Mitzi McCall obit

Mitzi McCall, Comic Game Show Cut-Up Who Followed the Beatles on TV, Dies at 93

 She was not on the list.

Mitzi McCall, the eternally bubbly, diminutive comedian who, with her husband and partner Charlie Brill, became a staple of game shows and talk shows — and shared a spot on one of TV's most iconic evenings — has died.

Brill announced McCall's death at 93 in a heartfelt Facebook post on Friday.

"I lost my Mitzi last night. Rest in peace my one and only love...Rest in peace and laughter," he wrote.

McCall and Brill had the ultimate good news/bad news gig of following the U.S. TV debut of the Beatles on the February 9, 1964, episode of "The Ed Sullivan Show."

Though it became a night that changed music and television, for McCall & Brill, "It went lousy! It was terrible," McCall said through laughter in 2014 to CBS. The couple appeared between performances by the Fab Four, meaning they had to both follow them and open for them in the space of a few harried minutes.

"Mr. Sullivan," McCall told the outlet, "changed our act when we got to New York. When he saw what we were doing in the dress rehearsal, he was kind enough to warn us that his audience was going to be 14-year-old kids and that they probably wouldn't understand what we were trying to do."

Brill observed that Sullivan's changes to their act were not helpful, and both remembered not being able to hear each other over the audience's screams for more Beatles.

As nerve-racking as it was, McCall referred to the experience of bombing after the Beatles "an honor. We were there when the world changed."

McCall, born September 9, 1931, in Pittsburgh, spent her life in show biz. As early as 1948, she was appearing onstage, and she had her own local "Kiddie Castle" TV show shortly thereafter, at the dawn of the medium.

After heading to Hollywood, she made her national TV debut as a voice actress — a vocation she would lean into later in life — on a 1955 episode of "The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse." That same year, she shared screen time with comedy great Jerry Lewis in the feature "You're Never Too Young."

Other early film work included "Machine-Gun Kelly" (1958) and "The Cry Baby Killer" (1958). She made guest appearances on TV on everything from "The Twilight Zone" (1960) to "Maude" (1974), perhaps most famously on episodes of "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1968-1969).

Married and divorced early on, McCall met Brill in 1959, married him in 1960, and stayed with him until her passing, in the process becoming one of Hollywood's most successful husband-and-wife teams. They worked steadily on the road, gaining fame as reliably funny talk show guests.

The duo killed on game shows, especially "Match Game" and "Tattletales," in the '70s It was a format that allowed them to dominate with their husband-and-wife material and innuendo during a period when television was becoming less staid.

On one typical episode of "Tattletales," McCall was asked how quickly she would spend it if she were handed $10,000 in a windfall. "I wanna run amok at Saks and Gucci," she exclaimed. "One day. One day... Who knows if you're gonna be here tomorrow? Spend it!"

Later in her career, McCall joined Brill on episodes of "Silk Stalkings" (1993-1999) and worked extensively as a voice actor on such animated series as "The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show" (1971-1972), "The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang" (1980-1981), "Snorks" (1984-1985), "Paw Paws" (1985-1986), and even "American Dad!" (2008).

Gen Z would have seen her guesting on "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody" (2007) and "Hannah Montana" (2007).

McCall, who was the godmother of actresses Melissa and Sara Gilbert, is survived by her husband and by their daughter, Jenny Brill.

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1960

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1960

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1958

 

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1988

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1986

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1986

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7.0

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1985

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1983

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written by

1978–1982

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1980–1981

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6.8

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1980

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1979

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7.7

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1979

1 episode

 

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6.5

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1964

1 episode

 

Script and Continuity Department

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6.1

TV Series

executive script consultant

1988

2 episodes

 

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5.5

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1983

1 episode