Overview
- Schell died Friday, June 12, 2026, at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center of natural causes after being hospitalized following a recent fall, his family and publicist confirmed.
- He became widely known in the 1960s as Pvt. Duke Slater, the best friend to Jim Nabors’ Gomer Pyle, and he left the show in season four to star in Good Morning, World before returning for the series’ final season.
- His career began in 1950s stand-up at San Francisco’s Purple Onion and grew into more than 140 television, film and voice credits across five decades.
- Schell was a prolific voice actor best known as the voice of the animated Peter Puck and he also performed in Disney films and long-running Las Vegas nightclub engagements.
- He is survived by his wife, Janet, his children and a granddaughter, and news outlets are publishing remembrances that emphasize his steady, decades-long presence in American comedy and television.