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Pat Harrington Jr.

As the meddlesome but lovable handyman Dwayne Schneider on the popular sitcom "One Day at a Time" (CBS, 1975-1984), comedic actor Par Harrington put an exclamation point on an already successful career while establishing one of the most popular characters of 1970s' sitcoms. A veteran showbiz comedian, Harrington rose to fame as Italian golf pro Guido Panzini on "The Jack Parr Show" (NBC, 1957-1962) and as one of Steve Allen's "Men on the Street" on "The Steve Allen Show" (NBC, 1956-1960). On the big screen, he had notable roles in "The President's Analyst" (1967) and "Easy Come, Easy Go" (1967), but it was television that provided him his most fertile ground as well as his most famous role. With "One Day at a Time," Harrington was both a father figure and comic relief, providing both advice and levity on a sitcom noted for tackling serious issues like teen pregnancy, suicide and infidelity. Following his nine seasons on the show, Harrington parlayed Schneider into a lucrative series of ACE Hardware commercials while making numerous guest appearances on comedies and dramas like "The Golden Girls" (NBC, 1985-1992), "Diagnosis Murder" (CBS, 1993-2001) and "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO, 2000- ), which only added luster to Harrington's long and varied career.