A product of a broken home, John poured himself into acting at a young age and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, with his mom, when he was in his teens.
He continued acting in community theatre and lucked out by landing a small role in 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit. He shot to fame a couple of years later as Bo on The Dukes of Hazzard. The show ran for six years.
His success led to an opportunity to pursue another ambition, music. In 1981, he launched his recording career by re-making Elvis’s “It’s Now Or Never”, reaching #4 and #14 on Billboard’s country and pop charts, respectively. Other hits followed: ” I’ve Been Around Enough To Know”, “What’s a Memory Like You (Doing in a Love Like This)” and “You’re The Last Thing I Needed Tonight” all went to #1 on the country chart: ” At the Sound of the Tone” and “Love, You Ain’t Seen the Last of Me” went to #5 and #6, respectively, on same.
Television work kept pouring in, as well: John made regular appearances on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, and guest appearances on Diagnosis: Murder, JAG, Touched By An Angel, and Walker, Texas Ranger. Modern audiences know him as Superboy’s surrogate father on Smallville.
His greatest legacy, however, may be his co-founding of Children’s Miracle Network, in 1982, with Marie Osmond. To date, it has managed to raise almost two billion dollars for children’s hospitals.
John Schneider recordings
It’s Now Or Never ( Eduardo di Capua/Wally Gold/ Alfredo Mazzucchi/Aaron Schroeder )
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