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McCall and Brill (Mitzi and Charlie)

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Comedians

The Resume

    Mitzi Steiner 'McCall' (September 9, 1932 - ), born in Pittsburgh
    Charlie Sanford Brill (January 13, 1938 - ), born in Brooklyn
    Married in 1960, formed the comedy team in 1962
    Appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964, the U.S. television debut of The Beatles
    Recorded a comedy album, 'From Our Point of View' (1970)
    Portrayed Capt. Harry Lipschitz and Mrs. Lipschitz on Silk Stalkings (1993-99)
    Appeared together on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, Match Game and Tattletales
    McCall (solo) appeared in 'Deep Blood,' 'White Palace,' and 'The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them'
    Brill (solo) appeared in 'Blackbeard's Ghost,' 'Bloodstone' and 'The Amazing Dobermans'

Why they might be annoying:

    Their comedy act was a crude imitation of Nichols and May's routine.
    They had the bad luck of doing Ed Sullivan's Show the same night as the Beatles' historic debut on the program, almost ensuring their skit would be an afterthought.
    Their comedy sketch (about a movie producer turning away starlets) bombed not just because they followed the Beatles, but also because they were directly before the band's second set, resulting in the restless audience ignoring them completely.
    The experience was so embarrassing for them that they didn't even return home to California, opting to go to Florida, instead. They didn't get an offer for six months (an eternity in showbusiness).

Why they might not be annoying:

    Jerry Lewis introduced them (they both attended a Paramount Studios workshop in LA he was teaching).
    Part of the reason their routine bombed was that Ed Sullivan completely rewrote the skit at the last minute, deeming the original 'too high-brow' for his audience.
    In the lead-up to their joint appearance, they bought a young John Lennon a coke from their dressing room vending machine. He returned the favor by sketching a portrait of Brill, which he promptly threw out (joke's on him!)
    Charlie Brill later found fame as a Kling-on for the Star Trek franchise, reprising the role several times.
    Mitzi McCall wrote for episodes of shows Alf and Mr. Belvedere.
    They both found callings in the cartoon voice actor field (McCall in movies like 'Ice Age,' Brill on dozens of Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network shows).
    They have retained a sense of humor about bombing in front of the 73 million viewers during a historic event.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 14 Votes: 71.43% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 9 Votes: 22.22% Annoying