Mitzi McCall
Encyclopedia
Mitzi McCall is an American actress married to actor Charlie Brill
. She performed on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
. Other credits include guest appearances on Life Goes On
, The Twilight Zone
, Silk Stalkings
(where she appeared as the wife of Brill's character), and voice work on many cartoons. McCall was a panelist on the game show Match Game
during its 1970s revival. In 1971, she was the voice of Penny on The Flintstones
spin-off The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
.
Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill
met in 1959 and married the following year. They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show
on February 9, 1964, the show that featured the U.S. television debut of The Beatles
. They faced the unenviable challenge of trying to get laughs from an audience which was focused elsewhere. Their act can be seen on the DVD of the Beatles' appearances on the Sullivan show. She and Charlie have a daughter, L.A.-based yoga teacher Jenny Brill. They were interviewed in 2005 for the "Big Break" episode of PRI
radio program This American Life
, regarding their Beatles-Sullivan experience, including a dressing room encounter with John Lennon
.
Brill and McCall were spotted in 1963 while working in Honolulu by the Australian television producer John Collins, who produced The Tonight Show for the Nine Network in Sydney. Collins was seeking a replacement for the then unknown Irish comedian Dave Allen, who had hosted the program for the previous two seasons and wanted to return to Ireland. Collins approached them and they agreed but could not start an Australian engagement until their Hawaiian engagement was complete. They recommended an American comedian, their friend Don Lane
(Donald Mortimer Isaacsen), who was also working in Hawaii, to fill in in the meantime. Collins agreed to this.
Lane started his Australian engagement and was an immediate success. Ratings were sensational and the network was delighted. It was going to be difficult if not impossible to replace him once the Brills became available. When they did, the preference was obvious and their engagement was cancelled after six weeks. Lane resumed their spot and remained successful in Australian television for the ensuing thirty-five years.
Charlie Brill
Charlie Brill is an American actor.His first motion picture was in The Beast of Budapest. He also appeared in Blackbeard's Ghost, The Amazing Dobermans and Off the Wall....
. She performed on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...
. Other credits include guest appearances on Life Goes On
Life Goes On (TV series)
Life Goes On is a television series that aired on ABC from September 12, 1989 to May 23, 1993. The show centers on the Thacher family living in suburban Chicago: Drew, his wife Elizabeth, and their children Paige, Rebecca, and Charles, who is known as Corky...
, The Twilight Zone
The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)
The Twilight Zone is an American anthology television series created by Rod Serling, which ran for five seasons on CBS from 1959 to 1964. The series consisted of unrelated episodes depicting paranormal, futuristic, dystopian, or simply disturbing events; each show typically featured a surprising...
, Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings
Silk Stalkings is a TV crime drama originally shown on CBS in 1991 as part of the network's late-night Crimetime After Primetime programming package, and rebroadcast on the USA Network. After CBS ended the Crimetime experiment in 1993, the series ran exclusively on USA until its finale in the...
(where she appeared as the wife of Brill's character), and voice work on many cartoons. McCall was a panelist on the game show Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
during its 1970s revival. In 1971, she was the voice of Penny on The Flintstones
The Flintstones
The Flintstones is an animated, prime-time American television sitcom that screened from September 30, 1960 to April 1, 1966, on ABC. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, The Flintstones was about a working class Stone Age man's life with his family and his next-door neighbor and best friend. It...
spin-off The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show
The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series spin-off of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which ran for 16 half-hour episodes from September 11, 1971, to September 2, 1972, and four 8-minute episodes from September 9, 1972, to September 1,...
.
Mitzi McCall and Charlie Brill
Charlie Brill
Charlie Brill is an American actor.His first motion picture was in The Beast of Budapest. He also appeared in Blackbeard's Ghost, The Amazing Dobermans and Off the Wall....
met in 1959 and married the following year. They appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
on February 9, 1964, the show that featured the U.S. television debut of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
. They faced the unenviable challenge of trying to get laughs from an audience which was focused elsewhere. Their act can be seen on the DVD of the Beatles' appearances on the Sullivan show. She and Charlie have a daughter, L.A.-based yoga teacher Jenny Brill. They were interviewed in 2005 for the "Big Break" episode of PRI
Public Radio International
Public Radio International is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London and Beijing. PRI's tagline is "Hear a different voice." PRI is a major public media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources...
radio program This American Life
This American Life
This American Life is a weekly hour-long radio program produced by WBEZ and hosted by Ira Glass. It is distributed by Public Radio International on PRI affiliate stations and is also available as a free weekly podcast. Primarily a journalistic non-fiction program, it has also featured essays,...
, regarding their Beatles-Sullivan experience, including a dressing room encounter with John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
.
Brill and McCall were spotted in 1963 while working in Honolulu by the Australian television producer John Collins, who produced The Tonight Show for the Nine Network in Sydney. Collins was seeking a replacement for the then unknown Irish comedian Dave Allen, who had hosted the program for the previous two seasons and wanted to return to Ireland. Collins approached them and they agreed but could not start an Australian engagement until their Hawaiian engagement was complete. They recommended an American comedian, their friend Don Lane
Don Lane
Don Lane , born Morton Donald Isaacson, was an American-born talk show host and singer. Don Lane is best known for hosting The Don Lane Show, which was aired on The Nine Network in Australia from 1975 to 1983....
(Donald Mortimer Isaacsen), who was also working in Hawaii, to fill in in the meantime. Collins agreed to this.
Lane started his Australian engagement and was an immediate success. Ratings were sensational and the network was delighted. It was going to be difficult if not impossible to replace him once the Brills became available. When they did, the preference was obvious and their engagement was cancelled after six weeks. Lane resumed their spot and remained successful in Australian television for the ensuing thirty-five years.
Voice-overs
- Arc the Lad: Twilight of the SpiritsArc the Lad: Twilight of the SpiritsArc the Lad: Twilight of the Spirits is the first of two Arc the Lad games for the PlayStation 2, the second being Arc the Lad: End of Darkness. The game was re-released in Japan as a premium box set...
- Geedo - No More HeroesNo More Heroes (video game), is an action video game for the Wii video game system. It was directed by Goichi Suda , developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and published by Marvelous Entertainment Inc., Ubisoft and Rising Star Games...
- Speed Buster - Mother Goose and Grimm - Mother Goose
- The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm ShowThe Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm ShowThe Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series spin-off of The Flintstones produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which ran for 16 half-hour episodes from September 11, 1971, to September 2, 1972, and four 8-minute episodes from September 9, 1972, to September 1,...
- Penny