John Schneider was born in upstate New York in 1960, and began acting at the age of eight. When he was fourteen he moved with his mother (his parents had divorced in 1962) to Atlanta, Georgia, where he became involved with the local theatre and appeared in many of their productions.
When Schneider was eighteen, he auditioned for a new TV series called The Dukes of Hazzard. His agent tried to dissuade him as they were looking for much older actors, from the South. He pretended that he was a real 'country boy' turning up for the audition with a torn shirt andor
and a pack of beer, lying to persuade the producers that he was a 24 year old farmer from Snellville in Georgia! He
did convince them, got the part of Bo Duke and appeared in 128 episodes of The Dukes of Hazzard which ran from 1979 to 1985, even writing and directing several
of them. In the series, Schneider performed many of his own stunts, including driving.
John Schneider aged 20
Tom Wopat and John Schneider in
The Dukes of Hazzard
John Schneider signed my model of the General Lee
John Schneider signed this photograph for me
John Schneider signing my model of
the General Lee
On the big screen, Schneider has appeared in more than 15 feature films including Eddie Macon's Run (1983) with Kirk Douglas, Snow Day (2000) with Chevvy Chase and Sydney White (2007) with Amanda Bynes. He also wrote
He also wrote, directed and starred in the famil
family comedy film Collier and Co.: Hot Pursuit! (2006). A sequel, Collier and Co.: High Octane is scheduled for 2009.
It is on TV however that Schneider is best known as an actor. He has appeared in 3 episodes of Second Chances (1994), 3 episodes of Diagnosis Murder (1996 & 2000) and 15 episodes of Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman (1997-98) where he first played the
Schneider is also an accomplished singer, guitarist and song-writer. He sang several duets with his co-star Tom Wopat in The Dukes of Hazzard. He has released eleven solo albums, had 'top-ten' singles and performed in many Broadway shows such as the award-winning musical Grand Hotel.
John Schneider & Amanda Bynes in
Sydney White
cowboy Red McCall, but was the
sheriff Daniel Simon in later episodes. It was however as Jonathan Kent (father of teenage Clark Kent - later to transform into Superman) that TV audiences saw most of Schneider in 100 episodes of the highly acclaimed Smallville (2001 to 2006). 'Good guy' John Schneider no doubt surprised audiences when he turned up as porn-producer Ram Pet
Eddie Macon's Run
John Schneider and Kirk Douglas in
Schneider as Red McCall
Nip/Tuck (2007-08). His most recent TV series appearance has been as Marshall Bowman in 15 episodes of The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008-09).
Peters in 4 episodes of
Schneider as Jonathan Kent in Smallville
John Schneider & Josie Bissett in
The Secret Life of the American Teenager
John Schneider as Ram Peters in Nip/Tuck
John Schneider performing in France (2007)
Recognising a need for better child health care, Schneider co-founded the Children's Miracle Network, an organisation which raises billions of dollars for 170 children's hospitals throughout North America.
From his Dukes of Hazzard days, Schneider retains his love of cars and has restored many 'General Lee lookalike' Dodge Chargers. He also has an impressive collection of classic cars.
John Schneider is married to his second wife Elly, and they have three children, Leah, Chasen and Karis.
John Schneider is married to his second wife Elly, and they have three children, Leah, Chasen and Karis.
Too Good to Stop Now (1987)
John Schneider with his second wife Ellly
John Schneider
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I met John Schneider in November 2007 at the Birmingham NEC, where he was appearing at Memorabilia.
John signed a photograph from The Dukes of Hazzard, and also my model of the Dodge Charger known as 'General Lee' in the series.