Carol Ann Susi has passed away suddenly at the age of 61, and it’s kind of nice to see a mass mourning for an actress whose stint on The Big Bang Theory was spent as a disembodied voice yelling at her son Harold Wolowitz. Yes, verily that was Carol Ann Susi making Howard’s life miserable on the the nation’s #1 show.
And, given the nature of instant sitcom rewrites, Carol Ann was probably right there at stageside yelling out her lines. Fortunately, there’s still a chance to put a face to the late Debbie Wolowitz. Carol Ann Susi had a very memorable turn on Seinfeld as possibly the worst date ever on a show full of bad dates. There’s a good chance you’ve stumbled across the Seinfeld where a desperate George tries to extend his unemployment benefits by dating the daughter of the lady who’s overseeing his claims. It’s a really painful date worth enjoying again–and then scroll down, because we have a Carol Ann Susi story…
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maYUQyC3jo4]
Okay, here’s the geeky thing–we met Carol Ann Susi once, and mentioned that we knew her from the old ’70s television show Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which was just then enjoying a short-lived reboot on ABC. Carol Ann played a rookie reporter who was mainly around as comic relief. She had a great story about how veteran actor Darren McGavin (who played vampire-hunting reporter Karl Kolchak) had literally discovered her in a Los Angeles restaurant when Carol Ann was serving him lunch.
McGavin didn’t even mind that Carol Ann only knew him as Mike Hammer–that being McGavin’s previous big television role. He offered her a role on Kolchak: The Night Stalker on the spot. That’s a cool story. Especially since we usually hear stories about how McGavin was kind of a real bastard. Carol Ann Susi must’ve really made a good impression.
Carol Ann Susi, RIP: 'Big Bang' Mom Was Also George's Worst Date [VIDEO]
