Everybody Knew Schneider
For nine seasons, Pat Harrington Jr. made millions laugh as Schneider, the swaggering superintendent on One Day at a Time. He became one of the most familiar faces on 70s television.
But behind that larger-than-life character was a man whose final years would look very different.
Show Business Was In His Blood
Harrington was born Daniel Patrick Harrington Jr. in New York City in 1929. His father was a professional entertainer who performed in vaudeville and appeared on Broadway, meaning young Pat got an unusually close look at show business long before he ever entered it himself.
David Lipsky, National Publicity Associates/Photographer-James Kollar, New York., Wikimedia Commons
His Father Warned Him Away From It
Strangely enough, Harrington’s father reportedly didn’t want his son following the same path. Entertainment could be unpredictable, and Pat Jr. initially listened. He attended Fordham University, earning a bachelor’s degree and later a master’s in political philosophy. Acting didn’t exactly look like the plan.
Then Came The Air Force
Harrington also served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War era, working as an intelligence officer and reaching the rank of first lieutenant. When his military service ended, he returned to New York and found himself heading toward something much more conventional than Hollywood.
He Became An NBC Salesman
Harrington went to work for NBC, selling advertising rather than appearing in front of the cameras. He was approaching 30, had a respectable job and could easily have remained on the business side of television. Then one chance encounter changed pretty much everything.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Jonathan Winters Heard Him
The story has become part of Harrington legend. He was doing one of his comic characters for friends in a New York bar when comedian Jonathan Winters happened to hear him. Winters apparently liked what he heard enough to encourage Harrington to take his act somewhere considerably bigger.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Suddenly, He Was On "The Tonight Show"
Harrington ended up performing on The Tonight Show with Jack Paar in 1958. His comic character Guido Panzini, an outrageous Italian personality with elaborate stories, caught on. Harrington had gone from selling television advertising to actually appearing on one of television’s biggest programs.
Screenshot from Tonight Starring Jack Paar, NBC (1957-1962)
There Was No Going Back
After that break, Harrington left sales behind and spent the next several decades working in entertainment. He appeared with Steve Allen, worked alongside Danny Thomas and became one of those familiar television performers who seemed capable of turning up almost anywhere.
You Probably Heard Him Too
Harrington wasn’t limited to live-action television. He became a prolific voice performer and was especially memorable as the Inspector in animated shorts connected to The Pink Panther. Long before Schneider arrived, Harrington had already built a surprisingly varied career.
Screenshot from The Inspector, United Artists (1965-1969)
Then Norman Lear Came Calling
In 1975, producer Norman Lear was preparing a new CBS sitcom called One Day at a Time. The show centered on divorced mother Ann Romano, played by Bonnie Franklin, raising daughters Julie and Barbara, played by Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli. Harrington landed the role that changed his life.
Screenshot from One Day at a Time, Sony Pictures Television (1975-1984)
Schneider Was Different At First
Dwayne Schneider was originally envisioned as a considerably less lovable character. Harrington later explained that Schneider had initially been much more of a lecher. Harrington pushed to soften him, preferring to make the superintendent comically “amorous” rather than simply unpleasant. It was an important distinction.
CBS Uploaded by We hope at en.wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons
Harrington Made Him Human
The result was a character who could be ridiculous without becoming completely unlikeable. Schneider strutted around with enormous confidence, offered advice nobody had requested and seemed eternally convinced of his own appeal. But underneath all that swagger, Harrington gradually gave him something much more important: heart.
Screenshot from One Day at a Time, Sony Pictures Television (1975-1984)
He Was Supposed To Be The Neighbor
Schneider could easily have remained the guy who occasionally wandered into an episode to deliver a joke and fix something. Instead, he became increasingly important to the Romano family. Over time, the nosy superintendent began feeling less like a neighbor and more like part of the household.
Screenshot from One Day at a Time, Sony Pictures Television (1975-1984)
Norman Lear Knew What He Had
Even Lear recognized how important Harrington had become. The legendary producer later described him as the “comic strength of the show.” That was quite a compliment considering the sitcom’s talented ensemble, but anyone who remembers Schneider bursting through that apartment door probably understands exactly what Lear meant.
PBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
America Couldn't Get Enough Of Him
One Day at a Time lasted nine seasons, from 1975 until 1984, and Harrington remained with it for the entire run. Schneider became inseparable from the show: the mustache, the vest, the confident grin and that ability to make himself at home whether anyone invited him in or not.
Screenshot from One Day at a Time, Sony Pictures Television (1975-1984)
Eventually, The Awards Followed
Harrington’s work was more than popular with viewers. He received four Golden Globe nominations for One Day at a Time, winning once, and in the show’s final year he took home the 1984 Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Schneider had officially become award-winning television.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
He Even Helped Write Schneider
Harrington’s contribution went beyond performing the character. He also received writing credits on seven episodes of One Day at a Time. By then, nobody understood Schneider better than the man who had spent years transforming him from a fairly simple comic stereotype into something much warmer.
Screenshot from One Day at a Time, Sony Pictures Television (1975-1984)
Then "One Day At A Time" Ended
The sitcom finished its run in 1984. For Harrington, that meant saying goodbye to a character he had played for nearly a decade. But unlike plenty of actors forever trapped by one famous role, he kept working and continued appearing across television for years afterward.
Screenshot from One Day at a Time, Sony Pictures Television (1975-1984)
Schneider Almost Got His Own Show
CBS wasn’t necessarily ready to let Schneider go. The final episode of One Day at a Time, “Another Man’s Shoes,” shifted the story toward Schneider taking responsibility for his late brother’s children and was designed to set up a possible spinoff starring Harrington. The network ultimately decided not to move ahead with it.
Screenshot from One Day at a Time, Sony Pictures Television (1975-1984)
He Never Really Disappeared
Harrington popped up on shows including Murder, She Wrote, The Golden Girls, The Wayans Bros. and eventually Curb Your Enthusiasm. The roles were different, but for a generation of viewers, seeing Harrington on screen still produced the same immediate reaction: Hey, that’s Schneider.
Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images
Schneider Still Had One More Surprise
Years later, Harrington got another chance to share the screen with Valerie Bertinelli. In 2012, at age 83, he appeared on her sitcom Hot in Cleveland as Mr. Sherden, an apartment-building manager. The casting was an obvious wink at the role that had made him famous.
It Became His Final Screen Appearance
Nobody necessarily knew it at the time, but Hot in Cleveland would become Harrington’s final on-screen acting appearance. It was strangely appropriate. More than 35 years after Schneider first appeared, Harrington’s last television role brought him back alongside Bertinelli and once again put him in charge of an apartment building.
Behind The Scenes, Things Were Changing
By 2015, Harrington’s life had become far more difficult. He was living with Alzheimer’s disease, something his family would eventually make public. The man remembered for rapid-fire comedy, perfectly timed expressions and an unforgettable television character was experiencing a devastating decline.
His Family Had Kept It Private
For a time, viewers largely had no idea what Harrington and those closest to him were dealing with. Then, in late November 2015, his daughter Tresa shared an emotional update about her father and revealed just how serious his condition had become.
Then He Suffered A Fall
Earlier that November, Harrington had fallen and suffered a small hemorrhage in his brain. According to his daughter, the aftermath included weeks spent in a hospital and nursing facility. Combined with his advancing Alzheimer’s, the setback left his physical and mental condition deteriorating frighteningly quickly.
His Daughter Shared A Heartbreaking Moment
Tresa described struggling to get her father to eat as his condition worsened. But amid that decline came a small moment of recognition: as she rested her head against him in tears, Harrington placed his hand behind her head as though trying to comfort her.
Schneider Had Always Made People Laugh
That detail makes Harrington’s final chapter especially difficult to read. Millions of viewers remembered the loud, confident Schneider who always seemed ready with another joke. His family was watching something completely different: a beloved father slowly losing abilities he had possessed throughout his life.
Screenshot from One Day at a Time, Sony Pictures Television (1975-1984)
His Family Was With Him
Pat Harrington Jr. passed away in Los Angeles on January 6, 2016. He was 86. His daughter later wrote that members of the family had been together with him that day and evening, crying, laughing and loving him as his long life reached its end.
The Date Had An Eerie Connection
There was one especially poignant coincidence. Harrington passed away on January 6, which would have been the 72nd birthday of Bonnie Franklin, his longtime One Day at a Time co-star who had passed away nearly three years earlier. Norman Lear later pointed out the connection himself.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Valerie Bertinelli Remembered The Laughter
After the news became public, Harrington’s longtime co-star Valerie Bertinelli offered an appropriately simple tribute to the man who had spent so many years making her laugh both on television and off. Her message came down to five fitting words: “He always made me laugh.”
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
That's A Pretty Good Legacy
Harrington spent more than half a century entertaining people, won an Emmy and a Golden Globe, and turned what could have been a minor sitcom character into one of the most recognizable figures on 70s television. His final years were heartbreaking. Thankfully, that isn’t what millions of viewers remember first.
They remember Schneider walking through the door.
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