Charlie Callas

Charlie Callas
Callas in 1956
Birth name	Charles Callias
Born	December 20, 1924(1924-12-20) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	January 27, 2011(2011-01-27) (aged 83) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Nationality	American
Genres	Stand-Up, Dark Comedy
Influences	Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin
Influenced	Larry the Cable Guy
Spouse	Evelyn Callas

Charlie Callas (December 20, 1924 – January 27, 2011) 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, Florida said about 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]

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. 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.^[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.

Callas' last 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 86 in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada He is survived by his sons, Mark and Larry. His wife, Evelyn, died at 80 in July 2010. He was cremated.^[5]

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 Carpenters....Space Encounters (1978) - Charlie
• Legends of the Superheroes (1979) — Sinestro
• History of the World: Part I (1981) — Soothsayer
• Rooster (1982) - Francis A. Melville
• 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)

References

1. ^ The New York Times obituary, January 29, 2011, page D8.
2. ^ Walker, Leo (1989). The Big Band Almanac. Da Capo Press. p. 92. ISBN 978-0306803451. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Hevesi, Dennis. "Charlie Callas, Zany Comedian, Dies at 83", The New York Times, Saturday, January 29, 2011.
4. ^ Hevesi, Dennis (January 28, 2011). "Charlie Callas, Zany Comedian, Dies at 83". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/29/arts/television/29callas.html. 
5. ^ "Comedian Charlie Callas dead in Las Vegas at 83". The Wall Street Journal. January 28, 2011. http://online.wsj.com/article/APec9daef962b84cbd80cd4973f8b63949.html. ^{[dead link]}

External links

• Charlie Callas at the Internet Movie Database
• Charlie Callas roasting Frank Sinatra "Dean Martin Roasts" comedy show
• Charlie Callas famous roast of Don Rickles
• Charlie Callas from YouRememberThat.com
• Associated Post Obituary
• EW.com note on Mr. Callas' passing
• WSJ obituary
• NY Times obituary

Persondata
Name	Callas, Charlie
Alternative names	Callias, Charles
Short description	American actor, comedian, and jazz drummer
Date of birth	1924-12-20
Place of birth	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Date of death	2011-01-27
Place of death	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.