Charlie Callas was an American comedian and actor most commonly known for his work with Mel Brooks, Jerry Lewis, and Dean Martin and his many stand-up appearances on television talk shows in the 1970s. He was also known for his role as Malcolm Argos, the restaurant owner and former con man, on the Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner television series Switch.Tony Belmont, executive director of the National Comedy Hall of Fame in St. Petersburg, FL [1] said about Mr. Callas, "There were two things he could do that made his career, He could think very fast on his feet, and he had an unbelievable number of sounds that he made with his voice. He would tell a joke about two guys hunting. If you or I told it, the joke wasn't so funny. But Charlie made it hysterical by sticking in these sounds; so you would hear the gun cocking, the duck flying overhead, the explosion of the shotgun and then the duck falling and screaming all the way to the ground." [1]
(December 20, 1927 – January 27, 2011) Life and career |
Callas was born in 1927 in Brooklyn, New York as Charles Callias and served in the United States Army during World War II. He began his career as a drummer playing in groups with Bernie Cummins,[2] Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, and Buddy Rich.[3] He dropped a vowel from his legal name, Callias, when he took to the stage.Callas was known for his rubbery face, trademark nervous chattering and dark comedy. His first television appearance was in 1963 on "The Hollywood Palace," and then soon was opening for Frank Sinatra in nightclubs around the country. He made nearly 50 appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. On September 21, 1982 on The Tonight Show, Mr. Callas was "bombing" and Mr. Carson made a whistling sound of a bomb failing; in comic reaction, Mr. Callas "shoved" Mr. Carson. Mr. Carson was annoyed at the gesture and told Mr. Callas that he would never again appear on his show, and never did. [4]
He also appeared on The Andy Williams Show at various times as "Captain Weird", a parody of superheroes. Callas' only known dramatic role was that of a restaurant owner, Malcolm Argos, in the 1970s show, Switch. He was also a regular performer on The ABC Comedy Hour in 1972.[3] He was a semi-regular on "The Flip Wilson Show" and co-host of the "The Joey Bishop Show."
His two most recent television appearances were on the Larry The Cable Guy's Christmas Spectacular (2007) and the Larry The Cable Guy's Star-Studded Christmas Extravaganza (2008).
Death
Charlie Callas died on January 27, 2011 from natural causes at age 83 in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada The Associated Press reported that he is survived by his sons, Mark and Larry. His wife, Evelyn, passed away at 80 in July 2010. [5]Big break
Appearing on an episode of The Merv Griffin Show in 1965, one of the guests, Jerry Lewis, practically fell off his chair in hysterics as Callas performed his hunting routine. Lewis turned to Griffin and said he had to use Callas in his current project. The one appearance on the Griffin show landed Callas a role in the 1967 Lewis' film, The Big Mouth. Lewis recalled the story on his short lived 1984 talk show in which Callas served as his sidekick and performed the hunting routine. [6]Filmography
- The Big Mouth (1967) — Rex
- Switch (TV) (1975–1978) — Malcolm Argos
- Silent Movie (1976) — Blindman
- Pete's Dragon (1977) (voice) — Elliott
- High Anxiety (1977) — Cocker Spaniel
- The Carepenters....Space Encounters (1978) - Charlie
- Legends of the Superheroes (1979) — Sinestro
- History of the World: Part I (1981) — Soothsayer
- Hysterical (1983) — Count Dracula
- The Dom DeLuise Show (TV) (1987) — Charlie
- Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) — Himself
- Silk Stalkings (TV) (1993) — El Cid
- Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) — Man in Straitjacket
- Horrorween 3D (2010)
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