Carl Ballantine, comedian

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on November 12th, 2009

The AP obit:

Carl Ballantine, a comedian, magician and actor who was in the 1960s TV sitcom “McHale’s Navy,” has died. He was 92.

His daughter says he died Nov. 3 in his sleep at his home in the Hollywood Hills.

Ballantine, who was born Meyer Kessler in Chicago, switched from straight magic to comedy in the 1940s. He would fumble tricks while joking with the audience. He appeared in Las Vegas, in nightclubs and on TV variety shows, including “The Tonight Show.”

Steve Martin says Ballantine influenced him and a generation of magicians and comedians.

Ballantine was crewman Lester Gruber in “McHale’s Navy” and had roles in several other TV shows and movies.

He also did voiceovers in many cartoons and commercials.

We never had the privilege of working with Ballantine. We recall (perhaps faultily) that he did the comedy clubs in the 80s and maybe into the 90s.

He was appreciated by a lot of the youngsters. Much of the swagger and the timing of the faux magic acts that are out there is borrowed from Ballantine. Or is it a tribute? Or an homage (pronounced “AHM-idge” not “oh-MAZH”)?

Either way, Ballantine was around for a good long while and when he died, he knew he was appreciated.

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