One of the most talented people I know is an actor-comedian-inventor-silly person named Chuck McCann. Once upon a time, he and Soupy Sales were a one-two parlay on New York television, making for a seamless bloc of hip kids' shows. Later on, he appeared in films and on TV and did cartoon voices and…well, I can't begin to tell you all that Chuck has done. Here's a link to his listing in the Internet Movie Database, which itemizes about a tenth of it. (By the way: Ignore the credits they have for him as a film editor. Those rightly belong to the other Chuck McCann. Completely different person.)
As you can see, even without cutting film, this Chuck McCann has an awesome list of credits. And one of the things that impresses me about Chuck is that he's done everything, met everyone, etc. A year or three ago at a party, we were chatting and somehow, Edgar Bergen's name came up in the conversation. Chuck works puppets and knows everybody so it didn't surprise me that Chuck knew him and had worked with him. But even I was amazed when Chuck said, "Did you know I once did the voice of Mortimer Snerd for him while he was working the dummy?" No, I didn't know…
Chuck went on to explain that it was on an episode of the game show, I've Got A Secret. Bergen was the celebrity guest — with Mr. Snerd on his knee — and his secret was, "I'm not speaking for Mortimer…I have another ventriloquist under the desk." Sure enough, Chuck was hidden uncomfortably down by the feet of Bergen and Garry Moore, and he copied Mortimer's voice. Bergen worked the controls and — here's the part I love — moved his lips a little to complete the illusion. The panel never guessed it.
I believed Chuck when he told me this. Still, I was impressed to see it the other night when Game Show Network re-ran that ancient (6/14/61) episode. It was just as Chuck described — his imitation of Snerd was flawless — and the whole spot was delightful. I couldn't wait to call Chuck the next morning and tell him I'd seen it.
"It was on?" he gasped. No one had told him. I saved it for him, of course, and we're getting together for lunch next week so I can give him a copy.
But that's not why I recounted all this. I just think it's great that things like this have been saved. Chuck thought he'd never see that episode again; assumed it was lost forever, as so much fine work has been lost. With eight zillion cable channels out there, why do they all have to be rerunning Dude, Where's My Car? Why can't we have more stations rooting around in old film vaults, preserving and sharing treasures of the past? I'm amazed how few old TV shows are available on my satellite dish beyond the biggies like M*A*S*H and I Love Lucy. When is someone going to start The Old Sitcom Network? Or The Cop Show Channel? Why can't I tune in one of my thousand channels and see The Defenders? Or Car 54? Or even Bilko, for God's sake?
Sorry. There's no answer to this. I'm just venting.
By the way: Game Show Network is closing in on the end of their supply of What's My Line? episodes. The last one (probably the actual last episode, featuring John Daly as the Mystery Guest) will air at the end of this month. It'll be replaced on the schedule by old installments of To Tell the Truth.