Conrad John Schuck Jr. (born February 4, 1940) is an American film, stage and television actor. He is best known for his role as Sgt. Charles Enright in the 1970s crime dramaMcMillan & Wife. He also played Herman Munster in the late-1980s/early 1990s sitcom The Munsters Today, playing the role originated by Fred Gwynne in the 1960s sitcom The Munsters.
Schuck is also known for his work on Star Trek, often playing Klingon characters, 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 Law & Order.
Life and career
Schuck was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Mary (née Hamilton) and Conrad John Schuck, a professor at SUNY Buffalo. He is of English and German descent.[1]
His first film appearance was as Capt. Walter Kosciuszko "Painless Pole" Waldowski in M*A*S*H (1970). As Painless, Schuck holds a place in Hollywood history as the first person to say "fuck" in a major studio film. He went on to appear in several more Altman films: Brewster McCloud (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), and Thieves Like Us (1974).[2]
In 1970 he appeared as insurance salesman and former Minnesota Vikings lineman Frank Carelli in Episode 5 of the first season of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, "Keep Your Guard Up."
From 1971 to 1977, Schuck appeared as San Francisco Police Detective Sergeant Charles Enright in the television series McMillan & Wife and also starred as an overseer in the miniseries Roots. In 1976, he played Gregory "Yoyo" Yoyonovich in the short-lived series Holmes & Yoyo; both it and McMillan & Wife were created and produced by Leonard B. Stern for what is now NBCUniversal Television. Schuck starred in ABC's 1979 TV holiday special The Halloween That Almost Wasn't as the Frankenstein Monster.[2] (He would again use the Universal International Frankenstein-monster makeup format in The Munsters Today; see below.) He played Ox, a jewel thief in "The Love Boat" S1 E15 "Caper" which aired 1/20/1978. In 1979 he starred in a short-lived TV series version of Turnabout, where he and Sharon Gless played Sam and Penny, a couple who trade bodies.[clarification needed] Some installments from that comedy series were reedited into the made-for-TV film Magic Statue, named for the artifact that caused the body-swap. [3]
During this period, he made his Broadway debut playing Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks as a replacement in the role of the original Broadway musical comedy Annie at the Alvin Theatre, for a special three-week engagement. In 1980, he began appearing as a "regular replacement" for a year and a half, along with Allison Smith as Annie and Alice Ghostley as Miss Hannigan.[4]
Under his full name of "Conrad John Schuck," he opened in the role of Daddy Warbucks in the 1997 Broadway revival of Annie and in 2005 and 2006 toured nationally in the role. He later appeared in the films Holy Matrimony and String of the Kite.[citation needed]
In 2013, he appeared as Senator Max Evergreen in Nice Work If You Can Get It. Most recently, Schuck joined the cast of writer/director Chris Blake's (a.k.a. Christopher Blake Johnson) indie horror film, All Light Will End.[5]
Personal life
Schuck married actress Susan Bay, with whom he had a son, Aaron Bay-Schuck. The couple divorced in 1983.[citation needed] He married his current wife, painter Harrison Houlé, in 1990.
