Ronnie Schell is an American actor, comedian and most-notably voice-over artist who has given life to some of the most beloved cartoon characters in the history of film and television.
This April, the 84-year-old legend will make his Australian debut at Supanova Pop Culture Expo. And one thing is certain: age has done nothing to dampen neither his spirit, nor his sense of humour. “I’m really looking forward to coming to down under for the first time, I can’t wait,” Ronnie says.
“The only thing is I don’t know what to do on the 17-hour flight with Qantas. What should I do? Take a couple of valiums, make it go by fast? What will help me? I understand from my son who visits Australia a lot, one of your great wines is shiraz, so I’ll be having some on the plane. It’s going to be really great.”
Anyone who’s watched TV in the past 50 years or so may know him as Duke Slater, bunkmate of Jim Nabors’ titular character on ‘Gomer Pyle: USMC’, the fearless Jason from ‘Battle Of The Planets’, or any number of characters from the Hanna-Barbera pantheon. “I was also the voice of three Smurfs.
"I did a marvellous little animated film called ‘Rover Dangerfield’, the star was Rodney Dangerfield and I played the voice of his best friend [Eddie]; and I did ‘The Jetsons’ movie for Hanna-Barbera, I played the part of Rudy-2… but I’ve done so many I can’t remember all the names [of characters] I did.”
In a career encompassing nearly the entire canon of American television, Ronnie has worked with all the big stars and amassed a bulging collection of photos and stories, all of which he’ll be sharing with fans at Supanova. “I worked with most of the comedians and actors around, from Robert Mitchum to Carol Burnett, you name it,” he says.
“I’ve got a lot of pictures then I sign autographs. We’re going to have a question and answer session, and then I’m going to show some outtakes from ‘Gomer Pyle’; there’s only two copies made: mine and Jim Nabors’ and they’re hilarious, I think they’re worth showing.”
He was once dubbed ‘America’s Slowest Rising Comedian’ by radio DJ Don Sherwood, yet few stars can boast the longevity and consistent output of work of Ronnie, who proudly embraces his almost-glacial rise. “Now I’m ‘America’s Slowest Rising Old Comedian’,” he laughs. “I’ve been very fortunate. I think success in show business is 50 per cent talent and 50 per cent luck, and I just happened to be lucky to work all the time.
“I know a lot of actors, actresses, comedians and comediennes who are funny or funnier than some of the big stars but they didn’t get the breaks, the luck. So it’s really 50-50, but I was fortunate that I’ve always worked and I’ve had a great time.”
As just one example of the stories Ronnie has to share, he recounts starring in the only one-hour long episode of ‘Mork & Mindy’ ever produced, appearing alongside the late-and-great Robin Williams, who Ronnie still remembers fondly as a rare comedic gem. “He was one of the few geniuses of comedy,” he says.
“There’s about five geniuses of comedy that I’ve had the pleasure to work with: Jonathan Winters, Robin, George Carlin and Don Rickles, those are all the geniuses of comedy. “Notice I left myself out?” Ronnie asks with a laugh, “[I’m] too modest.”
Meet Ronnie Schell at the Supanova Pop Culture Exhibition at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre 8-10 April as well as Melbourne Showgrounds 15-17 April.
