Actor and Comedian. He is remembered as part of the comedy team of Burns and Schreiber, which he formed with Jack Burns. He was a crowd standout with his huge trademark walrus mustache, thick thatch of curly black hair, slim teddy bear eyes and mischievous grin. He is also remembered for his various Doritos corn chip commercial advertisements in various disguises (chef, sultan, pilot), all of them perturbed by people loudly crunching on the popular snack. He was born in a modest home where his father was a laborer and his mother worked as a secretary. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the US Army and eventually became a part of the All-Army Talent Show, which prompted his move into a career of comedy. Winning a scholarship to the Pasadena Playhouse, he chose to stay closer to home and attend night school at the University of Chicago while studying his craft at the Goodman Theatre. In 1960 a cabaret show brought him to the attention of the renowned improv troupe Second City, where he would remain for five years developing sketches and characters. In 1962 he met Jack Burns, a former Boston news anchorman, and they started performing together on cruise ships and on television variety shows, like "The Ed Sullivan Show," "The Dean Martin Show," and "The Hollywood Palace." In the summer of 1965, he starred as the broadly villainous Captain Mancini on television comedy show "My Mother the Car," which flopped after one season. At their peak, they appeared as regulars on the summer replacement musical variety series "Our Place" (1967), then earned the right to front their own summer series with "The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour" (1973). He made his first film appearance in "The Monitors" (1969). Burns and Schreiber would break up in 1968 but reteamed for a time in 1972, and split again later when Burns decided to devote himself exclusively to writing. He continued providing guest comedy relief on television shows "Alice," "The Rockford Files," and "The Dukes of Hazzard," and sitting on game show panels. He was a regular guest star on the television comedy "Chico and the Man" and was also a frequent guest on the game show "Match Game" and in a first-season episode of "The Muppet Show." He continued to work in film, television and the Theater, as well as teach Improvisational Theater technique up until the time of his death. He taught master classes at The Second City in Chicago and Los Angeles as well as teaching out of his home. During his career, he appeared in a number of films, including "Swashbuckler" (1976), "The Concorde...Airport '79" (1979), "Caveman" (1981), "Jimmy the Kid" (1983), "Cannonball Run II" (1984), "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" (1993), and "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" (1995). In 1994 he suffered a heart attack, a complication of diabetes. Though he survived triple bypass surgery, he never fully recovered and died of another heart attack eight years later at the age of 66. In 2003, the Avery Schreiber Theatre was founded in North Hollywood, California.