Chuck "Big Chuck" Schodowski has died at the age of 90, according to a report from Fox 8 News. That report was confirmed by his wife, Sherry, in a Facebook post.
Schodowski worked for WJW TV8 for more than 30 years, starting as a tech on Ernie Anderson's Shock Theater with Ghoulardi and then The Hoolihan and Big Chuck Show in 1966. He was best known for “Big Chuck and Lil' John,” which ran for 28 years.
"I was waiting at a light and was looking at this big TV transmitter, and I thought it must be really cool to work in TV," he told Cleveland Magazine in 2008. "Because back then, TV people were sort of revered. It was like a doctor or lawyer."
Co-hosted with John "Lil' John" Rinaldi, the sketch comedy show parodied Cleveland life by playing on Schodowski's Polish heritage, Indiana Jones (which saw them invade Squire's Castle in Willoughby), Superman and our love for kielbasa.
"I liked Stosh, “the certain ethnic guy” more than any other character," he said. "The sweater he wore was really my own sweater from the ’50s. I grew up in this Polish neighborhood where like every third guy had that same sweater. And every guy wore that hat. One time, John and I were shooting a skit in my old neighborhood, and I’m walking down the street as Stosh, and John says no one even looked at me. There were too many people dressed like me going the other way."
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The pair's shenanigans even led to Schodowski taking a real-life punch from Mike Tyson. In a charity event at John Adams High School, Big Chuck and Lil' John squared up against the heavyweight champ. The idea was to spar for three rounds. Tyson thought it was a joke until the pair charged at him. Lil' John would take his legs, while Big Chuck would try to land a punch up top. Things didn't go as planned, as he recalled to Cleveland Magazine in 2007:
"When the bell clanged, John charged Tyson. I followed, and my mind slowed just enough to see there was no longer any smile on Tyson’s face — and his eyes were on me. With a flick of his glove, he knocked John out of the way. He’s smiling like, This is good. They want it rough. I don’t have to act.
I started my swing and was going to nail him. I swung big, but he’d already gotten under the punch. From a low crouch he took a half step, and then a tremendous quick jab hit my kidney. It was probably 30 percent of his full load, but it was right on the button.
The pain created a nausea so intense it affected my breathing. I turned and my nose and throat were clogged. I turned my back to find some balance when I became aware the crowd was roaring with laughter. Tyson picked up John and had him on his shoulder and was spinning around in a circle as John tried to hit him. I saw this, but it felt like I wasn’t really there — like I was floating out my body."
Schodowski first retired in 2007 and wrote a memoir Big Chuck! in 2008. The duo returned, however, in 2011 on Fox 8 as well as in a web skit show. Big Chuck won a number of broadcast awards and was inducted in both the Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
"Ever since I was a kid, it must have been embedded in me. I just wanted to get married, get a job, have a family, a house and a dog. If I did that, I would be considered successful by my peers, my uncles, my father," he said. "I didn’t have any aspirations about a big career. Just be a good guy, raise the family, raise the kids to work hard. And that’s what I did."
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