John Schneider (screen actor)

Early life

Schneider was born on April 8, 1960, in Mount Kisco, New York, the son of Shirley Conklin and John "Jack" Schneider III, a pilot who had served in the U.S. Air Force. His family included an older brother Robert, an artist living in southern New York. John's life as an entertainer began at the age of eight, when he put on magic shows for his peers and their families. This once got him into trouble, when he had himself chained up and tossed into a swimming pool with the intention of re-creating Harry Houdini's legendary escape act. When he was 14, he and his mother moved to Georgia, where his love for performing continued.

Acting career

At the age of 17, he won the role of Bo Duke, along with another newcomer Tom Wopat and veteran actor James Best. For his audition, he "borrowed a dilapidated pickup truck, put on a big ol’ country accent and funky hat. I hadn’t shaved and went in toting a beer. I don’t know whether they believed it or not, but they liked it." Schneider learned to drive the iconic Dodge Charger in the show, but to the disappointment of many fans, he admitted he never jumped the car due to the dangerous nature of the stunt.

At the height of the series' popularity, he also became a recording artist and merchandise galore. In 1982, a tangle of legal suits with the producers over the distribution of merchandising royalties sent Schneider and co-star Tom Wopat stalking off the show for most of a season. They returned to their roles in February 1983, only after their claims were satisfied. The show was canceled in 1985, after 7 seasons. Schneider directed the series finale, titled Opening Night at the Boar's Nest, airing originally on CBS, February 8, 1985.

In 2001, he portrayed Jonathan Kent, the adoptive father of Clark Kent on Smallville, starring in 100 episodes before his character was killed off. Schneider directed some episodes of Smallville, including "Talisman". Some episodes contain references to Schneider's work in The Dukes of Hazzard, e.g. the season five episode "Exposed" is notable for reuniting Schneider with his former Dukes co-star Tom Wopat. Schneider guest starred for the latter half of season five appearing in the episodes "Void" and "Oracle". Schneider returned for the season 10 premiere of Smallville, reprising his role as Jonathan Kent in a recurring role.

Schneider has appeared in many films and TV series, including five guest spots on Hee Haw and the miniseries 10.5. He had a recurring role on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman and made guest appearances on such shows as Diagnosis: Murder, Touched by an Angel, JAG and Walker, Texas Ranger.

In 2009, Schneider made an appearance on CSI in an episode titled "Kill Me If You Can". He appeared in the first season of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, in which his real-life son Chasen Schneider had a recurring role. During the summer of 2008 and early 2009, John portrayed "Marshall Bowman". He declined to continue through the second season and his character was killed off.

In 2010, Schneider appeared in the series Leverage as a corrupt music executive in the season three episode "The Studio Job", and in several episodes of Desperate Housewives as a retired military man and father of Keith Watson (Brian Austin Green), the love interest of Bree Van de Kamp.

In 2011, he starred in the film Doonby, as a drifter who comes into a small town and makes it better. However, a menacing force stalks him. "It's It's a Wonderful Life without the wonderful part," Schneider explains. "'Reach down into the throat of It's a Wonderful Life, pull it inside out and make a movie out of it."

He returned to the role of Bo Duke, alongside Tom Wopat as Luke Duke, in a 2014 commercial for Autotrader.com.

A indiegogo campaign from the upcoming movie titled A Gift Of The Heart starring John Schneider and Austin St. John (Power Rangers) was launched.

Music career

During the 1980s, Schneider parlayed his success as Bo Duke with a string of country music hits. His biggest hits include: "It's Now or Never" (#4 country and No. 14 pop, 1981; a remake of the Elvis Presley hit); "I've Been Around Enough to Know" (#1 country, 1984); "Country Girls" (#1 country, 1985); "What's a Memory Like You (Doing in a Love Like This)" and "You're The Last Thing I Needed Tonight" (both No. 1 country, 1986); "At the Sound of the Tone" (#5 country, 1986); and "Love, You Ain't Seen the Last of Me" (#6 country) in 1987.

Schneider has recorded 10 albums to date, including works on Scotti Brothers Records and MCA Nashville. His co-star (on The Dukes of Hazzard), Tom Wopat, also enjoyed success on the country music charts. Schneider and Wopat sang several duets on the TV series, sometimes with co-star Catherine Bach. In fact, in the season 7 DVD boxset, the trio performed a remake of the show's theme song "Good Ol' Boys" in a music video as a tribute to their friend Waylon Jennings.

Personal life

Schneider became a born-again Christian while living with Johnny and June Carter Cash for a short time in 1998 and speaking with Johnny about Christianity. In 1982, he co-founded, with Marie Osmond, the Children's Miracle Network to help suffering children. In 1995, he founded FaithWorks Productions in order to produce family-oriented videos and recordings.

Schneider has become involved in animal advocacy. He read from Karen Dawn's book Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking The Way We Treat Animals at its New York book launch. In a Washington Post article he discussed the effects of the book and the people he met through the event on his life. He was moved to record a personal video, which is available on YouTube and on the book's website, in which he talks of his shock upon learning about the way animals are treated by human society, and mentions the award winning documentary Earthlings, which is about the human dependence on animals for a variety of resources.

Schneider was married to former Miss America Tawny Elaine Godin from 1983 to 1986. He married his second wife, Elvira Castle, on July 11, 1993. On December 12, 2014, TMZ.com reported that Castle had filed for divorce., which, on May 15, 2017, is still pending. They have three children, Leah and Chasen (born 1991), both of whom are Castle's children from her first marriage, and their daughter Karis. Since April 2015 Schneider is in a relationship with Alicia Allain, his producing partner and owner of Maven Entertainment.

Schneider was good friends with James Best, who played Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in The Dukes of Hazzard, until his death on April 6, 2015, of pneumonia.