By: Savannah Smith | 04-09-2018 | News
Photo credit: Deadline.com

Veteran Comedian and Voice Actor Chuck McCann Dies at 83

The zany comic who became widely popular for hosting a children’s television show in the ‘60s, Chuck McCann, is dead. He was 83.

McCann died of congestive heart failure in a Los Angeles hospital on Sunday. His publicist Edward Lozzi confirmed the news of his death. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth Fanning, and two daughters.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">RIP Chuck McCann – legendary TV, film, puppeteer and voice actor. You may know Chuck as Sonny the Cocoa Puffs Bird, Dreamfinder In EPCOT Center’s Imagination pavilion, Scrooge’s butler Duckworth In DuckTales, and “The Thing” Ben Grimm in the animated Fantastic Four <a href="https://t.co/rrDpxaeGMh">pic.twitter.com/rrDpxaeGMh</a></p>&mdash; Dan Cunningham (@HonuDan) <a href="https://twitter.com/HonuDan/status/983148474777636864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

McCann was born in Brooklyn on September 2, 1934. He became hugely popular in New York when he took the helm of a variety show, entertaining generations of children with his signature light-hearted humor and the use of puppets. Then he later branched out to doing films as a character actor.

He appeared on his first major film in 1968 in “The Heart is a Lonely Hunter”. After which, he expanded his work into animation acting and created the memorable voice of Sonny the Cuckoo Bird, who cried “I’m cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!” in television commercials for General Mills.

McCann turned out to be such a prolific voice actor, lending his compelling voice to such characters as Mayor Grafton on “The Garfield Show”, Ducksworth in “DuckTales: Remastered”, and Helf Heffalump in Disney’s “The New Adventures of Winnie The Pooh.

He later moved to Los Angeles in the 1970s and had several guest appearances on such shows as “Little House on the Prairie”, “Bonanza” and “Columbo.”

Some took to Twitter to express their sadness over McCann’s passing.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Sad news has just reached us that Chuck McCann passed away today. Chuck was a great man and was loved by many fans around the world. May he RIP. <a href="https://t.co/p1D8SjKETq">pic.twitter.com/p1D8SjKETq</a></p>&mdash; Laurel and Hardy (@Stan_And_Ollie) <a href="https://twitter.com/Stan_And_Ollie/status/983128209171648514?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chuck McCann&#39;s TV show in NYC had an enormous influence on me when I was a kid. He was hilarious and I aspired to be like him. As an adult I was lucky enough to know him and he was the nicest guy ever. To me, Chuck McCann is the very definition of joy. RIP</p>&mdash; Frank Conniff (@FrankConniff) <a href="https://twitter.com/FrankConniff/status/983142226086768642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">A sad farewell to Chuck McCann, a funny man who had his own kids show in the NY area. He helped to keep Laurel and Hardy&#39;s legacy in the mainstream, acted in films, most notably The Heart is a Lonely Hunter and was a nice man whom many of us had the honor of calling a friend. RIP <a href="https://t.co/D4r4mOtmUl">pic.twitter.com/D4r4mOtmUl</a></p>&mdash; James L Neibaur (@JimLNeibaur) <a href="https://twitter.com/JimLNeibaur/status/983129574505578496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 8, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Source:

https://pagesix.com/2018/04/09/prolific-comedian-voice-actor-chuck-mccann-dies-at-83/

[tw_tags] #MAGA #KeepAmericaGreat! #ChuckMcCann #VoiceTalent #ChildrensShow #Comedian #CelebrityNews {/tw_tags]

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