Comic actor and children TV show host Chuck McCann passed away at the age of 83.
The actor died due to congestive heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center here, his publicist Edward Lozzi told The Hollywood Reporter.
Born in New York City on September 2, 1934, McCann belonged to a family of performers - his grandfather was a part of Wild West Show in Buffalo Bill and his father, Val McCann, was a known band leader who served as the music arranger at New York's Roxy Theatre.
McCann was also a puppeteer, nightclub comic, movie actor, voiceover performer and celebrity impersonator.
He played an important supporting role in "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" (1968) and starred in the low-budget fantasy film "The Projectionist" (1971), his only feature role.
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McCann owed famous New York kids show presenter Sandy Becker for giving him his big break in the mid-1950s, when the duo collaborated on a kids show.
He founded the Sons of the Desert, the international fan club dedicated to celebrating Laurel & Hardy, along with actor Orson Bean.
Starting off in November 1959, McCann hosted "The Puppet Hotel". He also played the bumbling desk clerk of a hotel inhabited by puppets, created by master puppeteer Paul Ashley.
McCann went on to present three-hour show "Let's Have Fun", followed by "The Chuck McCann Show" in 1963.
"Chuck McCann's Laurel & Hardy TV Show" (1966) was his final local TV outing, which was created by Hanna-Barbera.
He also briefly appeared on "The Captain Kangaroo Show" as Sailor Clyde.
McCann's also lent his voice in animation projects such as "Pac-Man", "G.I. Joe", "The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh", "DuckTales", "Fantastic Four" (as Ben Grimm/The Thing) and "The Powerpuff Girls".
The actor is survived by his wife of 40 years, Betty Fanning, a former William Morris executive. He had three children from a previous marriage.
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