[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTmK9NlTN8Y]

The amazing Charlie Callas in a classic bit of tomfoolery. Charlie reminds me of a live Don Martin character. He cured an early stuttering problem by practicing Shakespeare and started out as a drummer. His fellow musicians in The Tommy Dorsey Band, where he got his start, talked him into becoming a comic.

In the 60s and 70s, Callas became a hit on “Laugh-In” and “The Flip Wilson Show” and on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He also had special associations with Jerry Lewis, here in “The Big Mouth” (1967) and Mel Brooks, who gave him small but flashy roles in his films. In 1982, Callas got banned from The Tonight Show, after shoving Johnny Carson off his chair, trying to get a laugh. He worked regularly in Las Vegas nightclubs and the Jerry Lewis Telethon until recently.

On January 27, 2011, Charlie Callas died. RIP to one of the funniest of his generation.

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