He was most commonly known for his work with Mel Brooks, Jerry Lewis, and Dean Martin, and his many stand-up appearances on television talk shows in the 1970s.

He was also known for his role as Malcolm Argos, the restaurant owner and former con man, on the Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner television series Switch (1975–1978).

Callas was born on December 20, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York, as Charles Callias, the son of a Greek father and German mother.

He began his career as a drummer playing in groups with Bernie Cummins,[2] Tommy Dorsey, Claude Thornhill, and Buddy Rich.

Ga-digga-digga..." As the conversation became more frantic, Callas began flailing his arms, twitching his face, and writhing with extreme anxiety.

He ran through the act on an episode of The Merv Griffin Show in 1965, and one of the guests, Jerry Lewis, practically fell off his chair in hysterics.

[5] Occasionally Callas showed up in an Army uniform, impersonating vaudeville comic George Jessel, much to the celebrities' amusement.

Tony Belmont, executive director of the National Comedy Hall of Fame in St. Petersburg, Florida, said of Callas upon his death: "There were two things he did that made his career.