Charlie Callas
| Charlie Callas | |
|---|---|
Callas in 1956
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| Birth name | Charles Callias |
| Born |
December 20, 1924 Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Died | January 27, 2011 (aged 86) Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Genres | Stand-Up, Dark Comedy |
| Spouse | Evelyn Callas (1922–2010; her death); 2 children) |
Charlie Callas (born Charles Callias; 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 (1975-1978). Callas was also known as the voice of Elliott the dragon in Disney's live-action/animated musical film Pete's Dragon (1977).
Tony Belmont, executive director of the National Comedy Hall of Fame in St. Petersburg, Florida, said of Callas: "There were two things he did 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."
Callas was born in Brooklyn, New York, as Charles Callias, the son of a Greek father and German mother. He served in the United States Army during World War II. He began his career as a drummer playing in groups with Bernie Cummins,Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, and Buddy Rich. He dropped a vowel from his legal name, Callias, when he took to the stage.
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