Comedian Chuck McCann dead at 83

Los Angeles: Comedian Chuck McCann and children's much-loved TV host is dead. He was 83. McCann did a lot of voice-over work, was a fine Oliver Hardy impersonator and appeared in the 1968 "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter".

He died on Sunday of congestive heart failure at a hospital here, publicist Edward Lozzi told The Hollywood Reporter. Described as an entertainment jack-of-all-trades, McCann worked as a children's show host, puppeteer, nightclub comic, movie actor, voice-over performer and celebrity impersonator.

He was a founding member, along with actor Orson Bean, of the Sons of the Desert, the international fan club dedicated to celebrating Laurel and Hardy. "I did everything," McCann told TVParty.com in a 2007 interview.

"I never closed doors. If you look at my career -- if I had one -- I never think of it as a career, I just look at it as things I love to do. I have just as much fun doing a 30-second commercial as I do making a movie," he had said.