It is being reported that horror, science-fiction, war and comedic actor William Schallert has passed away. The former president of SAG passed away on Sunday, May 8th 2016 at age 93; leaving behind a nearly seven decade career in Hollywood. Deadline has the official statement from SAG, saying:
“Bill Schallert’s remarkable career put him in the rare position of being able to understand actors at all levels of the business. He worked virtually every SAG contract, he appeared opposite movie stars and background performers, he was a series regular and an uncredited bit player. He turned this knowledge and experience into service for his fellow actors. Despite leading the union during a very difficult time, Bill maintained his integrity and commitment, a commitment that extended into many more years of board service. I am especially pleased that Bill lived long enough to see the SAG-AFTRA merger become a reality as he was one of the pioneers of that effort.”
With over 370 credits to his name, Schallert built much of his resume in the 1950’s with bit parts and small roles in a bunch of horror and science fiction titles including The Man from Planet X (1951), Captive Women (1952), Invasion USA (1952), Port Sinister (1953), Gog (1954), Them! (1954), Tobor the Great (1954), The Story of Mankind (1957) and The Monolith Monsters (1957). Time travel, to space invasion, to creature features -he truly did it all!
Eventually he would also appear in Twilight Zone: The Movie in 1983 and Gremlins in 1984. His larger film roles can be found in The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Death Sentence (1974), Hangar 18 (1980) and Innerspace (1987).
William pursued roles on television as well, making guest appearances in popular shows including two episodes of “Star Trek,” two episodes of “The Twilight Zone,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” “Bewitched” and “Bionic Woman.” Outside the genre, he played the role of Martin Lane in 104 episodes of “The Patty Duke Show” from 1963 to 1966.
His last acting gigs were a small recurring role on “True Blood” and a cameo in “2 Broke Girls” in 2014.
All of us here at HorrorSociety.com send our condolences to his family, friends and fans.
