Mr. William Schallert was the voice of Abraham Lincoln at the ALPLM

[David Lockmiller]

William Schallert, a familiar presence on prime-time television for decades, died on Sunday in Pacific Palisades, Calif. He was 93.

Mr. Schallert’s career spanned generations and genres. Over more than 60 years he racked up scores of credits in episodic television as well as noteworthy performances in motion pictures, on the Off Broadway stage and as a voice-over artist.

In 1952, Mr. Schallert traveled to Britain on a Fulbright Fellowship to study British repertory theater. He was a guest lecturer at Oxford before returning to Los Angeles.

Before joining the ranks of harried sitcom fathers as Martin Lane on “The Patty Duke Show” (1963-66), he was the equally harried teacher Leander Pomfritt, bane of the title character, on “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” (1959-62). He also earned a permanent place in the hearts of “Star Trek” fans in 1967 when he played Nilz Baris, under secretary in charge of agricultural affairs for the United Federation of Planets, in “The Trouble With Tribbles,” often cited by fans and critics as one of the best episodes of the original “Star Trek” series. [I remember that as the under secretary in charge agricultural affairs, he made the mistake of telling Kirk and Spock that he did not expect them to know what quadrotritakale (spelled phonetically) was; Spock “schooled” the presumptuous under secretary with his knowledge on this topic which began with "4-lobed hybrid" as I recall.]

Behind the scenes, Mr. William Schallert was the voice of Abraham Lincoln at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.

(Source: International New York Times – May 9, 2016)