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Mitzi McCall

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Mitzi McCall
McCall in 1955
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.

Early life

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Mitzi Steiner was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on September 9, 1930.[1][2][3]

Career

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Steiner hosted the Kiddie Castle television 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."[5]

In 1953, she was featured on Studio 10, a program on KFSD-TV in San Diego, California.[6] She performed in productions at The Pittsburgh Playhouse before heading to Hollywood.[7] Around 1955, she adopted the surname McCall to use professionally, inspired by McCall's magazine.[1]

She appeared on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In[8]: 913  and was also a series regular on such television series as Life Goes On and (with her husband, Charlie Brill) on Silk Stalkings. On animated series, she provided the voice of Auntie Marina in Snorks,[8]: 986  the voice of Mother Goose in Mother Goose and Grimm, [8]: 718  the voice of Sylvia Jenkins in Free for All,[8]: 365  and a variety of voices on The Paw Paws.[8]: 819  She played Miriam Lerner on Alright Already.[8] 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.[8]: 820  She was a panelist on the game show Match Game during its 1970s revival, and appeared with Charlie Brill on Tattletales.[citation needed]

Ed Sullivan Show

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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".[9][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, whom they did not recognize.[10] 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.[11] Later that year, the duo signed with Congressional Records.[12] They continued to perform until the 1980s.[1]

Shawlee and McCall

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In the early 1960s, McCall (just over 5 feet) and actress Joan Shawlee (5'9") formed a night club act,[13] first appearing together at the Club Robaire in Cleveland.[14] 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".[15] In 2009, McCall had a supporting role as Bonnie in the film World's Greatest Dad.

Personal life and death

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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.[16] They had a daughter.[17]

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

Filmography

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Films

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Television series

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  • 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

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YearTitleRoleNotes
1971–1972The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm ShowPenny Pillar16 Episodes
1972–1974The Flintstone Comedy HourPenny Pillar18 Episodes
1977–1978Fred Flintstone and FriendsPenny Pillar
1980The Flintstone Comedy ShowPenny Pillar
1980–1981The Fonz and the Happy Days GangAdditional Voices
1982The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy HourAdditional Voices
1983Lucky LukeMa Dalton
1984The New Scooby-Doo MysteriesAdditional Voices
1984–1985SnorksAuntie Marina7 Episodes
1985–1986Paw PawsAdditional Voices
1990Gravedale HighAdditional Voices
1991TaleSpinUnaEpisode: "Destiny Rides Again"
1991Yo Yogi!Talula LaTrane8 Episodes
1991Darkwing DuckAmmonia Pine3 Episodes
1991–1992Mother Goose and GrimmMother Goose7 Episodes
1994DuckmanAdditional voicesEpisode: "Psyche"
1995Captain Planet and the PlaneteersMame SlaughterEpisode: "Five Ring Panda-Monium"
1997Cow and ChickenReceptionistEpisode: "Part Time Job"
1997Aaahh!!! Real MonstersCustodian Monster1 Episode
1998Hey Arnold!PearlEpisode: "Arnold's Thanksgiving"
1999Histeria!Golda MeirEpisode: "Histeria Around the World 2"
2000The Wild ThornberrysVultureEpisode: "Gift of Gab"
2002Ice AgeGlyptodontFilm Role
2003Free for AllSylvia Jenkins7 Episodes
2006The Grim Adventures of Billy & MandyNannyEpisode: "Scary Poppins"
2008American Dad!Old Woman #2Episode: "1600 Candles"
2011Regular ShowWarden of the InternetEpisode: "Go Viral"

Video games

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YearTitleRoleNotes
2000Clifford the Big Red Dog: Thinking AdventuresLoretta, Traffic People[18]
2003Arc the Lad: Twilight of the SpiritsGeedo
2005Tak: The Great Juju ChallengeThunder Fist
2007Spider-Man 3Additional voices
No More HeroesSpeed Buster[18]

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 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. 1 2 Barnes, Mike (August 9, 2024). "Mitzi McCall, Comedian, Actress and Sitcom Writer, Dies at 93". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Fanning, Win (June 29, 1954). "Radio-Television". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 25. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ↑ "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
  6. ↑ Cohen, Harold V. (November 10, 1953). "The Drama Desk". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 18. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ↑ 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
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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.
  9. ↑ Peter Marks (February 6, 1994). "Recalling Screams Heard Round the World". New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Human Spectacle 2015". October 2, 2015. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Special Merit Picks: Comedy" (PDF). Billboard. April 1, 1967. p. 40. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Signings" (PDF). Billboard. November 4, 1967. p. 20. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  13. ↑ "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
  14. ↑ "They're Back". The Los Angeles Times. October 20, 1960. p. 54. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  15. ↑ Kilgallen, Dorothy (January 7, 1961). "The Voice of Broadway". The Mercury. p. 4. Retrieved September 22, 2018 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  16. ↑ California Marriage Index, 1960-1985.
  17. ↑ "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.
  18. 1 2 "Mitzi McCall (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
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