San Francisco Bay native and Air Force veteran Ronnie Schell had few peers in the realm of show business. Equally at home in feature films, TV series, musical comedy or performing on stage at legendary comedy venues, the very versatile Mr. Schell had done it all.
Ronnie began his career in show business while a senior at San Francisco State University when he auditioned at SF’s famed Purple Onion nightclub as a stand-up comedian. He was signed for a five month stint. After graduation he played North Beach’s Hungry I, Bimbo’s 365 Club and Fack’s 11 Jazz Club. From these hot engagements in San Francisco he easily moved into the most prestigious hotels in Las Vegas, for yearly engagements, where he performed until his death.
With almost 150 industry credits, Ronnie Schell appeared in a number of specials and variety shows, including his first TV appearance on Groucho Marx You Bet Your Life.
After playing top supper clubs in New York City, Chicago and around the country, Ronnie began his TV career playing Duke on the hit series Gomer Pyle: USMC for five years.
He also co-starred with Goldie Hawn on TV’s Good Morning World and played Marlo Thomas’ agent Harvey Peck on That Girl. Ronnie had recently appeared as a guest performer on General Hospital, Yes, Dear and Disney’s Phil of the Future.
Ronnie also appeared in over 24 films including Disney’s “Gus," "The Shaggy D.A.," "The Devil and Max Devlin," and was the voice of the cat in the "Cat from Outer Space." Other films include "The Revenge of the Red Baron" and Carl Reiner’s "Fatal Instinct." Audiences can hear his voice in many full length cartoon features like “Jetsons," "Rover Dangerfield," and TV shows like Battle of the Planets (as Jason), Shirt Tales, The Smurfs, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, and many more. He also appeared with Tim Conway in "Dorf Goes Fishing."
Ronnie is recognized for his face and voice in many TV and radio commercials. He was the spokesman for San Francisco’s BART. He landed his first national CLIO award for his Kemp’s Ice Cream commercial. In 2002, Ronnie received the first California Standup Comedy Legend Award. He was also inducted into San Francisco State’s Hall of Fame.
Recently he starred in the Off-Broadway musical comedy "Don’t Leave it All to You Children!" adding singing and dancing to his repertoire.