R.I.P. Patti Deutsch (1943-2017)

Patti Deutsch, who started out performing in an improv group with Fred Willard, became well-known through appearances on Laugh-In, Match Game and Tattletales, and maintained a voiceover career from the 1980s through the 2000s, died last week from cancer. Deutsch was 73.

Born Dec. 16, 1943, in Pittsburgh, Deutsch was a member of the Ace Trucking Company improv comedy group, which performed sketches first on TV via This Is Tom Jones, then on Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In, The Midnight Special and elsewhere.

She also appeared in TV commercials like this one.

Those appearances earned her a spot on the popular game show, Match Game, where Deutsch rotated into the sixth and last chair (sharing that seat with Betty White, Marcia Wallace and Fannie Flagg). Her answers often stood out for her ability to NOT match with the game show’s contestants.

Deutsch and her husband also appeared regularly on the game show, Tattletales, during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Then she began a lengthy career in voiceovers, starting with The Smurfs on TV, and continuing in both TV and movies with The Berenstain Bears, Tarzan, The Emperor’s New Groove, Monsters Inc., and more.

She was survived by her husband, sons, daughter, daughters-in-law, and two grandchildren.