Person Biography:
Chuck McCann was a third-generation performer and the son of a singing band leader. Born in Brooklyn, he began his career as a child actor on radio at a young age. By 19, he had already appeared on The Steve Allen Show and performed on several NYC-based radio programs. He went on to create his own stand-up act, performing at numerous nightclubs and on popular TV variety shows.
McCann took a hiatus from performing to study at the Pasadena Playhouse, where he gave a memorable performance in their production of "12th Night" as Sir Toby Belch. He returned to NYC to continue performing in nightclubs and on TV variety shows.
His introduction to puppetry came through Skip Boyland and Paul Ashley on NBC TV's "Rootie Kazootie" in 1951. For the next 17 years, Ashley and McCann appeared on numerous TV shows, including "The Gumby Show" with Pinkie Lee, "The Puppet Hotel!", "Laurel & Hardy & Chuck!", and "The Chuck McCann Shows".
After the cancellation of "Chuck McCann's Laurel & Hardy Show" in 1967, Ashley and McCann went their separate ways. McCann went on to become a successful comic/character actor and mimic, doing voice-over work for many TV cartoon shows and playing character parts on numerous dramatic and comedic TV series and movies.
He also starred in TV series such as "Turn-on", "Happy Days", "Far Out Space Nuts", "All That Glitters", "New Kind Of Family, A", and "Chuck McCann's Fun Stuff!". McCann took over as the host and performer of "LBS Children's Theater" after Paul Ashley's diagnosis with Alzheimer's Disease. The show made its debut in 1983 and ran for one season.
Paul Ashley passed away before seeing the success of "LBS Children's Theater". McCann later played the voice of Jollo in the 1992 video game "King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow".
