One of the funniest human beings I know is a gent named Chuck McCann. If you grew up in New York in the sixties, you probably remember his now-legendary show for kids, which was filled to overflowing with witty, innovative bits. Many of them later showed up on other programs. So did Chuck, who has worked constantly ever since as an actor, comedian and cartoon voice thespian. You know that bird that goes cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs? Well, the guy currently doing that voice is imitating the guy who originated it and performed it for decades, Chuck McCann. Chuck has also been a voice on most of the Disney TV shows and many, many others, and appeared on-camera on hundreds of programs, including some amazing dramatic parts.
He's also had a pretty good career in movies. One of his best is one of those films you really should see if you've never seen it. It's called The Projectionist and it runs early the morning of 6/19 on the Sundance Channel.
And I could go on and on listing the guy's credits. The thing that I want to get to is that he's one of the best tellers of anecdotes and funny stories in the world…and you'll have the chance to hear some of them if you attend the Comic-Con International in San Diego this year. Friday afternoon at 2:00 in Room 5AB, I will be interviewing Chuck, and we'll show some clips of his work, too. I do lots of panels at conventions (I'm up to 13 for this year's San Diego gathering) but I will predict here and now that this will be one of the most memorable ever. Why? Because I've known Chuck for more than twenty years and I remember every wonderful, hilarious tale I've heard from him in that time. I'm not letting him out of that room until he tells all my favorites.
Remember the famous story of how Soupy Sales was kicked off TV for telling kids to take money out of their parents' wallets and mail it in? Well, Chuck and Soupy were then doing back-to-back shows on that station and Chuck was the guy who had to go out and apologize for what Soupy did…and what he did got him fired, as well. (What was it? You'll have to attend the panel to find out.)
Remember Turn-On, the 1969 TV show that was cancelled right after its first show aired? Well, Chuck was a member of the cast and the story of how he got word of the cancellation is a show biz classic. (What happened? Come to the panel.)
And he was a friend of Stan Laurel and a founder of the Sons of the Desert, the Laurel and Hardy appreciation society. And he works with Mel Brooks and Tim Conway and hangs around the Playboy Mansion and invents brilliant puppets and…aw, gee. Just take my word for it. I don't hard-sell panels too often but every so often, there's one that I tell everyone, "Do not miss this one, whatever you do." This is one such panel so make sure you're there Friday afternoon.
Some of the other dozen events I'm hosting at the con are pretty terrific, too. I'll spotlight them here in the days to come and post a complete schedule shortly. But I wanted to get an early start on nagging you all to come see Chuck.