# Melanie Chartoff

Melanie Barbara Chartoff (born December 15, 1948) is an American actress and comedian. Chartoff first became famous for her comedy work on the ABC series Fridays (1980–1982), and in the 1990s Fox sitcom Parker Lewis Can't Lose. She voiced both Didi Pickles and Grandma Minka, Didi's mother on the Nickelodeon animated series Rugrats and All Grown Up!.

## Early life

Chartoff was born on December 15, 1948, in New Haven, Connecticut, and attended West Haven High School. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts from Adelphi University. Chartoff is Jewish.

## Career

Her first Broadway appearances were in Galt MacDermot's space opera Via Galactica (1972), directed by Peter Hall, and The Young Vic's Scapino, starring Jim Dale (1974).
Chartoff's first TV role came in 1976 when she played a nurse on Search For Tomorrow, after which she appeared in the 1978 motion picture American Hot Wax. She first became a nationally known figure on ABC's Fridays, which was ABC's attempt to create its own version of Saturday Night Live. Chartoff immediately stood out on the series, partly thanks to her regular role as the anchor on the show's fake newscasts, but also due to her comedic skills (particularly an impression of Nancy Reagan). On one sketch, Melanie was cold-cocked on live TV when co-star Maryedith Burrell failed to pull her punch during a skit and chipped Chartoff's tooth.
Between the demise of Fridays in 1982 and her return to a regular series in 1990 with Parker Lewis Can't Lose (in which she co-starred for three seasons as the high-strung Principal Grace Musso), Chartoff continued to work steadily on television throughout the 1980s, including appearances on Mr. Belvedere, Wiseguy, and St. Elsewhere, as well as a recurring role on Newhart as Dr. Kaiser. She made two appearances on Seinfeld, including one in the 1998 series finale in which four of her former Fridays co-stars were also involved (including Michael Richards). She appeared in the 2006 season finale of Desperate Housewives.
In the Los Angeles premiere of Bill Finn and James Lapine's musical March of the Falsettos (1982), for which she won a Drama-Logue Award, she played Trina. She played Mary Jane Wilkes in the La Jolla Playhouse premiere of Big River (1984). At South Coast Repertory she appeared in the world Premiere of On the Jump. She played Dot in the West Coast premiere of Sunday in the Park with George at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater (1986).

### Inventing

In 1991, Chartoff and fellow voice actor Michael Bell conceived the Grayway Rotating Drain, a device that recycles shower and sink greywater to flush toilets in the home. In 1992 they collaborated with Ronald K. Ford who applied for, and in 1994 received a patent on the product .

### Voice acting and other projects

Chartoff's first voice-over work was a guest role on Challenge of the Superfriends. She has continued her work as an in-demand voice actress and also takes occasional TV and stage roles. Chartoff works as a coach to both actors and non-actors to make them more charismatic in public performances. In 2005, she interviewed Laraine Newman for Autograph Collector magazine. Chartoff writes for The Huffington Post, The Jewish Journal, Defenestration Magazine, and The Funny Times. She performs her original material at such Los Angeles venues as Comedy Central's "Sit n' Spin," "Tasty Words," and "I Love a Good Story."

### Rugrats

From 1991 to 2008, Chartoff voiced Didi Pickles and her mother Grandma Minka on the Nickelodeon series Rugrats, for which she won a Daytime Emmy. She continued to voice Didi on the Rugrats spin-off series, All Grown Up!. For the 2021 revival series of the same name, Chartoff was replaced by actress Ashley Spillers.

### Awards

Aside from Drama-Logue and Daytime Emmy Awards, she was awarded by the City of Hope for creating and producing the yearly event Halloween for Hope to benefit children's cancer research and received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Mayor of Los Angeles for her concerts for the homeless. Chartoff is listed in Who's Who in California, and Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities.

## Personal life

On July 5, 2013, Chartoff married psychologist Stan Friedman, her longtime boyfriend.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1978 | American Hot Wax | Debbie | Film debut |
| 1979 | Can You Hear the Laughter? The Story of Freddie Prinze | Fan | Television film, uncredited |
| 1982 | Having It All | Dace | Television film |
| 1985 | Doin' Time | Linda Libel | |
| 1986 | Stoogemania | Beverly | |
| 1986 | Hardesty House | Judy Werner | Television film |
| 1987 | Kenny Rogers as The Gambler, Part III: The Legend Continues | Deborah | Television film |
| 1993 | Wind in the Wire | unknown role | Television film |
| 1997 | Plato's Run | Stephanie | Direct-to-video |
| 1998 | The Rugrats Movie | Didi Pickles, Minka | Voice |
| 2000 | Big Brother Trouble | Frances Dobson | |
| 2000 | Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Didi Pickles | Voice |
| 2001 | The Rugrats: All Growed Up | Didi Pickles | Voice, television film |
| 2003 | Rugrats Go Wild | Didi Pickles | Voice |
| 2006 | Dr. Dolittle 3 | Black and White Hen | Voice, direct-to-video |
| 2012 | And Out, Into the Bright Sky | unknown role | Short film |
| 2017 | Alexander IRL | Maureen Finn | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Search for Tomorrow | Nancy Craig | Television debut |
| 1973 | The Doctors | Nurse (uncredited) | Episode: "#1.2824" |
| 1978 | Wonder Woman | Nadia | Episode: "Screaming Javelins" |
| 1978 | The Tony Randall Show | Ginny | Episode: "Adios, Mr. Chips" |
| 1978 | Richie Brockelman, Private Eye | Police-Woman Ronnie | Episode: "Escape from Caine Abel" |
| 1978–1980 | Challenge of the Superfriends | Additional voices | 16 episodes |
| 1980–1982 | Fridays | Various | 54 episodes |
| 1983 | Oh Madeline | unknown role | Episode: "Sisters" |
| 1985 | Mr. Belvedere | Detective Wentworth | Episode: "What I Did for Love" |
| 1985 | St. Elsewhere | Kate Larson | Episode: "Fathers and Sons" |
| 1986 | The Love Boat | Betty Bell | Episode: "Hippies and Yuppies/Frat Wars/Return of the Lambdas" |
| 1986 | Fresno | Desiree DeMornay | Miniseries; 5 episodes |
| 1987 | Take Five | Laraine McDermott | Recurring role, 6 episodes |
| 1987–1990 | Newhart | Dr. Mary Kaiser | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 1988 | Wiseguy | Lillah Warfield | Recurring role, 3 episodes |
| 1989 | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | Tawny Tyler | Episode: "Adee Don't/Karate Koopa" |
| 1990 | The Fanelli Boys | Becky | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1990-1993 | Parker Lewis Can't Lose | Principal Grace Musso | 72 episodes |
| 1991–2004 | Rugrats | Didi Pickles, Minka Kropotkin, additional voices | Voice, 155 episodes |
| 1993 | Married... with Children | Laurie Diamond, Attorney | Episode: "Un-Alful Entry" |
| 1994 | Living Single | Madeline Flayvin | Episode: "They've Gotta Have It" |
| 1994, 1998 | Seinfeld | Robin | 2 episodes |
| 1996–1998 | Weird Science | Marcia Donnelly | recurring role; 5 episodes |
| 1996–1999 | Jumanji | Aunt Nora Shepherd | Voice, 22 episodes |
| 1998 | Ally McBeal | Joanne Poole | Episode: "Happy Trails" |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Connie Burger | Episode: "Bar Mitzvah" |
| 2000 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Grape Fox | Voice, episode: "Aesop's Fables: A Whodunit Musical" |
| 2001 | JAG | Senator Anne Pick | Episode: "Ambush" |
| 2002 | Taina | Sasha Simmons | Episode: "Desperately Seeking Agent" |
| 2002 | The Zeta Project | Lead Scientist | Voice, episode: "Cabin Pressure" |
| 2002 | Body & Soul | Colleen McKinney | Episode: "Letting Go" |
| 2002 | Half & Half | Bridget | Episode: "The Big in with the in Crowd Episode" |
| 2003–2008 | All Grown Up! | Didi Pickles, Minka Kropotkin | Voice, 32 episodes |
| 2005 | Unfabulous | Health Teacher | Episode: "The Little Sister" |
| 2006 | Desperate Housewives | Sally | Episode: "Remember (Part 1)" |
| 2007 | Tak & the Power of Juju | Chief Tina-Tina | Voice, episode: "The Three Chiefs" |
| 2010 | No Ordinary Family | Iris Mitchell | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2014 | Extraordinary Faith | | Director/Consulting Producer Television Documentary; 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Switched at Birth | Producer | Episode: "There Is My Heart" |
| 2018 | OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes | Sunshine | Voice, 4 episodes |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Role |
| 1998 | Rugrats Adventure Game | Didi Pickles |
| 1998 | Rugrats: Search for Reptar | Didi Pickles |
| 1999 | Rugrats: Studio Tour | Didi Pickles |