Ronnie Schell was born on December 23, 1931, in Richmond, California. He attended Richmond Union High School. As a baseball player, he played first base for both American Legion and semipro teams in th San Francisco Bay Area. He served in the United States Air Force for four years, at which point he began doing comedy. He graduated with a degree in Liberal Studies from San Francisco State in 1958.
It was while he was a senior in college that he began performing standup comedy at The Purple Onion in the North Beach area of San Francisco. Also on the bill were Phyllis Diller and the Kingston Trio. George Fenneman, the announcer on You Bet Your Life, was scouting Phyllis Diller when he saw Ronnie Schell perform. He asked both of them to appear on You Bet Your Life. Ronnie Schell won $600 and also mentioned the secret word (a randomly chosen word on the show each day, the mention of which would win the contestant a prize).
Ronnie Schell made his television debut in a guest appearance on the show Harbor Command in 1958. It was in 1964 that he began playing Duke Slater on Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. He left the show for the 1967-1968 season to star on his own show Good Morning, World. When that show was cancelled, he returned to Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., at which point he was promoted from private to corporal. He had a recurring role on That Girl as the agent, Harvey Peck, of Ann Maire (Marlo Thomas). After Jim Nabors ended Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Ronnie Schell was a regular on The Jim Nabors Hour. During the Sixties ; he also guest-starred on the shows Valentine's Day; The Patty Duke Show; The Andy Griffith Show; and Love, American Style.
In the Seventies, Ronnie Schell began his long career as a voice actor proving additional voice on the Saturday morning cartoon Butch Cassidy as well as voices on the cartoons Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, Yogi's Space Race, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, and Battle of the Planets (the American adaptation of the anime series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman). He was also the voice of Peter Puck, the animated, anthropomorphic puck who explained the rules of the National Hockey League on both NBC's Hockey Game of the Week and CBC's Hockey Night in Canada. He guest starred on the shows Arnie; Love, American Style; The New Dick Van Dyke Show; The Little People; Here We Go Again; Temperatures Rising; The Girl with Something Extra; Diana; Lotsa Luck!; Adam-12; Happy Days; Karen; Big Eddie; Emergency!; Sanford and Son; Forever Fernwood; The Wonderful World of Disney;The Practice; The Dukes of Hazzard; Charlie's Angels; Turnabout; One Day at a Time; Mork & Mindy; California Fever; and Alice. He appeared in the movies The Strongest Man in the World (1975), Gus (1976), The Shaggy D.A. (1976), The Cat from Outer Space (1978), Love at First Bite (1979), and How to Beat the High Cost of Living (1980).
In the Eighties, Ronnie Schell was a regular on the sitcom Down to Earth and had a recurring role on the soap opera Santa Barbara. He guest starred on the shows The Love Boat; Too Close for Comfort; Strike Force; Madame's Place; Trapper John, M.D.; ABC Weekend Specials; New Love, American Style; Shadow Chasers; Sledge Hammer!; 1st and Ten; She's the Sheriff; Mathnet; Square One TV; Mr. Belvedere; The New Gidget; Hard Time on Planet Earth, Saved by the Bell; Empty Nest; 227; The Golden Girls; and Shades of LA. He was a voice on the animated shows Shirt Tales, Smurfs, Potsworth & Co., and the others. He appeared on the movies He appeared in the movies The Devil and Max Devlin (1981), The Check is in the Mail... (1987), and Dutch Treat (1987). He was a voice in the animated movie The Jetsons: The Movie (1990).
In the Nineties, Ronnie Schell appeared in the movies Fatal Instinct (1993), Revenge of the Red Baron (1994), Killer per caso (1997), Venus Enby (1997), Family Jewels (2000), and The View from the Swing (200). He was voice in the animated movie Rover Dangerfield (1991). He guest starred on the shows Good & Evil; Family Album; Coach; Step by Step; and The Wayan Bros. He was a voice on the television cartoons Yo Yogi!, The Legend of Prince Valiant, The Elvis and Jack Nichlaus Mysteries, and Recess.
In the Naughts, he appeared in the movies The Biggest Fan (2005) and Soupernatural (2010). He guest starred on the shows Yes, Dear; Phil of the Future; and Easy to Assemble. He was a voice on the animated shows Lloyd in Space, Megas XLR, and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy. In the Teens, he guest starred on the shows Jessie, Retired at 35, You'll Be Fine, Heaven's Waiting Room, See Ya, Kaplan's Korner, and Beyond Hope 2020.
Chances are good that Ronnie Schell will always be remembered as Duke Slater, the streetwise, fast-talking, clever Marine who was a sharp contrast to the naive and innocent Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors). Of course, he played a wide variety of roles, On That Girl, he played Ann Marie's fast talking, cynical, and pragmatic agent Harvey Peck. He starred as disc jockey Larry Clarke on Good Morning, World. He played a variety of roles in guest appearances on other shows and appearances in movies, from a furrier on The Andy Griffith Show to sports scout Joe Barnsdale in the movie Gus to the angel Lester Luster on the sitcom Down to Earth. Ronnie Schell had perfect comic timing and could create memorable characters with only very little screen time. He also had a versatile voice. He may always be best remembered as Duke Slater, but he did much more.
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