 1957–1962, including the role of Donald Graves in the series' fifth episode "The Case of the Sulky Girl" and as Dr. Bradbury in the 1961 episode "The Case of the Misguided Missile". He played the role of Nilz Baris in the Star Trek episode "The Trouble with Tribbles"; and much later he portrayed Varani, a Bajoran musician, in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Sanctuary".

Schallert served as president of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) from 1979 to 1981, and afterwards remained active in SAG projects, including serving as a Trustee of the SAG Pension and Health Plans since 1983, and of the Motion Picture and Television Fund since 1977. Schallert died on May 8, 2016 at his home in Pacific Palisades at the age of 93, six weeks after the death of his on-screen daughter Patty Duke on March 29.