Melanie Chartoff
Encyclopedia
Melanie Chartoff is an American
actress. Among her most prominent roles are her voice role in Rugrats
, her comedic work on the ABC
series Fridays from 1980–1982, and on the early 1990s Fox sitcom Parker Lewis Can't Lose
.
, Connecticut
, and attended West Haven High School
. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from Adelphi University
.
, after which came an appearance in the 1978 motion picture American Hot Wax
.
Chartoff first became a nationally known figure on ABC's Fridays; that network's attempt to create its own version of Saturday Night Live
. She immediately stood out on the series; partly thanks to her regular role as the anchor on the show's fake newscasts, but also due to her comedic skills (particularly a devastating impression of Nancy Reagan
) and her remarkable good looks. On one episode of Fridays, she was cold-cocked on live TV when guest host Mac Davis
failed to pull his punch during a skit.
Between the demise of Fridays in 1982 and her return to a regular series in 1990 with Parker Lewis Can't Lose (in which she co-starred for three seasons as the high-strung Principal Grace Musso), Chartoff continued to work steadily on television throughout the 1980s, including appearances on Mr. Belvedere
, Wiseguy
, and St. Elsewhere
, as well as a recurring role on Newhart
as Dr. Mary Kaiser. She also appeared on stage in the La Jolla Playhouse production of Big River. In addition, she made two appearances on Seinfeld
, including one in the 1998 series finale in which four of her former Fridays co-stars were also involved, making it the closest thing to a Fridays cast reunion to date.
.
magazine as the "Breast of The Month."
(who had also appeared in American Hot Wax and Rugrats and was a cast member on Fridays rival show, Saturday Night Live. Newman has joked that she and Chartoff frequently compete for the same roles) for Autograph Collector magazine. Chartoff appeared in the 2006 season finale of Desperate Housewives
.
Currently, she is appearing in what has been dubbed a "a musical memoir" Taught 2 Dance a work-in-progress which concerns her life as a performer "growing up to become a real person."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress. Among her most prominent roles are her voice role in Rugrats
Rugrats
Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
, her comedic work on the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
series Fridays from 1980–1982, and on the early 1990s Fox sitcom Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Parker Lewis Can't Lose
Parker Lewis Can't Lose is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on FOX from September 1990 to June 1993. During the last season, the series sported the simpler title Parker Lewis. The series was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and was strongly influenced by the feature film Ferris...
.
Early life
She was born to a Jewish family on December 15, 1948, in New HavenNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and attended West Haven High School
West Haven High School
West Haven High School is a secondary school located in West Haven, Connecticut, which educates students in grades 9–12. The mascot of West Haven is the Blue Devil. -Administration and Campus:...
. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
.
Career
Chartoff's first TV role came in 1976 when she played a nurse on Search For TomorrowSearch for Tomorrow
Search for Tomorrow is an American soap opera which premiered on September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS to NBC on March 29, 1982. It continued on NBC until the final episode aired on December 26, 1986, a run of thirty-five years. At the time of its final broadcast it was the...
, after which came an appearance in the 1978 motion picture American Hot Wax
American Hot Wax
American Hot Wax is a 1978 biopic film directed by Floyd Mutrux and written by John Kaye telling the story of Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who was instrumental in introducing and popularizing rock 'n' roll in the 1950s...
.
Chartoff first became a nationally known figure on ABC's Fridays; that network's attempt to create its own version of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. She immediately stood out on the series; partly thanks to her regular role as the anchor on the show's fake newscasts, but also due to her comedic skills (particularly a devastating impression of Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
) and her remarkable good looks. On one episode of Fridays, she was cold-cocked on live TV when guest host Mac Davis
Mac Davis
Mac Davis is a country music singer, songwriter, and actor originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much crossover success...
failed to pull his punch during a skit.
Between the demise of Fridays in 1982 and her return to a regular series in 1990 with Parker Lewis Can't Lose (in which she co-starred for three seasons as the high-strung Principal Grace Musso), Chartoff continued to work steadily on television throughout the 1980s, including appearances on Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Belvedere
Mr. Belvedere is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from March 15, 1985, until July 8, 1990. The series was based on the Lynn Aloysius Belvedere character created by Gwen Davenport for her 1947 novel Belvedere, which was later adapted into the 1948 film Sitting Pretty...
, Wiseguy
Wiseguy
Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J...
, and St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere
St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series is set at fictional St. Eligius, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood...
, as well as a recurring role on Newhart
Newhart
Newhart is a television situation comedy starring comedian Bob Newhart and actress Mary Frann as an author and wife who owned and operated an inn located in a small, rural Vermont town that was home to many eccentric characters. The show aired on the CBS network from October 25, 1982 to May 21, 1990...
as Dr. Mary Kaiser. She also appeared on stage in the La Jolla Playhouse production of Big River. In addition, she made two appearances on Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
, including one in the 1998 series finale in which four of her former Fridays co-stars were also involved, making it the closest thing to a Fridays cast reunion to date.
Rugrats
Chartoff's Rugrats characters include Didi Pickles (mother of main character Tommy Pickles and his younger brother Dil) and Didi's mother, Minka. Chartoff continued to voice Didi on the Rugrats spin-off series, All Grown Up!All Grown Up!
All Grown Up! is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky and Gábor Csupó. After the success of All Growed Up, the Rugrats 10th anniversary special, Nickelodeon commissioned All Grown Up! as a spin-off series based on the episode.The series ran from April 12, 2003 to August...
.
Inventing
According to her website, in 1991 Chartoff conceived the Grayway Rotating Drain, a graywater recycling device for domestic reuse of shower and sink water. However, the patent, (issued January 4, 1994), does not list her as an inventor, which is inconsistent with the claim that she conceived of the invention. Nonetheless, she was recognized as one of the 50 most beautiful female inventors of all time by Inventors Weekly magazine. She also appeared in the October 1981 issue of PlayboyPlayboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
magazine as the "Breast of The Month."
Voice acting and current projects
Chartoff has continued her work as an in-demand voice actress, and also takes occasional TV and stage roles. In addition, she works as an acting coach. In 2005 she interviewed Laraine NewmanLaraine Newman
Laraine Newman is an American comedienne, actress, and writer, and was part of the original Saturday Night Live cast.-Personal life:...
(who had also appeared in American Hot Wax and Rugrats and was a cast member on Fridays rival show, Saturday Night Live. Newman has joked that she and Chartoff frequently compete for the same roles) for Autograph Collector magazine. Chartoff appeared in the 2006 season finale of Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
.
Currently, she is appearing in what has been dubbed a "a musical memoir" Taught 2 Dance a work-in-progress which concerns her life as a performer "growing up to become a real person."
Films and television
- FridaysFridaysFridays is the name of ABC's weekly late-night live comedy show, which aired on Friday nights from April 11, 1980 to April 23, 1982 with repeats airing until October 22, 1982...
(1981) TV (Various characters) - Parker Lewis Can't LoseParker Lewis Can't LoseParker Lewis Can't Lose is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on FOX from September 1990 to June 1993. During the last season, the series sported the simpler title Parker Lewis. The series was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and was strongly influenced by the feature film Ferris...
(1990) TV "Grace Musso" - RugratsRugratsRugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series premiered on August 11, 1991, and aired its last episode on June 8, 2004....
(1991) TV "Didi Pickles" - JumanjiJumanji (TV series)Jumanji is an American animated television series that was inspired by the movie based on the book of the same name. The series ran for three seasons from 1996 to 1999. In 1996, it was carried by the UPN Kids network, but later seasons were syndicated by BKN. The series was also shown by CITV in...
(1996) TV "Aunt Nora Shepherd" - The Rugrats MovieThe Rugrats MovieThe Rugrats Movie is a 1998 American animated film, produced by Klasky Csupo and Nickelodeon Movies. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures and first released in theaters in the United States on November 20, 1998....
(1998) film "Didi Pickles" - Madeline: Lost in ParisMadeline: Lost in ParisMadeline: Lost in Paris is an animated Madeline television film, produced by DIC Entertainment and released on Direct-to-video on 3 August 1999. It was released to VHS by Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment...
(1999) film "Madeline's Mother" (no voice uncredited) - Rugrats in Paris: The MovieRugrats in Paris: The MovieRugrats in Paris: The Movie, also known as The Rugrats Movie 2: Rugrats in Paris and Rugrats in Paris: The Movie - Rugrats II, is 2000 American animated film, and the sequel to the 1998 film The Rugrats Movie that follows the continuing adventures of the Rugrats. In the film, Chuckie Finster takes...
(2000) film "Didi Pickles" - All Grown Up (2003) TV "Didi Pickles"
- No Ordinary FamilyNo Ordinary FamilyNo Ordinary Family is an American television series on ABC. The 45-minute science fiction comedy-drama was produced by ABC Studios for the 2010–11 television season. The series ran from September 28, 2010 to April 5, 2011, on Tuesdays at 8 pm ET/PT...
(2010) TV "Iris Mitchell"
External links
- Official website, "Gray water recycling system" (Jan. 4, 1994)