Biography

Karl David Schanzer was born on November 25, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut. Schanzer attended Los Angeles City College, where his roommates were James Coburn and Robert Vaughn. Following graduation from college Karl embarked on a brief acting career; he's especially memorable as sleazy lawyer Mr. Schlocker in Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1967). To make ends meet Karl worked as a private detective on the side and told Francis Ford Coppola a story about how disappointed he was when a man he had tailed for months failed to recognize him at a party; this story in turn served as the inspiration for Coppola's film The Conversation (1974). After calling it quits as an actor, Schanzer went on to work as a reader for Jeffrey Katzenberg at Paramount -- he found what would become the smash action/comedy hit 48 Hrs. (1982) -- and a creative executive at 20th Century Fox. In addition, Karl co-wrote the book "American Screenwriters" with Thomas Lee Wright. Karl died at age 81 on May 25, 2014 in Studio City, California. He was survived by his wife Marilyn and sons Adam and Aaron.
- IMDb mini biography by: woodyanders

Billy Bob Thornton's character Karl in Sling Blade (1996) was named after Schanzer.