And The Name Is Patti Deutsch!

You may remember her as one of the celebs on "Match Game "and "Tattletales"...
...but these days she does so much voicework let's call this special blog entry "You Know the Voice..."

In the seventies, I would routinely skip school if I thought someone cool was on "The Mike Douglas Show" or "Dinah". Ditto game shows, specifically the ones I've mentioned, as well as "Celebrity Sweepstakes" and "The Gong Show".

Ah, the salad days.

Patti Deutsch was one of those people I recognized pretty early on. She has a great scratchy voice and deadpan face that lights up with a sly smirk when she says something weird to fill in the blank on "Match Game". In the seventies, comically unique personalities like Deutsch seemed to have a home on television, whether it be game shows, talk shows (she was on Johnny Carson quite a bit) or variety programs.

Let's see what the easily manipulated Wikipedia has to say...

Patti Deutsch (born December 16, 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a comic actress who was a frequent panelist on Match Game. More often than not, her answers would not wind up matching the contestants' answers. She was best known, however, for her wry and somewhat outlandish answers to questions. For example: "John said, 'Instead of sleeping in bed tonight, I think I'll sleep on the (blank)'"; the contestant's answer was "floor", while Patti answered "A red moth-eaten sofa that was rejected from the homeless shelter". Patti Deutsch thus became a fixture in the challenging "number-six seat," so called by the panelists because it was tough to come up with something clever after five panelists had their chance. Episodes of Match Game featuring Deutsch continue to air on GSN.

Voice work
Deutsch also performs voice work in cartoons and movies. Recent works include Monsters, Inc. and The Emperor's New Groove. She also made a cameo role in the 1983 movie Mr. Mom, playing "The Deli Girl". She also had a show in 1979, titled Grandpa Goes to Washington, but it only ran for about one month.

Improv and later career
She was a member of the improvisational comedy group Ace Trucking Company. Fellow members of Ace included Bill Saluga and Fred Willard, among others. It was during this time, that Patti met her husband, Donald Ross. Deutsch has done commercials for M&M Meat Shops, a Canadian food retailer.

Personal life
Deutsch married comedy writer Donald Ross in 1971. Together they have one son, Max, born 1975. On occasion Patti Deutsch would appear on the Match Game show with her husband Donald. She and Donald also appeared on the game show, Tattletales.

Later on, when I moved to LA and worked as an assistant manager at The Nuart, she would come in with her husband or her friend Jennifer Darling (who played Peggy Callahan, the secretary on "The Six Million Dollar Man" and "The Bionic Woman"). Incredibly funny, she and her husband were always nice enough to stop and talk to an obnoxious fan who wanted to ask about seventies game shows.

Although I have no idea who that handsome, dashing young man was, it was cool that Patti and Donald would take the time to do that.

If you're driving down the road and here a woman with a scratchy voice selling you something, chances are good that'll be Patti Deutsch, one of the greats.