Carl Ballantine, who played the role of Lester Gruber on the 1960's comedy hit "McHale's Navy" died on November 3, 2009 at his home in Hollywood Hills, CA. He died in his sleep of natural causes according to his daughter.
"McHale's Navy", starring Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway, ran from 1962-1966. He was also a magician who appeared on the "Ed Sullivan Show" under the headline of "The Amazing Ballantine". He achieved notoriety in the 1940's for combining magic and comedy. In 2007, he was presented a Lifetime Achievement Award from Steve Martin at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Magician David Copperfield was also a huge fan of Mr. Ballantine.
He was born as Meyer Kessler in Chicago and started to perform magic tricks when he was 9. He was exempted from service in World War 2 because of back problems and entertained troops in England. His last magic performance as a magician was last year when he appeared at the Kodak Theatre. He appeared in numerous films including "Mr. Saturday Night" and the "Shakiest Gun in the West".
He did hundreds of voice overs for commercials and cartoons. His biggest role was for the "California Raisins" where he voiced a Claymation character that resembled him.
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