January 27th, 2011 – Charlie Callas’es’es’ezzzz Death.. Ha HEE Ho ga!
by Rob Smith, Jr. on Jan.29, 2011, under Various, What's New?
I saw this headline when looking for Charlie Callas’ obituary:
“Curfew ignored…Flights suspended…Charlie Callas dead at 83″
No kidding. Here’s the actual link:
http://www.9and10news.com/Category/Story/?id=280094&cID=3
I have some very fond childhood memories of Callas. Seeing him on Carson, Griffin and Mike Douglas where he talked about being in Paris at J.C. Pen-ay. He and Don Rickles were two that I would shut everything down, tune in and just watch the improvisational magic!
I never missed the CBS series ‘Switch’. I remembered when I learned he was going to be a part of ‘Switch’ and how I hoped he would be as crazy in the series. He wasn’t, but he was great in it. Everyone was in the series. That was a great cast: Eddie Albert, Robert Wagner, Sharon Gless & Callas.
Callas was very much part of my childhood memories and I have always been a great fan of his manic genius.
Here’s a terrific New York Times obituary below. Click the title to to the site and read the whole thing.
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Charlie Callas, Zany Comedian, Dies at 83
By DENNIS HEVESI Published: January 28, 2011
Photofest / Charlie Callas in 1986
Charlie Callas, a rubber-faced comedian who cavorted on television and the nightclub circuit in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s, often punctuating punch lines with sound effects emanating from his motormouth, died on Thursday in Las Vegas. He was 83.
Michael Murphy, the coroner in Clark County in Nevada, confirmed the death.
A string bean of a man with a Cyrano-size nose, Mr. Callas appeared on virtually every television variety and talk show in the days of Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson. He was a regular on “The Andy Williams Show” and “The ABC Comedy Hour,” a semiregular on “The Flip Wilson Show” and a co-host of “The Joey Bishop Show.”
Click here or the title above for the rest of the obituary…………….
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January 29th, 2011 on 10:11 am
Hey Rob,
My thoughts on Charlie C. mirror your thoughts exactly! I would only add that I also thought that his stage persona came closest to what could accurately be described as a “human cartoon”. His type of manic/sound effect/rubber face comedy was usually not my bag. He brought a rare, unbelievably funny caste to everything he did.