Chuck McCann Ready to Lead Ocean City's 'Celebration of Humor'

"Humor is what we need, and there's so little of it," Chuck McCann said on Friday morning. "And when it does come your way, it's polluted."

McCann is in town to lead Ocean City's annual "celebration of humor" — Saturday's Doo Dah Parade — and he took time on Friday morning at the Port O' Call hotel to share his thoughts on the importance of laughter.

"Humor is a very healthy product," McCann said. "Laughter is food for the soul."

McCann, 77, learned to perform in an era of comedy unlike today's profanity-laced performances. He is known as a man of many voices in film, television, stage and in the world of animation and commercials.

McCann first made his mark in New York television with a series of top-rated children’s programs and then moved on to California where he began his movie and commercial career. His first feature film was playing a deaf mute in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter with Alan Arkin. Following that, he starred in The Projectionist about a theater employee who escapes his lonely life through imaginary adventures as a super hero.

McCann's TV credits include dozens of popular programs from The Bob Newhart Show to Bonanza. He has appeared recently on such shows as Knot's Landing, Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Boston Legal.

McCann will headline a (Friday, April 13) at the , honoring the late Soupy Sales, who attended many Doo Dah events in Ocean City. He and Soupy were good friends.

The show will feature impersonators of legendary comedians, including Groucho Marx, Jack Benny, Charo, Lucille Ball, Abbott and Costello, George Burns and more. The show benefits the Ocean City Food Bank. Admission is $5 and/or a donation of dry or canned food. Visit the Ocean City, NJ website for more information.

McCann will be grand marshal in the annual , which starts at noon Saturday, April 14, at Sixth Street and Asbury Avenue. The parade route runs down Asbury Avenue to 12th Street, then up to the Boardwalk, where it finishes at the Ocean City Music Pier.