John Richard Schneider was born April 8, 1954 in Mt. Kisco, New York. His parents divorced when he was two. John began acting at the age of eight. He was in many plays in New York. He and his mother moved to Atlanta, Georgia when he was fourteen. He got involved in the local theater and was in many local productions. He had a small part in Smokey and the Bandit starring Burt Reynolds.

His big break came when he won the role of Bo Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard on CBS from 1979-1985. He auditioned for the role pretending he was a genuine country boy. He had a weeks growth of beard and held a beer can claiming he was from Snellville, Georgia. He later became a very successful country singer and had several hit songs including "I've Been Around Enough To Know" and "Country Girls". He has since opened Faith Works Productions in San Antonio, Texas. He also appears in Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman as Daniel Simon/Red McCall.


Father of Leah Castle, Chasen Joseph Schneider and Karis Schneider. Attended North Springs High School in Atlanta, GA. On November 12, 2004, John was an honoree at the 7th Annual Silver Spur Awards show by the Reel Cowboys, an organization dedicated to the western heritage. The late Howard Keel was also honored. Has restored many General Lee look-alike Dodge Chargers. Lied about his age to get the role of "Bo" on "The Dukes of Hazzard" (1979). Has been in various branches of show business since the age of eight. Got his start as a magician, performing assorted tricks for classmates and friends. Once, he had himself chained up and tossed into his family's swimming pool, with the intention of re-creating Harry Houdini's legendary escape act. His mother was furious when she discovered he had done this.