John Schuck (born February 4, 1940) is an American character actor, primarily in stage, movies and television. He's best-known for his roles as police commissioner Rock Hudson's mildly slow-witted assistant, Sgt. Charles Enright in the popular 1970s crime drama McMillan and Wife, and as Lee Meriwether's husband, Herman Munster in the popular 1980s sitcom, The Munsters Today. Schuck is also known for his work on Star Trek movies and television series, often playing a Klingon character.
Schuck was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary (née Hamilton) and Conrad John Schuck, an English professor at SUNY Buffalo. He made his first theatrical appearances at Denison University, and after graduating continued his career at the Cleveland Playhouse, Baltimore's CENTERSTAGE, and finally the American Conservatory Theater, where he was discovered by Robert Altman. His first appearance in film was the role of Captain Walter Koskiusko "Painless Pole" Waldowski in the film M*A*S*H (1970). He went on to appear in several more Altman films: Brewster McCloud, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and Thieves Like Us.
From 1971-1977 he appeared as Sergeant Charles Enright in McMillan and Wife and also starred as an overseer in the popular mini-series Roots. In 1976, he played Gregory "Yo-Yo" Yoyonovich in the short-lived series Holmes and Yoyo. He starred in American Broadcasting Company's 1979 TV holiday special "The Halloween That Almost Wasn't" as Frankenstein's Monster. In 1986, Schuck took the role of a Klingon ambassador in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. He reprised the role in 1991 in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, becoming one of only six guest roles to appear in more than one Star Trek film (the others being the characters of David Marcus, Saavik, Sarek, Captain Klaa and Fleet Admiral Cartwright).
He also guest starred in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as in Babylon 5 as Draal. He also guest-starred in several episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as the NYPD Chief of Detectives. Appearing as Conrad John Schuck he opened in the role of Daddy Warbucks in the Broadway revival of "Annie" to excellent reviews in December of 2006, and toured nationally in that role. He has since appeared in the films Holy Matrimony (1994), and String of the Kite (2003).
He was born Conrad John Schuck in Boston, Massachusetts in 1940, the son of an English professor who took several teaching positions including Princeton College and SUNY Buffalo while John was growing up. Following graduation from Denison University where he appeared in a number of plays, John turned to regional theatre for work, including the Cleveland Playhouse, Baltimore Center Stage, and American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He was discovered at ACT for film by film director Robert Altman (I), who featured him as "Painless", the dentist in the now-cult classic film MASH (1970). Altman continued to use John in Brewster McCloud (1970), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971), and most assuredly in Thieves Like Us (1974), arguably his best film role. On TV, Schuck won a regular part as a sergeant on "McMillan & Wife" (1971) opposite Rock Hudson and Susan Saint James for six seasons. Most of his work, however, seemed mired in playing dim, simple-minded characters such as the robot on the silly short-lived comedy "Holmes and Yo-Yo" (1976) and as Herman Munster on "Munsters Today, The" (1988), a revisit to the ghoulish 60s TV family. More challenging guest role work has come to him on occasion with shows such as "NYPD Blue" (1993) and "Babylon 5" (1994). In the popular films Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), John has earned himself a place in the hearts of Trekkie fans all over the nation. The musical stage in the last few decades has also taken a precedence. For decades now, John has appeared regularly as the gruff-speaking "Daddy Warbucks" in the musical "Annie" not only on Broadway but on tours and in smaller theater venues such as the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. He also had much success playing "Frank Butler" in "Annie Get Your Gun" with Bernadette Peters on tour. Other musical roles in "The Sound of Music", "Peter Pan", "The Most Happy Fella" and "She Loves Me" also appear on his active resume. A sailor on the sly, John lives with his second wife, painter "Harrison Houle", in California.
