Jump to content

Mitzi McCall

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mitzi McCall
Cropped photo of Mitzi McCall
Born
Mitzi Joan Steiner

(1930-09-09)September 9, 1930
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedAugust 8, 2024(2024-08-08) (aged 93)
Burbank, California, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1948–2015
Spouse(s)Jack Tolen (divorced)
​
(m. 1960)​
Children1
Signature

Mitzi McCall (born Mitzi Joan Steiner; September 9, 1930 – August 8, 2024) was an American comedian and actress. She was known for her work with her husband, Charlie Brill, and their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, the same episode that featured the first appearance of The Beatles on the show.

Life and career

[edit]

Background

[edit]

Mitzi Steiner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 9, 1930.[1][2][3] She adopted her stage name from McCall's magazine.[1]

In the early 1950s, McCall was married to Jack Tolen, a television director and production manager.[4] She and Charlie Brill met in 1959 and married the following year.[5] They had a daughter.[6]

Early career

[edit]

Steiner had the Kiddie Castle program in Pittsburgh.[4] She received national attention in 1952 via an Associated Press story about a five-year-old Pittsburgh girl with a cleft palate who spoke her first words while watching the actress in a pantomime on television. Afterward, doctors "didn't know what to say. They held a special meeting, examined Claire, and told the happy parents that she was cured."[7]

In 1953, she was featured on Studio 10, a program on KFSD-TV in San Diego, California.[8] She performed in productions at The Pittsburgh Playhouse before heading to Hollywood.[9] Around 1955, she adopted the surname McCall to use professionally, inspired by McCall's magazine.[1]

She appeared on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In[10]: 913  and was also a series regular on such television series as Life Goes On and (with her husband) on Silk Stalkings. On animated series, she provided the voice of Auntie Marina in Snorks,[10]: 986  the voice of Mother Goose in Mother Goose and Grimm, [10]: 718  the voice of Sylvia Jenkins in Free for All,[10]: 365  and a variety of voices on The Paw Paws.[10]: 819  She played Miriam Lerner on Alright Already.[10] Other credits include guest appearances on The Twilight Zone, Maude, Dharma & Greg, and Chuck, as well as voice over work for many cartoons. In 1971, she was the voice of Penny on The Flintstones spin-off The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show.[10]: 820  She was a panelist on the game show Match Game during its 1970s revival, and appeared with Charlie Brill on Tattletales.[citation needed]

McCall and Brill

[edit]

McCall and Charlie Brill appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, the episode that featured the U.S. television debut of The Beatles. As the last act to go on before the Beatles' second set, they performed a hastily truncated version of their full act before a studio audience of impatient Beatles fans who showed little interest in their comedy; Brill said that he and McCall "laid the biggest egg of all time".[1] Their act can be seen on the DVD of the Beatles' appearances on the Sullivan show. They were interviewed in 2005 for the "Big Break" episode of Public Radio International radio program This American Life, regarding their Beatles-Sullivan experience, including a dressing room encounter with John Lennon, who they did not recognize.[11] The poor reception to their appearance derailed their career for the next six months.[1]

In 1967, McCall and Brill had a comedy recording, From Our Point of View, released by ABC Records.[12] Later that year, the duo signed with Congressional Records.[13] They continued to perform until the 1980s.[1]

Shawlee and McCall

[edit]

In the early 1960s, McCall (just over 5 feet) and actress Joan Shawlee (5'9") formed a night club act,[14] first appearing together at the Club Robaire in Cleveland.[15] In January 1961, syndicated newspaper columnist Dorothy Kilgallen reported that the team was "causing quite a stir", emphasizing while exaggerating the partners' discrepancy in height, "Joan being six feet, three inches tall and Mitzi four feet, 10 inches short".[16] In 2009, McCall had a supporting role as Bonnie in the film World's Greatest Dad.

Death

[edit]

McCall died at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, on August 8, 2024, at the age of 93.[3][1]

Filmography

[edit]

Films

[edit]

Television series

[edit]
  • Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In – "herself" in "The Fun Couple" sketches (1968–1969)
  • Maude – Estelle Ellinger (Episode: "Nostalgia Party") (1974)
  • Family – Sally (Episode: "Princess in the Tower") (1978)
  • Life Goes On – Midge (1991–1992)
  • Silk Stalkings – Fran Lipschitz (1993–1999)
  • Seinfeld – Donna (Episode: "The Secretary") (1994)
  • Ellen – Rochelle Shapiro (Episode: "Too Hip for the Room") (1996)
  • Alright Already – Miriam Lerner (1997–1998)
  • Caroline in the City – Lois (Episode: "Caroline and the Little White Lies") (1998)
  • Becker – Mrs. Gould (Episode: "Hate Thy Neighbor") (1999)
  • Dharma & Greg – Florence (Episode: "With a Little Help from My Friend") (2001)
  • The Suite Life of Zack and Cody – Doreen (Episode "Club Twin") (2007)
  • Hannah Montana – Woman (Episode: "My Best Friend's Boyfriend") (2007)
  • Chuck – Blanche (Episode: "Chuck Versus the Broken Heart") (2009)

Animation

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1971–1972 The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show Penny Pillar 16 Episodes
1972–1974 The Flintstone Comedy Hour Penny Pillar 18 Episodes
1977–1978 Fred Flintstone and Friends Penny Pillar
1980 The Flintstone Comedy Show Penny Pillar
1980–1981 The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang Additional Voices
1982 The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour Additional Voices
1983 Lucky Luke Ma Dalton
1984 The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries Additional Voices
1984–1985 Snorks Auntie Marina 7 Episodes
1985–1986 Paw Paws Additional Voices
1990 Gravedale High Additional Voices
1991 TaleSpin Una Episode: "Destiny Rides Again"
1991 Yo Yogi! Talula LaTrane 8 Episodes
1991 Darkwing Duck Ammonia Pine 3 Episodes
1991–1992 Mother Goose and Grimm Mother Goose 7 Episodes
1994 Duckman Additional voices Episode: "Psyche"
1995 Captain Planet and the Planeteers Mame Slaughter Episode: "Five Ring Panda-Monium"
1997 Cow and Chicken Receptionist Episode: "Part Time Job"
1997 Aaahh!!! Real Monsters Custodian Monster 1 Episode
1998 Hey Arnold! Pearl Episode: "Arnold's Thanksgiving"
1999 Histeria! Golda Meir Episode: "Histeria Around the World 2"
2000 The Wild Thornberrys Vulture Episode: "Gift of Gab"
2002 Ice Age Glyptodont Film Role
2003 Free for All Sylvia Jenkins 7 Episodes
2006 The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy Nanny Episode: "Scary Poppins"
2008 American Dad! Old Woman #2 Episode: "1600 Candles"
2011 Regular Show Warden of the Internet Episode: "Go Viral"

Video games

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
2003 Arc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits Geedo
2005 Tak: The Great Juju Challenge Thunder Fist
2007 Spider-Man 3 Additional voices
No More Heroes Speed Buster[17]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Sandomir, Richard (August 25, 2024). "Mitzi McCall, Comedian Who Confronted Beatlemania and Lost, Dies at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  2. ^ Ramos Bechara, Diego (August 9, 2024). "Mitzi McCall, Comedian, Sitcom Writer and Half of the Comedy Duo McCall and Brill, Dies at 93". Variety. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Barnes, Mike (August 9, 2024). "Mitzi McCall, Comedian, Actress and Sitcom Writer, Dies at 93". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Fanning, Win (June 29, 1954). "Radio-Television". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 25. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ California Marriage Index, 1960-1985.
  6. ^ "Mitzi McCall, Comic Game Show Cut-Up Who Followed the Beatles on TV, Dies at 91". extratv.com. August 9, 2024. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  7. ^ "TV, a Miracle of Science, Works 'Miracle Cure' on Girl". The Lincoln Star. Associated Press. February 10, 1952. p. 7-D. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  8. ^ Cohen, Harold V. (November 10, 1953). "The Drama Desk". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 18. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. ^ Fanning, Win (November 13, 1952). "Radio and Television in Review". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 35. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  11. ^ "Human Spectacle 2015". October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  12. ^ "Special Merit Picks: Comedy" (PDF). Billboard. April 1, 1967. p. 40. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  13. ^ "Signings" (PDF). Billboard. November 4, 1967. p. 20. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  14. ^ "Joan Shawlee Sparkles Like a Spring Tonic". The Boston Globe. April 30, 1961. p. 65. Retrieved September 21, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ^ "They're Back". The Los Angeles Times. October 20, 1960. p. 54. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. ^ Kilgallen, Dorothy (January 7, 1961). "The Voice of Broadway". The Mercury. p. 4. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  17. ^ "Mitzi McCall (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
[edit]


Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mitzi McCall.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mitzi_McCall&oldid=1251529478"