Big Band Drummer (and Comedian) Charlie Callas dies

[Bright Moments]

made us all laugh. R.I.P.

obit

[flat5]

I always enjoyed his stuff.

[GA Russell]

RIP. I remember seeing him once on Ed Sullivan, and he had Igor the hunchback singing "Straighten Up and Fly Right"!

[Larry Kart]

I remember once hearing him work Gene Quill's name into a routine.

[Stereojack]

One of the funniest comedians I've ever seen. Never fails to crack me up. RIP

[mattes]

Wikipedia,

He began his career as a drummer playing in groups with Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, and Buddy Rich.

Callas made over 50 appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, but was permanently banned by Carson himself because of one bad segment. On the September 21, 1982 broadcast, Callas' routine was going poorly, and Carson made a whistle-sound resembling that of a bomb dropping. Hoping to get a laugh, Callas shoved Carson off his chair. An annoyed Carson told him on the air that he would never appear on his show again, a joking threat that became reality.

[Ragu]

I was just telling someone today about a time years ago when I was staying in Las Vegas with my friend, a now famous comedian, who was working one of the big hotels. We were hanging around the pool when Charlie Callas came by and hung out, telling us stories about his days opening for Frank Sinatra. He was great and a great story teller.

[Free For All]

I love this one- what a great storyteller.

[Dave James]

He always looked like his face and body were made out of elastic or some other Gumby-like material. Funny guy. I did not know he was a big band drummer. You learn something new every day. R.I.P.

[DMP]

I only saw him once - hanging out at the bar at Donte's, listening to Conte Candoli.

[sonnymax]

In this case, a picture surely is worth a thousand words:

Thank you, Mr. Callas.

[AllenLowe]

true story: years ago (mid 1970s)a friend of mine, who lived in Boston and went to B.U., introduced me to his roomate. Nice enough guy, but HE NEVER SAID A WORD.Quietest person I ever met. 2 or three times we were together, HE NEVER SAID A WORD.

turns out - he was the son of Charlie Callas. The way my friend described it, he was so cowed by the old man, who was always "on," that he went the opposite way.