TLDR: Pat Harrington Jr. spent nine seasons playing the building superintendent everyone eventually loved, even though Schneider’s whole shtick was making unwanted passes at Ann Romano. Getting there took him through more than two decades of guest spots on nearly every classic sitcom on the air, and he built the character’s signature gut with a real physical trick he only revealed decades after the fact.
Harrington was born August 13, 1929, in New York City, the son of Pat Harrington Sr., a vaudeville and Broadway song-and-dance man.
He got his start with Steve Allen’s television comic troupe in the 1950s, then joined the U.S. Air Force before working in NBC’s mailroom and as a junior advertising salesman while he tried to break into acting full time.
He Was Everywhere on Television Long Before Schneider
Before landing his signature role, Harrington had already built a genuinely enormous resume of guest spots and recurring parts.
He played Pat Hannigan, a nightclub performer who eventually marries Danny Thomas’s television daughter, in a recurring role on Make Room for Daddy from 1959 to 1960, and starred as Tony Lawrence in the 1969-1970 ABC sitcom Mr. Deeds Goes to Town.
Across the 1960s and early 70s, he guest-starred on an almost bewildering range of shows: The Munsters, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Flying Nun, The Partridge Family, Get Smart, Columbo, McMillan & Wife, Love, American Style, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E., among dozens of others.
He’d also gone deep-sea diving with Elvis Presley in the 1967 film Easy Come, Easy Go and voiced Ray “The Atom” Palmer on the animated Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure.
He Faked His Character’s Gut With a Real Trick
Harrington played Dwayne Schneider, the building superintendent, across all nine seasons of One Day at a Time, one of only three actors to stay for the entire run alongside Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli.
Schneider’s trim mustache, tool belt, and gut pressed against a white T-shirt became instantly recognizable, and Harrington only later disclosed the gut came from drinking a large amount of water before every single taping.
The character initially made unwanted advances toward Ann Romano before evolving into a real, protective confidante for her and her daughters. The role brought Harrington a Golden Globe in 1980 and an Emmy Award in 1984, and he also wrote seven episodes of the show himself.
He Kept Working for Decades After the Show Ended
Harrington racked up guest spots across an enormous range of shows over the following decades, including The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, Fantasy Island, and The George Carlin Show.
On One Day at a Time itself, one memorable episode featured a young Mark Hamill guest-starring as Schneider’s nephew, caught stealing from his uncle’s own tenants, a few years before Hamill left another classic family sitcom’s pilot episode to become Luke Skywalker in Star Wars.
Harrington also made late-career appearances on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm.
His final on-screen appearance came on Hot in Cleveland, reuniting him with former One Day at a Time co-star Valerie Bertinelli years after their original show had ended.
Alzheimer’s Took His Life in 2016
Harrington’s health began declining publicly in late 2015, when his daughter Tresa disclosed on social media that he had Alzheimer’s disease. According to NBC News, a fall and hospitalization for a brain bleed that November preceded his death just weeks later.
Pat Harrington Jr. died on January 6, 2016, at age 86, at his home in Los Angeles, coincidentally on the same date as Bonnie Franklin’s birthday.
Tresa wrote in a Facebook post that the family had spent his final hours together “crying, laughing and loving him,” and he was survived by his second wife, Sally Cleaver, after 30 years of marriage to his first wife, Marjorie Ann Gortner.
You can read more about the rest of the One Day at a Time cast in our full guide to the show.
Pat Harrington Jr., Frequently Asked Questions
How did Pat Harrington Jr. die?
He died on January 6, 2016, at his home in Los Angeles, at age 86, from complications of Alzheimer’s disease, following a fall and hospitalization for a brain bleed the previous November.
How did Pat Harrington Jr. get Schneider’s signature gut?
He revealed decades later that he drank a large amount of water before every taping specifically to create the character’s paunch beneath his white T-shirt.
What awards did Pat Harrington Jr. win for One Day at a Time?
He won a Golden Globe in 1980 and an Emmy Award in 1984 for his role as Dwayne Schneider, and also wrote seven episodes of the show.
What other classic shows did Pat Harrington Jr. appear on?
He had a recurring role on Make Room for Daddy in the late 1950s and guest-starred on dozens of shows through the 1960s and 70s, including The Munsters, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Partridge Family, Columbo, and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
