Pat Harrington Jr.

Summary

Daniel Patrick Harrington Jr. (August 13, 1929 – January 6, 2016) was an American Emmy Award-winning stage and television actor, best known for his role as building superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the sitcom One Day at a Time (1975–1984). His father Pat Harrington Sr. was also an actor.

Pat Harrington Jr.
Harrington as host of Stump the Stars, 1962
Born
Daniel Patrick Harrington Jr.

(1929-08-13)August 13, 1929
New York City, U.S.
DiedJanuary 6, 2016(2016-01-06) (aged 86)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
EducationLa Salle Military Academy
Alma materFordham University (BA)
OccupationActor
Years active1953–2016
Known for
Spouses
Marjorie Ann Gortner
(m. 1955; div. 1985)
Sally Cleaver
(m. 2001)
Children4
Parent

Early life edit

Harrington was born in Manhattan on August 13, 1929.[1]

His father was a song and dance man who worked in vaudeville and performed on the Broadway stage. Harrington attended a Catholic military school, La Salle Military Academy in Oakdale, New York.[2][3] then graduated from Fordham University in 1950 with a bachelor of arts and subsequently received a master's degree in political philosophy, also from Fordham. During the Korean War, Harrington served as an intelligence officer with the U.S. Air Force, where he achieved the rank of first lieutenant.[4][5]

Following in his father's footsteps, he pursued a career in entertainment after graduating from college and completing military service. He took a job at NBC in New York City. He then began acting on stage and toured North America with a number of plays, eventually performing on Broadway.

Career edit

Harrington became known in the 1950s as a member of Steve Allen's television comedy troupe, the "Men on the Street"[6] (which included Don Knotts, Tom Poston and Louis Nye). He made many appearances as the comedic Italian immigrant golf pro Guido Panzini on The Jack Paar Show in the mid-1950s. In the 1959–60 season, he played the recurring role of Pat Hannigan in 11 episodes of Danny Thomas's sitcom The Danny Thomas Show.

In the 1964–1965 television season, he guest-starred on numerous programs, including the sitcom The Bing Crosby Show and Kentucky Jones (starring Dennis Weaver). In a 1965 episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. ("The Bow-Wow Affair"),[7] Harrington reprised his role as Guido Panzini (who he also played in the February 8, 1966, episode of McHale's Navy "McHale's Country Club Caper").[8] On April 6, 1965, Harrington appeared in an episode of Mr. Novak (starring James Franciscus) titled "There's a Penguin in My Garden."[9] He also guest-starred on two episodes of The Munsters.[10]

In 1967, he appeared in the Elvis Presley film Easy Come, Easy Go. He also parodied Get Smart in an episode of F Troop, in which he played secret agent "B Wise". From 1971 to 1974, he appeared in 11 episodes as District Attorney Charlie Giannetta of the ABC legal drama Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, starring Arthur Hill in the title role.

Harrington worked as a voice actor, including Ray Palmer/the Atom and Roy Harper/Speedy on The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure in 1967. From 1965 to 1969, Harrington portrayed the voices of both The Inspector (a character inspired by Inspector Jacques Clouseau) and his sidekick Deux Deux in all of the original 34 animated episodes of the character's eponymous series, created by Mirisch Films and DePatie-Freleng and released via United Artists. They later were shown as part of the Pink Panther cartoon TV show. Another cartoon voice he did was Jon's father on A Garfield Christmas Special.

 
Pat Harrington Jr. on One Day at a Time (1976)

In 1974, he appeared with Peter Falk and Robert Conrad in the Columbo episode An Exercise in Fatality. Harrington is best known for his role as building superintendent Dwayne Schneider on the 1975–1984 television sitcom One Day at a Time. He won both an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for his work on this series.

He played Hank Vosmik, a crew member who wins the heart of Florence Henderson's character Diane DeMarco in "The Love Boat" S2 E11 story "Captain's Cup", 1978. In 1979, Harrington appeared as a celebrity guest star/game show contestant on Password Plus. He reprised his role as Schneider in a series of commercials in the late 1980s for Trak Auto Parts after the show ended. He appeared in an episode of The King of Queens in 2006.

On the stage, he made his Broadway debut as Walter Bagley in Happiness Is Just a Little Thing Called a Rolls Royce. He performed in the national tour of Show Boat as Cap'n Andy Hawks in 1997 and 1998. In 2000, he appeared in a regional production of Into the Woods as the Narrator.

Harrington twice appeared on former co-star Valerie Bertinelli's television shows. In 1990, he appeared on Sydney and in 2012 he appeared, in his final acting role, on Hot in Cleveland.

Personal life edit

Harrington married Marjorie Ann Gortner in 1955; the couple had four children, including tennis player Mike Harrington.[11] They divorced in 1985.[12] He married Sally Cleaver, an insurance executive, in 2001.[13]

Death edit

Harrington, who had Alzheimer's disease, fell in early November 2015. He suffered a small brain hemorrhage and spent three weeks in a hospital and nursing home. Harrington's children announced his death on January 6, 2016, aged 86.[1] He died on co-star Bonnie Franklin's birthday; she had died in 2013.

Selected filmography edit

Year Title Role Notes
1959 The Danny Thomas Show Pat Hannigan 11 Episodes
1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Insurance Man Season 5 Episode 31: "I Can Take Care of Myself"
1963 The Wheeler Dealers Buddy Zack
1963 Move Over, Darling District Attorney
1965-1969 The Inspector Inspector / Sgt Deux-Deux / Wight / Captain Clamity / Doctor / Bear Thirty four shorts
1967 Easy Come, Easy Go Judd Whitman
1967 The President's Analyst Arlington Hewes
1969 2000 Years Later Franchot
1969 The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes Moderator
1969-1970 The Pink Panther Show Inspector / Sgt Deux-Deux
1970-1973 The Partridge Family Harry / Roger Harper
1972 Every Little Crook and Nanny Willie Shakespeare
1972 The Candidate Dinner MC Uncredited
1973 Savage Russell
1974 The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat Voice
1975–1984 One Day At A Time Dwayne Schneider Main actor
1975 Kolchak: the Night Stalker Thomas Kitzmiller Primal Scream (season 1, episode 13)
1980 The Love Boat Prince Hassan
1985 Murder, She Wrote A.D.A Mel Comstock Footnote to Murder (season 1, episode 19)[14]
1991 The Golden Girls John Episode “Dateline: Miami” (season 7, episode 7)
1995 Roseanne Himself Episode: "Roseanne in the Hood" (season 8, episode 3)
1996 Round Trip to Heaven George
2001 Ablaze Stuart Ridgley
2005 Curb Your Enthusiasm Larry's neighbour
2012 Hot in Cleveland Mr. Sherdan Episode “GILFs” (season 4, episode 4)

Awards and honors edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Bernstein, Adam (January 7, 2016). "Pat Harrington Jr., Schneider of TV's 'One Day at a Time,' dies at 86". The Washington Post. p. B7.
  2. ^ "Family Photograph". ArchiveSpace. Manhattan College Archives. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  3. ^ Bernstein, Adam (January 7, 2016). "Pat Harrington Jr., 'Schneider' of TV's 'One Day at a Time,' dies at 86". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
  4. ^ Pat Harrington Jr., the Super on ‘One Day at a Time,’ Dies at 86 The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  5. ^ One Day at a Time's Schneider, Pat Harrington Jr., Has Died Theater Mania. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "Pat Harrington, Jr. of 'One Day at a Time' passes away at 86". Me-TV Network. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  7. ^ IMDb. The Bow-Wow Affair, retrieved July 14, 2019
  8. ^ McHale's Country Club Caper, retrieved July 14, 2019
  9. ^ There's a Penguin in My Garden, retrieved July 14, 2019
  10. ^ "Pat Harrington Jr". IMDb. Retrieved July 14, 2019.
  11. ^ Black, Bob (July 7, 1978). "Duo Acting Like Winners". The Pittsburgh Press.
  12. ^ Rickwald, Bethany (January 8, 2016). "One Day at a Time's Schneider, Pat Harrington Jr., Has Died". Theater Mania. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  13. ^ "Sally Cleaver actor Pat Harrington Jr's Wife". Daily Entertainment News. January 7, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  14. ^ ""Murder, She Wrote" Footnote to Murder (TV Episode 1985) - IMDb". IMDb.

External links edit